Moving Your Website to New Hosting Without Downtime

Changing hosts can feel intimidating: "Will the site go down during the move? Will I lose data?" Done in the right order, neither should happen. The core idea is simple: don't let go of the old server until the new one is fully ready and tested. Visitors keep being served by the old server until your domain's DNS record points to the new one. This guide is for sites that use PHP and MySQL/MariaDB (including WordPress).

1. Plan: what are you moving?

A website usually has three parts:

• Files: PHP files, themes, plugins, uploaded images.
• Database: posts, users, orders, settings.
• DNS settings: which server your domain points to. If you use email, where your email is hosted also depends on these settings.

If your site has frequently changing data such as orders or sign-ups, plan the move for the time of day with the least traffic.

2. Lower the DNS TTL in advance

TTL (Time To Live) sets how long a DNS record is cached by your visitors' internet providers. If the TTL is one day, your change may only reach some visitors a day later.

At least one day before the move, lower the TTL of the record that points to your site (usually the A record) to 300 seconds (5 minutes) in your domain's DNS management. That way, when you change the DNS on moving day, visitors switch to the new server quickly. We explain how DNS works in what is DNS.

3. Prepare the new hosting

Open your new hosting account and check that the PHP version is compatible with your site. TürkiyeVPS web hosting accounts come with PHP 8.3 and MariaDB; a database and user are created automatically when the account is set up. If you want both new hosting and a free domain, the Hosting + Free Domain plan costs $15 per year. If you know your site depends on an old PHP version, try updating it on the old host first.

4. Back up the old server

Files: in the old host's file manager, compress your site's root folder into a ZIP and download it.

Database: in phpMyAdmin, select your database and download it in SQL format from the Export tab. For large databases you can use the "Custom" option with compression (gzip).

Don't delete these backups until the move is complete; they are your way back if something goes wrong.

5. Upload to the new server

1. In the new host's file manager, upload the ZIP file to the root folder and extract it. TürkiyeVPS hosting accounts allow uploads of up to 128 MB at a time; split larger sites into several ZIP files.
2. In phpMyAdmin, select your new database and upload the SQL file from the Import tab.
3. Update the database details in your site's configuration file for the new account. In WordPress this file is wp-config.php: change the DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and DB_HOST values.

6. Test before changing DNS

Before sending visitors over, make sure the site works properly on the new server. On TürkiyeVPS hosting accounts, the site link in your client area lets you open your site before you point your domain to it. Check:

• Do the home page and a few inner pages open?
• Do images load?
• Can you sign in to the admin area?
• Do forms and, if you have one, the checkout page work?

WordPress stores the domain in the database, so it may only work fully under the domain itself; in that case, do these checks right after the next step and keep the old server running.

7. Point the DNS record to the new server

When everything is ready, update your domain's DNS record to point to the new server. If you're not sure which record to enter, write to our support team. If you lowered the TTL in advance, most visitors switch to the new server within minutes; with some providers it can take longer.

For sites with frequently changing data, temporarily stop new orders and sign-ups on the old site (maintenance mode) just before the DNS change, and move the latest copy of the database. That way your data doesn't get split between two servers.

8. Don't cancel the old hosting right away

It can take time for the DNS change to reach all visitors. Keep the old hosting running for at least a few more days. During that time:

• Watch the new server for error logs.
• Check search engine tools (e.g. Google Search Console) for crawl errors.
• If your email is on the old host, make sure you have set up a separate solution for email.

If everything goes well, you can cancel the old hosting and raise the TTL again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my site go down during the move?

Not if it's done in the right order. The old server keeps working until the DNS change reaches all visitors.

Do I need to transfer my domain too?

No. To move your site, you don't need to transfer the domain to another company; pointing its DNS record to the new server is enough.

Can I move from hosting to a VPS the same way?

Yes, the steps are the same; on a VPS you just set up the web server and database yourself first. See our articles on installing WordPress on a VPS and hosting or VPS?.

Will my search rankings drop after the move?

As long as the domain and page addresses stay the same and the site keeps running without interruption, changing servers does not by itself cause a loss in rankings.