How to Move Your Website to Another Web Host in 2023

Moving a website to a new web host can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools and a bit of know-how, you can easily transfer your website to a new hosting provider without any downtime or data loss.

One of the best tools to help you with this process is the Updraft plugin. Updraft is a free plugin that allows you to easily backup and restore your website, making it the perfect tool for moving your website to a new host.

In this blog, we’ll show you how to move your website to a new web host using Updraft. Here’s what we’ll cover:

1. Sign up to a new hosting provider
2. Best hosting providers
3. Backup your website files with Updraft
4. Change nameservers of your domain
5. Install SSL on your new hosting
6. Install WordPress on your new hosting
7. Install Updraft plugin again
8. Connect Updraft to your Google Drive
9. Complete the backup
10. Delete old files with Updraft

Let’s get started!

Sign up to a new hosting provider

Before you can move your website to a new host, you’ll need to sign up for an account with a new hosting provider. There are many hosting providers to choose from, each with their own unique features and pricing plans.

Some popular hosting providers include Bluehost, HostGator, and SiteGround. Take some time to research and compare different hosting providers to find the one that best meets your needs.

Best hosting providers

When it comes to choosing a hosting provider, there are a few things you should consider:

• Pricing: Make sure you choose a hosting provider that fits within your budget.
• Features: Look for a hosting provider that offers the features you need, such as unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and support for popular applications like WordPress.
• Support: Good customer support is crucial when it comes to hosting. Look for a hosting provider that offers 24/7 support and has a reputation for helping customers quickly and efficiently.
• Uptime: Uptime is the amount of time that your website is available to visitors. Choose a hosting provider with a high uptime percentage to ensure that your website is always available.

Backup your website files with Updraft

Before you start the process of moving your website to a new host, it’s important to backup your website files. This will ensure that you have a copy of your website in case anything goes wrong during the transfer process.

To backup your website with Updraft, follow these steps:

1. Install the Updraft plugin on your current website.
2. Go to the Updraft settings page and click on the “Backup Now” button.
3. Select the files and databases that you want to include in the backup.
4. Click the “Backup Now” button to start the backup process.

Updraft will create a zip file containing all of your selected files and databases, which you can then download to your computer.

Change nameservers of your domain

After you’ve signed up for a new hosting account and backed up your website files, it’s time to point your domain to your new hosting provider.

To do this, you’ll need to change the nameservers of your domain. Nameservers are what tell your domain where to find your website. When you change the nameservers, you’re essentially telling your domain to look for your website on the new hosting provider’s servers instead of the old ones.

To change the nameservers of your domain, you’ll need to login to your domain registrar’s account and find the nameserver settings for your domain. Each registrar will have a different process for changing nameservers, so you’ll need to refer to their documentation or contact their customer support for help.

Once you’ve changed the nameservers, it can take up to 48 hours for the change to propagate across the internet. During this time, your website may be unavailable or may still be hosted on the old hosting provider.

Install SSL on your new hosting

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a security protocol that encrypts the data transmitted between your website and its visitors. It’s important to have SSL installed on your website to protect sensitive information, such as login credentials and credit card numbers, from being intercepted by hackers.

Most hosting providers offer SSL certificates as an add-on service. If you’re moving your website to a new host, you’ll need to install an SSL certificate on the new hosting account.

To install an SSL certificate on your new hosting account, follow these steps:

1. Purchase an SSL certificate from your hosting provider or a third-party SSL provider.
2. Follow the instructions provided by your hosting provider or SSL provider to install the SSL certificate on your hosting account.
3. Once the SSL certificate is installed, you’ll need to update the URLs on your website to use the HTTPS protocol instead of HTTP.
4. Use a tool like the SSL Checker to verify that your SSL certificate is installed and working properly.
5. Install WordPress on your new hosting

If your website is powered by WordPress, you’ll need to install WordPress on your new hosting account before you can restore your website.

To install WordPress on your new hosting account, follow these steps:

1. Download the latest version of WordPress from wordpress.org.
2. Create a new database and a user for your WordPress installation on your new hosting account.
3. Upload the WordPress files to your new hosting account using a FTP client or the file manager provided by your hosting provider.
4. Run the WordPress installation script by accessing the URL of your new hosting account in a web browser.
5. Follow the prompts to complete the WordPress installation process.
6. Install Updraft plugin again

Now that WordPress is installed on your new hosting account, you’ll need to install the Updraft plugin again.

To install the Updraft plugin, follow these steps:

1. Login to your WordPress dashboard on your new hosting account.
2. Go to the Plugins menu and click on the “Add New” button.
3. Search for “Updraft” in the plugin repository and click the “Install Now” button for the Updraft plugin.
4. Click the “Activate” button to activate the plugin.
5. Connect Updraft to your Google Drive

Updraft allows you to store your backups in various locations, including your computer, a remote server, or a cloud storage service like Google Drive. In this example, we’ll use Google Drive to store our backups.

To connect Updraft to your Google Drive, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Updraft settings page in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click on the “Settings” tab.
3. Scroll down to the “Remote Storage” section and select “Google Drive” from the dropdown menu.
4. Click the “Authenticate with Google” button to authenticate Updraft with your Google account.
5. Grant permission for Updraft to access your Google Drive by following the prompts.
6. Complete the backup

Now that Up draft is connected to your Google Drive, you can complete the backup of your website.

To complete the backup, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Updraft settings page in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click on the “Backup Now” button.
3. Select the files and databases that you want to include in the backup.
4. Click the “Backup Now” button to start the backup process.

Updraft will create a zip file containing all of your selected files and databases, and will automatically upload it to your Google Drive.

Delete old files with Updraft

Once your website is successfully transferred to the new hosting provider and you’ve verified that everything is working correctly, you can use Updraft to delete the old files from your old hosting account.

To delete old files with Updraft, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Updraft settings page in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click on the “Expert Settings” tab.
3. Scroll down to the “Delete Old Backups” section.
4. Select the files that you want to delete and click the “Delete Now” button.

By deleting the old files, you’ll free up storage space on your old hosting account and prevent confusion in the future.

That’s it! You’ve successfully moved your website to a new web host using the Updraft plugin. We hope this tutorial has been helpful and that you can use it as a guide for moving your own website.

If you followed the steps in this tutorial, you should now have your website up and running on your new hosting provider. However, there are a few additional steps you may want to take to ensure that everything is running smoothly.

1. Test your website: After transferring your website to the new hosting provider, it’s important to test everything to make sure everything is working properly. Go through your website and test all of the features and functions to ensure that everything is working as expected.
2. Update your DNS settings: If you’re using a custom domain name for your website, you may need to update the DNS (Domain Name System) settings to point to the new hosting provider. This will ensure that visitors can access your website using your custom domain name.
3. Check your email: If you’re using email accounts with your website, you’ll need to make sure that they are still working after the transfer. Test your email accounts to make sure you can send and receive emails.
4. Update your website content: If you made any changes to your website while it was down during the transfer process, you’ll need to make sure that these changes are reflected on the new hosting provider. Make any necessary updates to ensure that your website is up to date.

By following these additional steps, you can ensure that your website is running smoothly on the new hosting provider.

In conclusion, moving your website to a new hosting provider doesn’t have to be a difficult or stressful process. By using the Updraft plugin, you can easily and securely transfer your website to a new host without any downtime or data loss. We hope this tutorial has been helpful and that you’re able to use it as a guide for moving your own website.