Website migration, planned so your current site stays up while we move it
A migration is a copy, a test and a switch. Your current site keeps running on the old host until the copy on our server has been checked page by page. Then the domain is pointed at us and the old host can be cancelled. Included when you start a Business or Growth plan; quoted at $100 an hour inc GST on Starter.
The move, start to finish
Six steps. Your old site is live for the first five.
- Old host live
Look
What the site is built on, how big it is and whether email lives on the same host. Anything that would break in a move gets flagged now.
- Old host live
Email first
If mailboxes are on the old host, they move to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 before the site does. See domains and email.
- Old host live
Copy
Files and database copied to our server in Sydney and brought up on a temporary address only you and we can see.
- Old host live
Test
Every page, form, image and any shop or booking flow, on the temporary address. You get the link to click through too.
- Both live
Switch
DNS pointed at the new server, SSL issued, site checked again on its real address. The old host keeps running until this is confirmed.
- New host live
Backups begin
The first daily backup runs that night. The first monthly off-site copy is taken on the 1st. Then it is just hosting.
What we need from you
A login to your current hosting (or the files and database if you have them), access to wherever the domain is registered so the DNS can be changed, plus the WordPress admin login if it is WordPress. If any of those are lost, we help you recover them first.
What it costs and how long it takes
A straightforward move of a WordPress or static site is included when you start a Business or Growth hosting plan. On Starter or for a site that needs repair work before it can move, the time is quoted first at $100 an hour inc GST. We give you a start date and a switch date up front. The switch is done at a quiet time for your business.
Migration questions
Will my site be down during the move?
It should not be. The old site runs until the new copy is confirmed working on the real address. The DNS switch itself takes minutes to a few hours to reach everyone, during which both copies are live. If something unexpected does come up, the old host is still there to fall back to.
Can you move a site built on Wix or Squarespace?
Not as a copy; those platforms do not export a working site. What we do instead is rebuild it on WordPress or as a static site, keeping your content and address. That is a redesign and is quoted as one.
What about my old host's contract?
Check the renewal date before we start so the move lands before the next bill. Keep the old account until we confirm the switch, then cancel it.
Ready to move?
Ring with the site address and where it is hosted now. We reply with a plan and a start date.