How to Migrate a WordPress Site to Another Host (2026 Guide)
How-To Guide
To migrate a WordPress site to another host, back up your files and database, transfer them to the new server using a plugin or FTP/phpMyAdmin, update your database URLs, then point your domain’s DNS to the new host. Test everything on a temporary URL first to avoid downtime and protect your SEO rankings.
- Migration plugins like Duplicator, UpdraftPlus, and All-in-One WP Migration automate the database URL search-and-replace, according to each plugin’s own documentation.
- Duplicator’s Basic plan is listed at $49.50/year for 2 sites in PixelNet’s review, but WPBeginner’s review cites $69.30/year for the same tier — pricing appears to vary by promotion, so it’s worth confirming current rates directly with the vendor.
- DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours, but industry guidance from WPBeginner and major hosts confirms the old site typically stays live and reachable throughout that window.
- Serialized data used by page builders like Elementor can be corrupted by a basic manual find-and-replace, which is why WP-CLI’s
search-replacecommand or a dedicated plugin is the safer route for those sites. - Protecting SEO after a move requires resaving permalinks, verifying .htaccess, and resubmitting your sitemap to Google Search Console, per guidance from WPX and Jetpack.
How We Put This Guide Together
This guide is built from official plugin documentation (Duplicator, UpdraftPlus, All-in-One WP Migration), WordPress.org’s own resources, and verified third-party reviews from sources like WPBeginner, PixelNet, and Capterra — not hands-on testing of every tool listed. Where sources disagreed, such as plugin pricing, we’ve noted both figures along with where each one came from.
Signs It’s Time to Switch Hosting
Before diving into the how, it helps to confirm the why. Most hosting migrations happen for one of a handful of practical reasons, and knowing what WordPress hosting actually does makes it easier to spot when yours is falling short.
Recurring downtime is the most common trigger. If your site goes offline more than once every few months, your current host’s infrastructure likely can’t keep up with your traffic or server demands.
Slow page speed is another red flag. If you’ve already optimized images, cleaned up plugins, and enabled caching but load times are still sluggish, the bottleneck is probably one of the hosting speed factors beyond your control, not your setup.
Outgrowing your plan happens as traffic and content grow. A shared hosting plan that worked fine for a small blog often can’t handle a site pulling in tens of thousands of monthly visitors, which is when it helps to compare shared, VPS, and managed hosting types.
Poor support matters more than people expect. If getting a real answer to a technical issue takes days instead of hours, that’s a cost you pay every time something breaks.
Finally, some people migrate simply because they found a better hosting deal or want features their current host doesn’t offer, like staging environments or built-in CDN support. Any of these reasons is valid — the migration process itself stays largely the same.
Before You Start — Backup and Site Inventory
Once you’ve decided to move, resist the urge to jump straight into transferring files. A few minutes of prep now saves hours of troubleshooting later.
Take a Full Site Inventory
Before you touch anything, document what’s actually on your site. This gives you a checklist to verify everything transferred correctly.
- WordPress version (Dashboard → Updates)
- PHP version (usually under your hosting control panel’s Software section)
- Current permalink structure (Settings → Permalinks)
- Total post and page count (Posts and Pages in your dashboard)
- Total media files (Media Library)
- All installed themes, not just the active one (Appearance → Themes)
- All installed plugins, versions, and activation status (Plugins)
Screenshot key settings pages as you go. This documentation makes it much easier to spot anything that didn’t transfer or configure correctly on the new host.
Back Up Your Files and Database
Your backup is your safety net, and WordPress.org’s official guide to moving a site walks through the same fundamentals. If anything goes wrong mid-migration, this is what lets you start over without losing content.
A complete backup needs four things: your WordPress core files, the wp-content folder (themes, plugins, uploads), your wp-config.php file with database credentials, and your full database export.
To export your database manually, log into phpMyAdmin through your hosting control panel, select your WordPress database from the sidebar, click the “Export” tab, choose the “Quick” method and “SQL” format, then click “Go” to download the file. Save it somewhere local, not just cloud storage, so you can access it even if there’s a server issue on either end.
Download your backup to your own computer and verify you can actually open the files before moving forward. A backup you can’t access isn’t a backup.
| Backup Method | Best For | Cost | Effort Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host’s built-in backup tool | Sites already on managed hosting with backup features included | Usually free with hosting plan | Low |
| Backup/migration plugin (UpdraftPlus, Duplicator) | Most WordPress users who want an automated, repeatable process | Free tier available; paid tiers from roughly $49.50–$70/year depending on plugin and source | Low-Medium |
| Manual FTP + phpMyAdmin export | Technical users comfortable with file transfer protocols and databases | Free | High |
Whichever method you choose, don’t skip this step. A verified backup is what makes the rest of the migration low-stress instead of high-risk.
