You might like…<\/h4>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/domain-registration-150x150.png\")
<\/a><\/span>Register Domain<\/a><\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/transfer-domain-150x150.png\")
<\/a><\/span>Transfer Domain<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\nDeciding to Transfer Your Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why switch web hosts? Some people do it because they\u2019ve found a better deal, want a different type of hosting, or have multiple sites hosted by different companies that they want to consolidate with one hosting service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my case, I wanted managed WordPress cloud hosting<\/a> to better optimize my site\u2019s mobile performance, which in 2018 was consistently scoring in the 30s out of a possible 100 on Google\u2019s PageSpeed Insights test, even after a few rounds of optimizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"mobile](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mobile-version-of-wordpress-website.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnd I wanted to experience the site transfer process firsthand. (Disclaimer: Although HostGator pays me to blog, they didn\u2019t pay for my new hosting plan.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nGetting Ready to Transfer Your WordPress Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I knew that migrating from one host to another<\/a> was going to be a multistep process, because there are safeguards to keep rogue domain poachers from simply moving unsuspecting people\u2019s sites away from their hosts. To get ready, I bought my new hosting plan and then ran through HostGator\u2019s pre-domain-transfer checklist<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/hostgator-domain-transfer-checklist.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMy domain was <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n- more than 60 days old<\/span><\/li>
- not expired<\/span><\/li>
- not in redemption (expired for more than 30 days)<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
so I was good on those counts. My WHOIS info and my contact information were up to date, and I knew how to disable my WHOIS privacy setting so the transfer could happen. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe most important thing I did before transferring my domain<\/a> was to back up my site. I used UpdraftPlus to send everything to a folder in the cloud in case I ran into any issues during the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhenever I had a question about anything else on the checklist (EPP codes, nameservers), a call to HostGator customer service got it sorted out for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get Your Site Transfer Done Easier Than I Did<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Domain transfer is simplest if you don\u2019t have a website on the domain yet-then it\u2019s just moving the domain registration from one host to another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I waited to migrate my site content until after my domain transfer was complete, and that wasn\u2019t a big deal for me because my site is a portfolio for prospective clients that gets a small amount of traffic. However, I did it the hard way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HostGator\u2019s support team offers migration assistance that streamlines domain and site transfers.<\/strong> I\u2019ll use their service if I move another site.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere are two ways to start your site migration along with your domain transfer:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n- Contact HostGator support<\/a> directly and ask them to migrate your site.<\/li>
- If you already have a HostGator account, you can log in to the customer support portal and fill out a migration request form<\/a>.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/hostgator-website-migration-help-request-form-1024x539.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWatching Your Inbox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
HostGator will email you when they start migrating your site, followed by email updates on the process about every three hours. The team will also send you a message if they need more information, so be ready to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll get another email after HostGator finishes the migration and tests your site, so that you can test your site, too. They\u2019ll even get on the phone with you to coach you through the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Post-Migration Web Hosting Checklist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Just like moving into a new house, getting in the front door doesn’t mean the move is over. You’ll still need to take care of a few security and setup issues for your new online home. You’ll need to…<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Repoint your nameservers.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In the customer portal settings for managing each domain on your account, fill in the nameservers<\/a> on your account summary page. It\u2019s essential for the next step: propagation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Prepare for propagation.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Once you have new nameservers that information goes all over the web so other servers can update their information about where your domain is found. This can take a while usually a full day or two and during that time, site visitors might go to your site at your old host or at HostGator, depending on which server their traffic came through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many sites, this won\u2019t make a big difference, but for retailers it can affect the way orders are processed. Because of that possibility, HostGator recommends that ecommerce customers request a remigration after propagation to make sure they can see and process any orders that came in at the old host during propagation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Check your site. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How does everything look on a desktop? On a phone? Do your forms and navigation tools work right? If so, congratulations! You can cancel your old hosting plan and then take care of a bit more housekeeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Set up your email accounts.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you use Gmail to fetch your domain-name emails, you\u2019ll need to update the settings<\/a> to ensure it\u2019s checking the correct server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n5. Activate WHOIS privacy for your domain and lock it.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You can do this on the Domains tab in the customer portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Buy an SSL certificate or activate the free one that comes with your new hosting account.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You can use a WordPress plugin like Really Simple SLL to enable your free SSL certificate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n7. Set up and activate any other plugins you want to use.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Building your site from fresh? Check out our list of the top WordPress plugins<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n8. Run some test emails. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Send emails to yourself (and a few family or friends) using your domain-based email accounts to make sure everything\u2019s working as it should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9. Finally, get to know your new cPanel.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In cPanel<\/a>, click on the settings icon on the hosting tab to manage your site security, settings, email and WordPress installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n10. Compare your site\u2019s performance at the new host.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Once all my housekeeping was done, I ran another PageSpeed Insights test. Things have been better since the move. Currently, my mobile site scores 79 out of 100 and my desktop score is 98 out of 100, and there are still more tweaks I can make to improve the mobile score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/page-speed-score-for-mobile-website-after-migrating-to-hostgator.png\")
Mobile score now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/page-speed-score-for-desktop-website-after-migrating-to-hostgator.png\")
