Hosting · How to

How to migrate your website to another host without downtime

You migrate a website without downtime by copying it whole to the new host, testing it there before anyone sees it and switching the DNS only when everything works, keeping the old host alive for a couple of days. The order matters more than the technique: what takes websites down is not copying, it is switching the DNS too early or forgetting the email.

Updated 2026-11-10 · By Rómulo Felizola · Leer en español

1. Prepare the ground a week before

Lower the TTL of your DNS records to a low, cautious value (Google suggests a few hours) at least a week before the move. The TTL is the time others keep your site's previous address; with a low value, when you switch to the new IP the world finds out sooner. Do it ahead of time, because the lowering only applies when the earlier value expires.

2. Copy everything

The website's files (by SFTP, rsync or from the panel).
The database, exported (mysqldump or pg_dump) and imported on the new server.
The configuration that is not in the files: scheduled tasks, environment variables, redirect rules.
If you care about rankings: put noindex on the test copy and remove it before the real switch; check with Search Console's URL inspection that Googlebot can reach the new server; and bring the Search Console verification file or tag along.
Email: if your email lives on the old host, note how to move the mailboxes before touching the MX records.

3. Test before changing the DNS

You can see the new site under your domain without changing the DNS for anyone else, by pointing it at the new IP only on your computer (hosts file):

# Linux/Mac: /etc/hosts · Windows: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
203.0.113.10  yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com

Browse, fill in the forms, test checkout if there is a store and check the HTTPS certificate. When everything works, delete that line from the hosts file.

4. Switch the DNS and don't turn off the old one

Change the A record (and www) to the new IP. For a few hours some visitors will go to the old server and others to the new one, and both sites must work. Keep the old host running for at least 48 hours and don't cancel until you confirm traffic and email reach the new one.

What happened to us

This very site was born on a Hostinger shared hosting, uploaded to by FTPS, and today it is served from a VPS of our own with nginx. Since then publishing is updating a git branch on the server, not uploading files. What we learned is what this guide says: test before switching the DNS and don't switch off the old one until the new one is confirmed.

If you don't want to do it yourself

Hostinger states on its page that migration to its web hosting plans is unlimited, free and without downtime, and that you can request an automatic migration from hPanel. And if you are worried about rankings, the procedure Google recommends is summarized at SEOClave: how to change hosting without losing SEO. If your site is elsewhere and you want us to move it, the move carries no extra cost within our website maintenance (in Spanish).

Hosting with migration included:Shared web hosting at Hostinger

If you prefer a server of your own:KVM 2 VPS at Hostinger

Frequently asked questions

How long does DNS take to propagate?

It depends on the TTL the record had. With a low value it is usually a matter of minutes to hours; with a high TTL, up to a day or more. That is why you lower it before migrating.

Will I lose rankings if I change host?

Not if the new site answers the same: same URLs, same redirects and HTTPS. What does harm is a long outage or changing URLs without redirecting them.

What about my email?

If your email is on the old host, don't change the MX records until you have moved the mailboxes; if you use a separate service, changing the website doesn't affect it.