Choose Your Migration Method
With your backup secured, the next decision is how to actually move everything. There are three realistic paths, and the right one depends on your technical comfort level and site size.
Plugin-Based Migration
A migration plugin packages your files and database together, then unpacks them on the new server. This is the most beginner-friendly option since it handles the database search-and-replace automatically — a step that trips up a lot of manual migrations.
The trade-off is that free versions often cap file size, and large or media-heavy sites can hit server resource limits on shared hosting during the packaging process.
Manual Migration (FTP + phpMyAdmin)
Manual migration means downloading your files with an FTP client, exporting your database through phpMyAdmin, then uploading both to the new host and updating the database URLs yourself. It’s free and gives you full control, but it requires comfort with file transfers and basic database editing.
WP-CLI (Command Line)
If you’re comfortable with the command line, WP-CLI’s search-replace command lets you update your domain across the entire database without installing a plugin. This avoids extra plugin overhead but assumes SSH access and command-line familiarity.
If your site uses a page builder like Elementor, some data is stored in a serialized format. A basic find-and-replace that doesn’t account for serialization can corrupt that data, so any tool or method you use needs proper serialized-data handling.
| Plugin | Free Version Limits | Paid Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duplicator | Lite version works for one-time migrations but skips scheduled backups and cloud storage | Basic plan listed at $49.50/year for 2 sites according to PixelNet’s review, though WPBeginner’s review cites $69.30/year for the same tier — pricing appears to vary by promotion | Larger sites (2GB+) and developer-level exclusions |
| All-in-One WP Migration | Free version capped at 512MB per the plugin’s own limits | Unlimited Extension sold as a separate paid add-on | Simple, one-click migrations on smaller sites |
| UpdraftPlus | Free version handles basic backups; migration/clone tools require the Premium version or a separate add-on | Premium pricing varies by plan; check UpdraftPlus’s official site for current rates | Users who want strong incremental backups alongside migration |
Pricing last verified: September 6, 2026. Plugin pricing changes with promotions, so double-check Duplicator’s current pricing directly before you buy.
If you’re moving one small-to-medium site and want the least technical route, a plugin is worth the modest cost. If you’re comfortable with servers and want to avoid ongoing plugin fees, manual or WP-CLI migration gets the same result for free.
Step-by-Step: Migrating With a Plugin
Once you’ve picked a plugin, the process follows roughly the same pattern across most tools. Here’s the general flow using a plugin like Duplicator as the example.
Install and Create a Migration Package
From your current site’s dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New, search for your chosen plugin, install it, and activate it. Open the plugin’s menu and click “Create New” to start a migration package. Give the package a name you’ll recognize later, keep the default scan settings, and click Next. The plugin scans your site for potential issues — like oversized files or PHP configuration warnings — before building the package.
Download the Archive and Installer Files
Once the package is built, you’ll get two files: an archive (your full site content) and an installer (the script that unpacks everything on the new host). Download both to your computer.
Set Up Your New Hosting Account
Log into your new host and create a fresh WordPress installation, or in some cases just an empty directory, depending on the plugin’s instructions. Don’t point your domain here yet — you’ll get a temporary URL to work with first.
Upload and Run the Installer
Upload the archive and installer files to your new host’s root directory using FTP or your host’s file manager. Then visit the installer file in your browser (for example, yournewsite.com/installer.php) and follow the prompts. The installer will ask for your new database name, username, and password, which you can find in your new host’s control panel. It then extracts the archive and configures the site automatically, including the URL search-and-replace.
Verify the Site on the Temporary URL
Before touching your DNS settings, check that pages load correctly, images display, and forms work on the temporary URL your host provided. This is your last chance to catch problems while the old site is still live and unaffected.
Plugin-based migration handles the trickiest part — the database URL updates — automatically, which is exactly why it’s the recommended path for most non-technical users.
Try Duplicator for Your Migration →
Step-by-Step: Manual Migration (FTP + phpMyAdmin)
If you’d rather skip plugin fees and have some technical comfort, manual migration gives you the same result using tools you likely already have access to.
Download Your Site Files via FTP
Connect to your current host using an FTP client like FileZilla. Download your entire WordPress root directory, paying special attention to the wp-content folder, which holds your themes, plugins, and uploads.
Export Your Database
Log into phpMyAdmin from your current host’s control panel, select your WordPress database, click Export, choose the Quick method and SQL format, and download the resulting file.
