Move entire website

You want to move your website and services from your current provider to mijn.host but can't see the forest for the trees due to all the technical steps, don't worry, we explain the entire procedure step by step in this article.

Is your current hosting package expiring? Or is the performance at your current provider disappointing? There are various reasons to move your website and other hosting services. However, it is often seen as a complex and technical story. But if you do it step by step, it's not that bad. The method we recommend and also use ourselves is the fastest and safest way to efficiently move your website and other hosting products, without downtime! We recommend not skipping any steps or changing their order, as there is a chance that your data will be lost.

If you can't quite figure it out or find it daunting? mijn.host offers a free migration service! Click here for more information.

Moving your hosting products can be divided into three parts:

• Your website
• Your domain
• Your e-mailboxes

Moving your website

Let's start with your website. Your website consists of a collection of files and a database. You need to export both from your old hosting provider and import them to your new one.

Exporting your website

Log in to your old hosting provider and look for the link to the Web Control panel, this can be DirectAdmin but also, for example, the widely used Cpanel. Search in the panel for the File Manager, a folder structure with all the files of your website and look for the Public_html folder of the desired domain. Select all files and folders in this folder and archive them with the name ‘backup’. This gives you a .zip file which you can then download.

The next step is exporting your current database. The database cannot be viewed in the File Manager but by using a MySQL tool, usually phpMyAdmin is used for this, look for the link to this at your old hosting provider. 

Once in phpMyAdmin (or other software). Select the desired database and click on export, make sure the format is SQL and click on start. This gives you a .sql file of your database.

Importing your website

You now have a .zip and a .sql file, the next step is to import these in the right places. Log in to the mijn.host control panel, select your newly purchased hosting package and then open DirectAdmin. In DirectAdmin click on File Manager under System Info & Files.

Search here for the same public_html folder under the desired domain. There will already be a default "index.html" file in this folder, this file is the default placeholder file of DirectAdmin, you can safely delete it.

Then upload the backup.zip file, this may take a while. Next, you can extract the backup.zip file here. Make sure you choose the correct path for this and include everything.

Is the desired domain not listed yet? Then add it first in DirectAdmin via Domain Management > Create Domain.

The next step is importing the database, for this we first need to create a new database. In DirectAdmin, go to MySQL Management and click on Create New Database (the amount of databases allowed depends on your hosting package). Make sure both names match and save the password.

Next, click on Log in to PHPMyAdmin and select your new database in the list on the left. Click on import, select your previously downloaded .sql file and click on start. The database is now in place.

Editing wp-config.php

Do you have a WordPress website? Then there is one more thing left to do. WordPress links the correct database to your website via the wp-config.php file, we need to add this reference manually when migrating your website. 

You can find the wp-config.php file in the public_html folder in the File Manager (which we have just extracted). Open the file and change the name, user and password to the details of your newly created database (see image below). Click on save and close DirectAdmin. Your website is now ready for use.

Transferring your Domain

Now that your website is completely migrated, we can transfer the domain. Because the website is completely ready for use, you won't experience any downtime when you transfer the domain; it will be immediately linked to the website as soon as it is hosted at mijn.host. 

Fortunately, transferring the domain is a lot easier. Request a transfer code or token from your old hosting provider. This can often be done automatically, although sometimes you need to request it via customer service. When you have the transfer code, log in to your mijn.host control panel and click on Order domain name. Search for the domain, which probably has the status 'Transfer'. Next, go to your shopping cart, click on Enter transfer code and enter the code you received. Complete the order and you're done! 

Please note, although .nl domains are often transferred within a few hours, .com domains can take up to 5 business days to transfer. Is it taking longer than that? Then please contact us.

Migrating your Email boxes

Lastly, you naturally want all your existing emails to migrate with you to your new hosting environment. At mijn.host we make it possible to easily migrate your existing emails; we do this using an IMAP SYNC script via an SSH connection. We can do this for you, but you can help us with the preparation. If you prefer to do this yourself, you can find an online IMAP SYNC version here https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/.

Creating Email boxes

You can easily create new email boxes via the mijn.host control panel. More info about this can be found here: https://mijn.host/kb/hoe-maak-ik-een-emailaccount-aan/ 

Collecting migration details

For the IMAP SYNC script we need some details from you; list this information, create a support ticket and send it to us and we will process the migration. What we need per email box is the following:

Old email address

Old password

New email address

New password

Name of your old provider

Once your email boxes are populated again, you can link them to a third-party mail client, or set them up on your phone (Apple Mail, Gmail, Outlook). Information about this can be found in our knowledge base: https://mijn.host/kb/

Disclaimer; migrating a website and other hosting services is a delicate process where, if not handled correctly, data can be lost. Mijn.host is not responsi

responsible for the loss of data when following this guide. Can't figure it out? Please contact our support team directly.