How to move a WordPress site to WebHostGB

This guide explains how to move an existing WordPress site from another host to your WebHostGB account. The easiest way is to let us do it for you.

Ask us to move it (free)

Migration is free on every plan.

1. Make sure your hosting account with us is set up.
2. Open a support ticket asking for a migration.
3. Tell us the domain and how we can get access to the site at your old host. We’ll reply in the ticket to tell you exactly what we need.
4. Keep your old hosting running until we confirm the move is done and you’ve checked the site.
5. Point your domain at us. See the last section below.

Move it yourself with a plugin

Several WordPress migration plugins can package up your site and unpack it on the new host. Steps vary from plugin to plugin, but usually:

1. Install WordPress on your domain with us.
2. Install the same migration plugin on both the old site and the new one.
3. Export the old site to a file with the plugin.
4. Import that file into the new site.
5. Log in with the usernames and passwords from your old site, as they come across with it.

Some free plugins limit the size of the file you can import. If your site is large, a manual move or our free migration may be easier.

Move it yourself by hand

1. At your old host, download all the WordPress files. Use FTP or the old host’s file manager.
2. Export the database as a .sql file. Most hosts offer phpMyAdmin for this. Use its Export tab.
3. With us, create a new database and user. See how to create a MySQL database.
4. Open phpMyAdmin in cPanel, select the new database and use the Import tab to upload the .sql file.
5. Upload the files to public_html. See how to upload files with File Manager or FTP.
6. Edit wp-config.php and change DB_NAME, DB_USER and DB_PASSWORD to the new details. Set DB_HOST to localhost.

Point your domain at us

Once the site is ready, point your domain at our hosting. See how to point your domain at our hosting. Changes can take a few hours to reach everyone. Then install a free SSL certificate.

If it doesn’t work

• “Error establishing a database connection”. The details in wp-config.php don’t match. See how to fix “Error establishing a database connection”.
• The import fails because the file is too large. Open a ticket and we’ll move the site for you.
• Pages show a blank screen. Your site may need a different PHP version. See how to change your PHP version.

Still stuck? Open a support ticket and we’ll help.