Create a New Database on Your New Host
In your new host’s control panel, create a fresh MySQL database along with a new database user, and assign that user full privileges on the database. Note the database name, username, and password — you’ll need them next.
Upload Your Files
Using FTP, upload all your downloaded WordPress files to the root directory of your new hosting account.
Import Your Database
In phpMyAdmin on the new host, select your newly created database, click Import, and choose the SQL file you exported earlier. This recreates all your tables, posts, and settings on the new server.
Update wp-config.php
Edit the wp-config.php file on your new host to reflect the new database name, username, password, and host address provided by your new hosting company.
Update Your Site URLs — Watch for Serialized Data
In phpMyAdmin, open the wp_options table and update the siteurl and home values to your new domain or temporary URL. If you’re only changing hosts and not the domain, you may be able to skip this step.
Be careful here: if your theme or page builder (Elementor, Divi, and similar tools) stores layout data in a serialized format, a manual find-and-replace in the database can corrupt that data. A basic text replace doesn’t account for the character-length counts serialized data relies on. For sites using page builders, a tool built for serialized data — like the WP-CLI
search-replace command or a dedicated search-and-replace plugin — is safer than editing table values by hand.
Manual migration takes longer and carries more room for error than a plugin, but it costs nothing beyond your time, and it gives you full visibility into exactly what moved and where.
Point Your Domain to the New Host
With your site fully working on the new host’s temporary URL, it’s time to make the switch official by connecting your domain and hosting account.
Get Your New DNS Records
Your new hosting provider will give you nameserver addresses or an IP address to point your domain to. This information is usually in your welcome email or account dashboard.
Update Your DNS Settings
Log into wherever your domain is registered — this might be your old host, your new host, or a separate registrar like Namecheap or Cloudflare — and update the nameserver or A record to match your new host’s information.
Wait for Propagation
DNS changes don’t take effect instantly. Propagation can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours, depending on your domain registrar and internet service providers worldwide.
During this window, keep your old site live and untouched. Visitors will gradually start reaching the new server as their local DNS caches update, so most people won’t notice any interruption if both sites are functioning correctly.
Confirm the Switch
Once propagation completes, visit your domain from a few different networks or devices to confirm it’s loading from the new host. Tools like a DNS checker site can also confirm the change has fully rolled out globally, and WPBeginner’s guide on moving WordPress without downtime covers the same checkpoints if you want a second reference.
Because the old site stays live throughout propagation, a well-planned migration can happen with effectively zero downtime for your visitors.
Preserve Your SEO After Migration
A hosting migration shouldn’t hurt your search rankings if you handle a few key steps carefully. Here’s how to protect the SEO equity you’ve already built.
Benchmark Before You Move
Before migrating, record your current keyword rankings, organic traffic levels, and top-performing pages. Export this data from Google Search Console and Google Analytics. This benchmark matters because SEO fluctuates naturally. If rankings dip after your move, having a clear before-and-after picture helps you tell whether the migration caused it or it’s just normal variation.
Resave Your Permalinks
On your new site, go to Settings → Permalinks and click “Save Changes,” even if nothing looks different. This rebuilds your site’s rewrite rules and often fixes broken internal links caused by the move.
Check Your .htaccess File
Confirm your .htaccess file transferred correctly to your new server’s root directory and that it’s readable. If it’s missing, resaving your permalinks should regenerate it automatically.
Set Up 301 Redirects If Your Domain Changed
If you changed domains along with your host, set up 301 redirects from every old URL to its new equivalent. This tells search engines your content has permanently moved and passes along the SEO value from your old URLs instead of losing it.
Resubmit Your Sitemap
Log into Google Search Console, submit your updated sitemap, and request indexing for your homepage. This speeds up how quickly Google recognizes your site’s new location.
Check for Broken Links
Run a broken-link check across your site after migration. Even a successful transfer can leave a handful of internal links pointing to outdated paths.
Monitor Performance and Uptime
Use an uptime monitor like UptimeRobot or Pingdom for the first week or two after migration to catch any unexpected downtime on the new host. Compare your new Core Web Vitals scores against your pre-migration benchmark to confirm the new host is actually delivering the performance improvement you expected.
Done carefully, a hosting migration can improve your SEO over time — a faster, more reliable host is itself a ranking factor.
Don’t Forget to Cancel Your Old Host
Once your new site is live and stable, there’s one easy-to-miss step left: closing out your old hosting account before it renews.
Most hosting companies set accounts to auto-renew by default, and many bill several weeks before the renewal date. If you don’t catch this window, you could end up paying for a full year of hosting you no longer need.
