If your website is currently with a host that uses cPanel (many hosting companies do), Enhance can import the full copy of your old account by itself: the website, the databases, the email addresses with their messages, the FTP accounts and the cron jobs. You make the copy in cPanel and upload it to Enhance, under “Website importer”.
Would you rather not do it yourself? We do the migration for free, once, at the start of your contract, for the websites included in your plan. The conditions are on the Free migration page.
What you'll achieve
- make the full account copy in cPanel;
- import it into Enhance and resolve the conflicts shown;
- check the website on the new server before you change the DNS.
Before you start
- It only works with cPanel. Hostinger usually uses its own panel (hPanel), not cPanel; so do some other companies. If you don't have cPanel, move the website with its files and database (see Moving a WordPress site from another host) and your old email messages with How to move your old messages from another provider, or ask us for the free migration.
- The copy must be complete (Full Account Backup), made by a recent cPanel. A copy of just the files or just the database won't work here.
- The domain must not already exist in your Enhance account. Usually, your NBT Host account comes with the domain's website already created, empty. The import requires you to first delete the overlapping domains. If the website in Enhance is empty, you can delete it (the website page, “Overview” » “Delete”); if there is already something on it or you're not sure, write to us first.
- Your plan must cover everything you bring over: the space and the number of email addresses, databases and subdomains. Subdomains, addon domains and parked domains from cPanel become domains of a single website in Enhance.
- Do not change the nameservers yet. The old site stays online until the very end.
The steps
1. Make the full copy in cPanel
- Log in to the cPanel of your current hosting.
- In the Files section, open Backup.
- Click Download a Full Account Backup.
- Under Backup Destination, choose Home Directory, then click Generate Backup.
- When the copy is ready (you usually get an email), it appears in the list on the same page, as a
.tar.gzfile (for examplebackup-…tar.gz). Download it to your computer.
2. Import the copy into Enhance
- Log in to Enhance at https://server.nbt-host.com.
- In the left menu, click “Website importer”.
- Click “New import” and choose “cPanel”.
- The screen shows the instructions for the full copy again. If you have already made it, click “Next step”.
- Click “Choose file”, choose the
.tar.gzfile on your computer and click “Next step”. For a large copy, the upload takes a while: don't close the page. - Enhance shows you what it found in the copy and any conflicts. The ones that stop the import are marked in red, for example a domain that already exists in the account or an exceeded plan limit. Resolve them and try again.
- Click “Import now”. When it finishes, the website appears under “Websites”.
3. What comes over and what doesn't
| Comes over from the copy | Doesn't come over |
|---|---|
| the files, all MySQL databases, installed applications | PostgreSQL databases |
| email addresses, with their passwords and messages; forwarding-only addresses | the catch-all address and auto-replies |
| FTP accounts and cron jobs | email calendars and contacts |
| the existing SSL certificate, the MX and the SPF | old statistics, error pages, password-protected folders |
Set up the auto-reply and the catch-all address again in Enhance (see Email forwarding and auto-reply).
4. Check, then change the DNS
- Check the website on the new server before changing the DNS, using your computer's
hostsfile (the steps are in Moving a WordPress site from another host, under “Checking before you change the DNS”). - Check the PHP version of the new website (see PHP version and PHP settings). If you see a 500 error, it usually comes from the old
.htaccess(see 500 Internal Server Error and the blank page). - Change the nameservers at your registrar (see How to point your domain to NBT Host). For an online store or a website with forms, choose a quiet moment: whatever arrives on the old server after the copy won't reach the new one by itself.
- Keep your old hosting for a few days, until you see that everything works, including email on your phone.
If something doesn't work
- I don't see “Website importer” in the menu. You logged in with collaborator access, or the feature isn't available on your account. Write to us: we will do the import.
- The copy upload stops. The copy is very large or the internet connection dropped. Try from a stable network, or write to us and send us a link to the copy; we will import it.
- The import says the domain already exists. The domain is in a website in your account, usually the one created at activation. Delete it only if it's empty; otherwise write to us.
- After the import, email doesn't work on my phone. Set up the new server on your phone (see How to create an email account in Enhance). The address passwords are still the ones from cPanel.
- The copy is from another panel (DirectAdmin, Plesk, hPanel). This importer can't read it. Ask us for the free migration.