How to Move Your Website to FimuroHost cPanel Hosting

Moving a website means copying three things to your new cPanel Hosting account: the files, the database (if the site uses one) and your email. You then test the site on the new server and finally switch the domain’s DNS. Done in this order, visitors notice nothing.

If your old host also uses cPanel

Ask your old host for a full cPanel backup (or create one yourself in Files » Backup » Download a Full Account Backup) and download it. Then open a ticket with us and let us know where the file is (you can upload it to your new account’s home directory with FTP). cPanel only lets the server administrator restore full backups, so our team will check the file and advise on restoring it, which brings over files, databases, email accounts and DNS in one go. If you prefer to do it yourself, follow the manual steps below.

Manual move, step by step

1. Prepare

• Keep your old hosting active until the move is finished.
• Lower the TTL of your domain’s DNS records to 300 seconds a day before, if you manage the DNS, so the final switch is fast.
• Pause changes on the old site (new posts, orders) during the move, or plan a final re-sync of the database.

2. Copy the files

1. On the old host, create a ZIP of the website folder (usually public_html), or download everything with FTP.
2. In your FimuroHost cPanel, open File Manager, go to public_html (or the addon domain’s folder), upload the ZIP and Extract it.
3. Make sure hidden files such as .htaccess came across (turn on Show Hidden Files in File Manager settings).

3. Copy the database

1. On the old host, export the database with phpMyAdmin (Export » Quick » SQL).
2. In your new cPanel, create a database and user with Database Wizard.
3. Import the .sql file into the new database with phpMyAdmin.
4. Update the site’s configuration file with the new database name, user and password, and host localhost. For WordPress this is wp-config.php; other apps use files such as configuration.php or .env.

4. Recreate email accounts

1. Create the same email addresses in Email » Email Accounts.
2. To bring old messages across, add both the old and new accounts to a mail app like Thunderbird using IMAP and drag the folders from old to new, or ask whether your old host can provide a mailbox export.

5. Test before switching DNS

Edit your computer’s hosts file so that only your computer sees the new server: add a line with your cPanel server’s IP (from General Information) and your domain, for example:

203.0.113.10  yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com

                        
                    

On Windows the file is C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts (edit Notepad as administrator); on Mac and Linux it is /etc/hosts. Browse the site, log in to the admin area, and test forms and checkout. Remove the line when finished. You may see a certificate warning during this test because SSL is issued only after DNS points to us.

6. Switch DNS

Change your nameservers to the ones in your welcome email, or update your A and MX records, as described in our guide on pointing your domain. Then run AutoSSL and turn on Force HTTPS.

7. After the switch

• Check for mail that arrived at the old server during DNS propagation, and move it over.
• Update email apps if server settings changed (see our email settings guide).
• Run Email Deliverability and fix any SPF or DKIM issues.
• Cancel the old hosting only after a few days of everything working.

Moving to a new domain at the same time?

If the domain name changes too (for example a WordPress site moving from old.com to new.com), replace the old address in the database with a search-and-replace tool (such as WP-CLI’s search-replace command or a reputable plugin) and set a 301 redirect from the old domain.

Need help?

Moving can feel daunting; if you would like help, tell us your old host’s control panel type and what the site runs on. If anything in this guide does not match what you see, or you get stuck, open a support ticket (choose the Support department) or message us on WhatsApp at 01818160926. Tell us your domain name and what you have tried so far, and never send your password in a ticket or chat.