Move a website and email to another hosting account

Moving a domain to another hosting can mean several things: changing where the website loads from, moving the content to another account, changing who pays for the service or transferring the domain to another registrar. They are different operations and it is worth deciding which one you need before you start.

This guide applies especially when you want to split or merge websites between two hosting accounts, even if both are at Hostsuar.

Which operation you need

Changing the plan or the responsible client does not move files between two cPanel accounts. Likewise, transferring the domain does not copy the website or the mailboxes.

Decide whether to move the whole account or just one website

A cPanel account can contain:

• Main domain.
• Addon domains and aliases.
• Subdomains.
• Several databases.
• Mailboxes for different domains.
• Forwarders, filters and autoresponders.
• Scheduled tasks and shared settings.

If everything belongs to the same project, it may make sense to move the whole account. If only one website needs to go to another client or plan, you need to identify which directories, databases, mailboxes and settings really belong to that domain so you do not move data from other websites.

What to inventory

Before requesting the move, write down:

1. Source account, server and domain.
2. Destination account and main domain.
3. The website's directory and its subdomains' document roots.
4. Databases used by the application.
5. PHP version, extensions and scheduled tasks.
6. Mailboxes, messages, forwarders and filters that need to move.
7. DNS zone and current email provider.
8. Space used and capacity available on the destination.
9. Who will be the responsible client after the change.

Do not include passwords in the ticket. Support will confirm which temporary access they need after reviewing the scope.

Files and databases

Moving a website means copying its document root and the databases it uses. In applications such as WordPress you may also need to adapt:

• Database name, user and password.
• Absolute paths stored in files or tables.
• Domain or URL, if that also changes.
• Cron jobs and commands that contain the previous cPanel user.
• File permissions and ownership.

The copy must be tested on the destination before removing the domain from the source. If the website receives orders, forms or frequent changes, a final synchronisation is agreed so that writes made after the first copy are not lost.

The domain's email

Confirm whether email:

• Is inside the source cPanel account.
• Stays with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or another provider.
• Needs to be migrated in full or only for some addresses.

When email moves between cPanel accounts, mailboxes, folders and messages must be kept, and forwarders, filters and autoresponders recreated. During the change, messages may still arrive at the source, so it is checked again before it is retired.

If email stays with an external provider, its MX, TXT, CNAME and SRV records are kept in the final zone. Check that the domain uses remote mail routing in cPanel where applicable. Creating or deleting mailboxes does not replace this setting.

See how to migrate email without losing messages to plan for both running side by side.

Main domain, addon domain or alias

The type of domain determines how it is organised in cPanel:

• A main domain identifies the account and shares several settings with it.
• An addon domain has its own document root inside an account that can host other websites.
• An alias shows the content of another domain and has no website of its own.

Moving a main domain into an account that already exists is not the same as adding an addon domain. Before deciding on the final structure, check what will happen to the previous main domain, the mailboxes and the application's paths.

DNS and possible downtime

Between two Hostsuar hosting accounts you do not need to change the DNS or wait for propagation. Our DNS servers do not allow a domain to be in two accounts at once, so the change consists of removing it from the source hosting and adding it to the destination, which already responds with its own IP address. Between those two moments, the domain's website and email are down for a few minutes.

If the domain uses another provider's DNS servers, for example Cloudflare, that part does not happen automatically: you will need to enter the destination hosting's IP address at that provider. The assistant warns you about this before you start.

If the website is currently outside Hostsuar, you do need to change the DNS. In that case, follow the guide to changing DNS with minimal downtime.

Do it yourself from the client area

When the source and destination are both your hosting accounts, you can move an addon domain or an alias, with its website, databases and email, without opening a ticket:

1. Log in to the client area and open the hosting where the website is today.
2. Look for Move a domain to another hosting.
3. Choose the domain you want to move.
4. Choose the destination: another hosting you already have or a new one you order right there.
5. Review the summary: what is moved, whether anything prevents it and how long it will be down.
6. Confirm.

What happens next

• To a hosting you already have: we copy the website, databases and email while your website keeps working. Then we make the switch: we remove the domain from the source hosting and add it to the destination. For a few minutes, the website and email do not respond.
• To a new hosting: first you order the plan. When the payment is confirmed we let you know, and the move starts when you click Start. The new account cannot exist while the domain is still in the source account, so it is created at that moment. Email works again within a few minutes, as soon as the account exists; the website is down while we copy everything.

In both cases:

• Mailboxes keep their passwords, so you do not need to set up email again on your computer or phone.
• In WordPress, PrestaShop and applications that store the connection in a .env file, the configuration ends up pointing to the destination hosting's database.
• We recreate the DNS records you had added yourself, such as those for Google Workspace, as well as email forwarders, autoresponders and filters.
• We request the domain's SSL certificate on the destination hosting. It may take a few minutes to activate.
• We email you when it finishes, or if something stops.

You can close the page: the move carries on by itself. Until it has started, you can discard it from the same screen.

If something goes wrong

If something fails after the domain has been removed from the source hosting, we put it back where it was or finish the move ourselves, and we email you. If, once it is done, you see that something is not working, write to us: we can return the domain to the source hosting. Anything that has changed on the destination's website or database after the move does not go back automatically.

What happens to the source hosting

It stays active, with its other domains. The moved domain's files and databases remain there: we do not delete anything. What to do with that hosting is a separate decision, for when you have checked that everything works on the destination.

When you cannot do it yourself

The summary tells you what prevents you from starting and why. The most common cases are:

• The hosting's main domain. If what you need is more capacity, change plan.
• Mailboxes on subdomains, or email forwarders that deliver messages to a program.
• DNS records we cannot copy yet, such as delegating a subdomain to other servers.
• A destination hosting with no space or no free addon domains in its plan.

In those cases, write to us and we will do it with you.

How to ask support for the move

If the move does not fit the above (accounts belonging to different clients, a source outside Hostsuar or any of the cases above), open a ticket giving the following, without credentials:

• The domain to be moved.
• Source service and destination service.
• Whether the website, databases, email or everything needs to move.
• Whether the domain will still belong to the same client.
• Deadline or preferred window.
• Whether the website receives orders or frequent changes.
• Whether email is in cPanel or with an external provider.

Support will review the capacity, the structure of both accounts and the scope before confirming the procedure. Do not delete the domain, mailboxes or databases on the source to "free them up" before a verified backup exists.

After the move

Check from the destination:

• Website, admin area, forms and recent data.
• Databases, users and permissions.
• PHP version, cron jobs and paths.
• Mailboxes, sending, receiving and forwarders.
• DNS, HTTPS and subdomains.
• The right responsible client and service in the client area.

The operation is finished when the content works in the final account and no recent data or messages remain only on the source.