Little Moo Hosting

Migrations

We bring the site across

Moving a website sounds like the risky part. It is the part we do most often, it is included rather than charged for, and your live site keeps running the whole time.

Ask about a migration See hosting plans
  • Website files and the application itself
  • Databases, copied and checked
  • Certificates issued before the switch, not after
  • DNS and mail records coordinated with you

What a move actually involves

More than moving the files

A website is not one thing in one place. There is the application and its files, the database behind it, the certificate, the DNS records that point the world at it, and in most cases a set of mailboxes that have to keep receiving throughout.

We handle those together rather than one at a time and hope for the best. Your current site keeps running while we work, the copy is tested on our platform before anything is pointed at it, and the switch happens at a time you have agreed.

  • Website files and the application itself
  • Databases, copied and checked
  • Mailboxes and their folders, where email is moving too
  • Certificates issued before the switch, not after
  • DNS and mail records coordinated with you

Included with a hosting plan rather than charged for separately.

The sequence

What actually happens

You are told what is happening at each stage, and nothing changes hands until you have checked it.

  1. 01

    Review

    We look at what the site is built with, where it is hosted now, what the DNS and mail records currently say, and anything that will need care. You get told at this point if something is going to be awkward.

  2. 02

    Prepare

    We set the account up on our platform to match what the site actually needs: the right runtime version, the right database, the certificates, and the mail routing if the email is coming too.

  3. 03

    Copy

    Files and databases are copied across, along with mailboxes and their folders where you are moving email as well. Your existing site stays live and untouched the whole time.

  4. 04

    Test

    The copy is run on our platform and checked properly: pages, forms, logins, checkout where there is one, and mail delivery. You get a link and can look at it yourself before anything changes.

  5. 05

    Switch

    When you are happy, we coordinate the DNS change with you and pick a time that suits your week. Mail records are cut over deliberately rather than left to work themselves out.

  6. 06

    Confirm

    We watch the site and the mail flow after the change, confirm the certificate has issued, and stay on it until everything has settled on our side.

What we need

A few details to get started

Tell us where your website is hosted now and what needs to move. If you are unsure where to find something, we will help you work it out.

Your current hosting

The company or service currently holding the website.

Website access

Control-panel, SFTP or CMS access, depending on how the site is built.

Domain management

Who currently controls the domain and its DNS settings.

Email

Whether mailboxes, messages and forwarding addresses also need to move.

We review the information first, copy and test the website, then agree the final switch with you.

And if you ever want to leave

We will help you move out with the same care we used moving you in. Your files, your database and your domain are yours. A hosting company that makes leaving difficult is telling you something about how confident it is in the service.

Read the Refund and Cancellation Policy

Before you ask

Questions about migrating

If the answer you need is not here, ask us.

Ask a question
Will my site go down during the move?

No. The existing site keeps serving visitors while we build and test the copy. The only moment anything changes is the DNS switch, which we schedule with you.

How long does it take?

Most small sites are copied and tested within a working day. The DNS switch happens when you are ready, not when we are.

Do you charge for migrations?

Migrating a site to us is part of taking on the hosting. If a site is unusually large or complex we will say so before starting rather than afterwards.

Can you move email as well?

Usually. Tell us where the mail is now and how many mailboxes there are, and we will tell you what is involved before anything moves.

Small by name.
Serious about the work.

Missie Moo

If you know which plan you want, take it. If you would rather talk it through first, tell us what the website has to do.

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