Before canceling anything, wait about a week after your migration to confirm the new site is stable and DNS has fully propagated everywhere. It’s safer to pay for a short overlap between hosts than to cancel too early and lose your safety net.
Once you’re confident the new host is working correctly, log into your old hosting account, switch billing to manual renewal or cancel outright, and confirm the cancellation in writing if your host offers that option.
This step doesn’t affect your site’s performance or SEO, but skipping it is one of the most common — and avoidable — ways people overpay after a migration.
Who Should Use Which Method
Best for a migration plugin:
- You want the database URL updates handled automatically
- Your site is small to medium-sized and doesn’t push against free-tier file caps
- You’d rather pay a small fee than risk a manual database error
- You’re not comfortable with FTP or phpMyAdmin
Best for manual migration (FTP + phpMyAdmin or WP-CLI):
- You want to avoid ongoing plugin costs
- You’re comfortable with file transfers and basic database editing
- You want full visibility into exactly what moved and where
- Your site doesn’t rely heavily on serialized data, or you’re prepared to use WP-CLI’s
search-replaceto handle it safely
Plugin Migration — Pros
- Handles database URL updates automatically
- Faster for most non-technical users
- Lower risk of a botched database edit
Plugin Migration — Cons
- Free tiers cap file size on larger sites
- Can hit resource limits on shared hosting
- Paid tiers add an ongoing or one-time cost
Manual Migration — Pros
- Completely free
- Full control and visibility over every step
- No file size limits imposed by a plugin
Manual Migration — Cons
- Requires comfort with FTP and phpMyAdmin
- Higher risk of corrupting serialized data
- Takes longer than a plugin-based transfer
Bottom Line: Which Migration Method Should You Use?
If you’re comfortable spending a little money for less risk, a migration plugin like Duplicator is the most reliable path — it handles the database URL updates automatically and cuts out the step where most manual migrations go wrong. If you’re technical and want to avoid ongoing plugin costs, manual FTP and phpMyAdmin migration gets you the same result for free, as long as you’re careful with serialized data if your site uses a page builder.
Whichever method you pick, the core sequence stays the same: back up everything, build and test your site on a temporary URL, then switch your DNS only once you’ve confirmed everything works. Benchmark your SEO before you start, and resubmit your sitemap once you’re live on the new host.
A hosting migration feels bigger than it is. Most of the risk comes from skipping the backup step or rushing the DNS switch before testing — avoid those two mistakes, and the rest is just following a checklist.
Ready to make the move? Compare Top WordPress Hosting Plans →, or see our full WordPress hosting roundup to find a host that fits where your site is headed next.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to migrate a WordPress site to a new host?
Can I migrate my WordPress site without losing SEO rankings?
Do I need a plugin to migrate WordPress, or can I do it manually?
Will my WordPress site go down during migration?
What files do I need to back up before migrating?
Can I migrate to a new host and a new domain at the same time?
What happens if my migration plugin fails partway through?
📚 References
- Capterra, “Duplicator Pro Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026,” accessed July 21, 2026
- Elementor, “How to Migrate a WordPress Site,” June 29, 2026
- GoDaddy, “How to Migrate a WordPress Site to a New Host,” March 16, 2026
- WPBeginner, “Duplicator Review: Is It the Right Backup Plugin for You?,” February 24, 2026
- PixelNet, “Duplicator Pro Plugin Review: Is It Still the Best Migration Tool in 2026?,” February 17, 2026
- FatLab Web Support, “Duplicator Plugin Review: Migration Tool First, Backup Second,” January 30, 2026
- WPX, “How to Migrate WordPress Hosting Without Losing SEO,” December 4, 2025
- Jetpack, “How to Migrate a WordPress Site to a New Host or Server,” November 1, 2025
- WPEngine, “The Best Way to Migrate a WordPress Site,” May 6, 2025
- WPBeginner, “How to Move WordPress to a New Host or Server (with No Downtime),” November 28, 2024
WP Essentials Hub — Your Complete WordPress Essentials Hub
I’m Shamim Sarker, the founder and lead reviewer at WP Essentials Hub — a dedicated WordPress toolkit review site where I help website owners, bloggers, and developers find the right tools to build, grow, and secure their WordPress sites.
With 8+ years of hands-on WordPress experience, I’ve personally built, tested, and troubleshot hundreds of websites. I cover themes, page builders, plugins, hosting, domains, coupons, and deals — all tested on live WordPress sites with my own money. No paid placements. No vendor influence. Just real testing and real results.
