Moving a website to a new host

A move works without downtime if you keep to the order: first set up and check everything at the new host, and switch the domain last. Until then, your website keeps running unchanged at your current provider.

1. Backing up at your current provider

• Files: Download the contents of the web directory via FTP or as a ZIP archive from the file manager.
• Database: Export it as an SQL file, usually via phpMyAdmin ("Export"). Static sites without a database do not need this step.
• Note down access details: mailboxes and forwarders, so you can create them right away at the new host.

2. Choosing a web hosting plan

For a single website, Web S is sufficient, for several websites or an online shop, Web M. A .de domain is included in every plan. You can order the domain right away and start the transfer later. Your website remains reachable at the old provider until then.

3. Uploading files

• ZIP archive: Upload it in the file manager of the customer portal and extract it there.
• Loading from a URL: If the archive is available for download somewhere, the file manager fetches it directly, without going through your computer.
• FTP: Create an FTP account in the customer portal. A program such as FileZilla then transfers the entire folder.

4. Importing the database

1. Create a database with a user in the customer portal.
2. Import the SQL file from your current provider into this database.
3. Enter the server, name, user and password of the new database in the configuration of your website. For WordPress, this is the file wp-config.php (DB_HOST, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD).

You select the PHP version for each website. Set the same version as at your current provider so that older software also runs without changes.

5. Testing before the switch

Check the website at the new host before the domain moves: login, forms, images, shop. The easiest way is to temporarily add the new server address to the hosts file on your computer. Then only you see the new site under your domain, while everyone else still sees the old one.

6. Moving your email

Create the mailboxes with the same addresses. We fetch your existing messages for you: for the mailbox in the customer portal, enter the server of your current provider, the encryption, user name and password under "Übernahme" (Migration) and start the migration. Folders and messages are transferred completely, and the progress is displayed. How to set up mailboxes and your email program is described in Email address with your own domain.

7. Transferring the domain

Finally, the domain: request the authorization code from your current provider and order the transfer. From the switch onward, visitors and emails go to the new host. The process is described in detail in Transferring a domain to us. Cancel the old contract only when everything is working.

Common errors

• Error establishing a database connection: the access details in the configuration do not match the new database.
• Blank page or error 500: the PHP version differs or an extension is missing.
• Images missing or links pointing to the old address: absolute paths in the database. For WordPress, adjust them with a search and replace plugin.
• Umlauts displayed incorrectly: check the character set of the database (UTF-8).

See also: View web hosting plans Transferring a domain to us