Moving to Host4Biz? Use Site Import in Plesk to move your website, database and email yourself, or let us do it for you. We migrate up to three websites free with any hosting plan.
With any hosting plan, we migrate up to three websites per service free. Choose whether to handle the move yourself or ask our support team.
Contact us and provide access to your current hosting. We will move the website and tell you when it is ready to test and point your domain to the new hosting.
Site Import in Plesk connects to your current hosting and copies the website data. Email is moved separately with Mail Importing.
The wizard connects to your current hosting through FTP or SSH and copies the website content. Server settings must be recreated manually after the move.
The wizard recognizes WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and PrestaShop and moves their files and database together.
For another type of website, select the folders and databases you need. The wizard supports MySQL and MariaDB; PostgreSQL must be moved manually.
Import one mailbox at a time with Mail Importing. You need its full email address and password, and IMAP must be enabled on the old host. Messages and folders are copied; the original mailbox is not deleted.
First order hosting. Your activation email will contain the server IP address, nameservers and Plesk login details.
STEP 1
First save a backup of your website and database. Then make sure the Site Import extension is installed, open Websites & Domains, select the domain and choose Website Importing. Use Mail Importing for email.
STEP 2
Enter the old website address and its FTP or SSH login details. The wizard will connect and show what it can move. If there are many small files, you can enable file transfer acceleration; this Plesk feature is still in beta.
STEP 3
Visitors still see the old website while the domain points to your current hosting. The instructions below explain how to use the hosts file to open and test the new copy on your computer.
STEP 4
Replace the nameservers at your domain registrar with those from the activation email. If the old website changed during testing, select the affected items in the wizard and click Re-sync.
The hosts file tells your computer to temporarily open the website from the new server. Add the server IP from your hosting activation email and your domain:
<IP-from-email> example.com www.example.com
Run Notepad as administrator and open this file:
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Save the file and clear the DNS cache in Command Prompt:
ipconfig /flushdns
Open the file for editing in Terminal:
sudo nano /etc/hosts
Save it and clear the DNS cache:
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
Open the same file in Terminal:
sudo nano /etc/hosts
You normally do not need to clear a separate cache. If your system uses systemd-resolved:
sudo resolvectl flush-caches
Save the file, clear the DNS cache and open your website at its usual address.
Remove the line after testing. Otherwise, your computer will keep showing the new copy instead of the website seen by visitors.
The wizard moves website content, but not the old server settings. Complete this checklist before cancelling your old hosting.
Choose a service based on how your website is built. If you are unsure, describe it to our support team and we will help.
For company websites, online stores, enquiry forms and most content management systems. Plans include fast NVMe storage, email, free SSL and Plesk with the migration wizard.
Choose shared web hostingFor an existing WordPress website that needs more resources and tools for managing themes and plugins.
Choose WordPress hostingWe are rated on independent sites, where the reviews can be read in full.
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Clear answers to common questions before you move a website.
Migration is free with any hosting plan. You can move up to three websites to one service. Use Site Import in Plesk yourself or ask our support team to handle the migration.
WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and PrestaShop are moved in one operation, including their files and database. For another system, select the folders and databases manually. MySQL and MariaDB are supported; PostgreSQL must be moved manually. Email is imported separately.
No. Visitors keep seeing the old website until you point the domain to the new hosting. Nameserver updates usually take up to 24 hours, but can take longer. Keep the old hosting active and paid until the move is complete.
No. Your website moves to our hosting, while the domain can remain with its current registrar; you only need to change its nameservers. Moving the domain registration to us is a separate process described on the domain page.
After the domain points to our servers, we will issue a free Let’s Encrypt certificate. If you have a paid certificate, contact support before switching the domain so it can be reinstalled.
Yes, using a separate wizard and one mailbox at a time. You need the full mailbox address, its password and IMAP enabled on the old host. Messages and folders are copied; the original mailbox is not deleted. Email hosted by another service can stay there if you preserve the domain’s mail records.
You can select PHP 5.6 through 8.3 in Plesk. If an older website does not run on a newer version, migrate it with its current version first and change PHP only after testing.
Yes. Save a backup of the website and database, especially if the destination domain already contains files, because the import may overwrite them.
Yes. Add the new server IP and your domain to the hosts file, save it, clear the DNS cache and open the website at its usual address. Only your computer will show the new copy. Remove the line after testing.
An exact time cannot be given in advance. It depends on the availability and speed of the old host, the website’s size and structure, the number of files, databases and mailboxes, and transfer speed. Once support has the login details, we can assess the work more accurately.
Choose WordPress hosting for an existing WordPress site. For company websites, online stores, forms and most other CMS platforms, choose shared web hosting. If you are unsure, describe the website to support and we will help you choose.
You can transfer your domain to Host4Biz as your registrar. This is a separate process that requires a transfer code.
Tell us what kind of website you have and where it is hosted. We will explain what is needed and migrate up to three websites free with any hosting plan.
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