Desktop score now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nI\u2019m satisfied with that improvement, and now that I\u2019ve gone through the process of transferring a site to a new host, I feel like some sort of extremely novice technical wizard. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nYour Checklist for Transferring to a New Web Host<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To sum up, when you\u2019ve decided to move your WordPress site to HostGator:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Decide on the new hosting plan you want.<\/a> <\/li>
- Read the pre-transfer checklist. If you\u2019re not sure about a step, you can ask tech support or check the knowledge base.<\/li>
- Remember that it can take a couple of days after you unlock your domains at your current host for them to show as unlocked.<\/li>
- Back up your entire site to a secure location you can access easily.<\/li>
- Request your site migration from HostGator.<\/li>
- Watch for your migration emails.<\/li>
- Once your site is migrated, test it out to make sure everything works properly, like layout, email, SSL and WHOS privacy. <\/li>
- Ask the HostGator team to remigrate your site if you run an eCommerce store.<\/li>
- Give yourself an award for novice wizardry.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/span>Register Domain<\/a><\/li><\/a><\/span>Transfer Domain<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\nDeciding to Transfer Your Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why switch web hosts? Some people do it because they\u2019ve found a better deal, want a different type of hosting, or have multiple sites hosted by different companies that they want to consolidate with one hosting service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my case, I wanted managed WordPress cloud hosting<\/a> to better optimize my site\u2019s mobile performance, which in 2018 was consistently scoring in the 30s out of a possible 100 on Google\u2019s PageSpeed Insights test, even after a few rounds of optimizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I wanted to experience the site transfer process firsthand. (Disclaimer: Although HostGator pays me to blog, they didn\u2019t pay for my new hosting plan.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew that migrating from one host to another<\/a> was going to be a multistep process, because there are safeguards to keep rogue domain poachers from simply moving unsuspecting people\u2019s sites away from their hosts. To get ready, I bought my new hosting plan and then ran through HostGator\u2019s pre-domain-transfer checklist<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n My domain was <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n so I was good on those counts. My WHOIS info and my contact information were up to date, and I knew how to disable my WHOIS privacy setting so the transfer could happen. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The most important thing I did before transferring my domain<\/a> was to back up my site. I used UpdraftPlus to send everything to a folder in the cloud in case I ran into any issues during the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever I had a question about anything else on the checklist (EPP codes, nameservers), a call to HostGator customer service got it sorted out for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Domain transfer is simplest if you don\u2019t have a website on the domain yet-then it\u2019s just moving the domain registration from one host to another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I waited to migrate my site content until after my domain transfer was complete, and that wasn\u2019t a big deal for me because my site is a portfolio for prospective clients that gets a small amount of traffic. However, I did it the hard way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HostGator\u2019s support team offers migration assistance that streamlines domain and site transfers.<\/strong> I\u2019ll use their service if I move another site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are two ways to start your site migration along with your domain transfer:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n HostGator will email you when they start migrating your site, followed by email updates on the process about every three hours. The team will also send you a message if they need more information, so be ready to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll get another email after HostGator finishes the migration and tests your site, so that you can test your site, too. They\u2019ll even get on the phone with you to coach you through the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like moving into a new house, getting in the front door doesn’t mean the move is over. You’ll still need to take care of a few security and setup issues for your new online home. You’ll need to…<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the customer portal settings for managing each domain on your account, fill in the nameservers<\/a> on your account summary page. It\u2019s essential for the next step: propagation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have new nameservers that information goes all over the web so other servers can update their information about where your domain is found. This can take a while usually a full day or two and during that time, site visitors might go to your site at your old host or at HostGator, depending on which server their traffic came through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For many sites, this won\u2019t make a big difference, but for retailers it can affect the way orders are processed. Because of that possibility, HostGator recommends that ecommerce customers request a remigration after propagation to make sure they can see and process any orders that came in at the old host during propagation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How does everything look on a desktop? On a phone? Do your forms and navigation tools work right? If so, congratulations! You can cancel your old hosting plan and then take care of a bit more housekeeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you use Gmail to fetch your domain-name emails, you\u2019ll need to update the settings<\/a> to ensure it\u2019s checking the correct server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can do this on the Domains tab in the customer portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use a WordPress plugin like Really Simple SLL to enable your free SSL certificate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building your site from fresh? Check out our list of the top WordPress plugins<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Send emails to yourself (and a few family or friends) using your domain-based email accounts to make sure everything\u2019s working as it should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In cPanel<\/a>, click on the settings icon on the hosting tab to manage your site security, settings, email and WordPress installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once all my housekeeping was done, I ran another PageSpeed Insights test. Things have been better since the move. Currently, my mobile site scores 79 out of 100 and my desktop score is 98 out of 100, and there are still more tweaks I can make to improve the mobile score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m satisfied with that improvement, and now that I\u2019ve gone through the process of transferring a site to a new host, I feel like some sort of extremely novice technical wizard. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n To sum up, when you\u2019ve decided to move your WordPress site to HostGator:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nGetting Ready to Transfer Your WordPress Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nGet Your Site Transfer Done Easier Than I Did<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWatching Your Inbox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Post-Migration Web Hosting Checklist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Repoint your nameservers.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Prepare for propagation.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Check your site. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Set up your email accounts.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Activate WHOIS privacy for your domain and lock it.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
6. Buy an SSL certificate or activate the free one that comes with your new hosting account.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7. Set up and activate any other plugins you want to use.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
8. Run some test emails. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
9. Finally, get to know your new cPanel.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
10. Compare your site\u2019s performance at the new host.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Your Checklist for Transferring to a New Web Host<\/h2>\n\n\n\n