How to Migrate WordPress to a New Host (Without Downtime)
Step-by-step guide to migrating your WordPress site to a new hosting provider. We show you the free plugin method and manual method — no downtime required.
Migrating WordPress to a new hosting provider sounds intimidating, but with the right approach, it takes under an hour and causes zero downtime for your visitors.
When Should You Migrate?
- Your site is loading slowly (host performance issue)
- You're paying too much at renewal
- You've outgrown shared hosting and need more power
- You found a better host with features you need
Method 1: Using a Migration Plugin (Recommended)
The easiest method uses the All-in-One WP Migration plugin. It's free, handles sites up to 512 MB, and requires zero technical knowledge.
What You'll Need
- Access to both your old and new hosting accounts
- FTP access (or the hosting file manager) in case you need to increase upload limits
- 1–2 hours
Method 2: Manual Migration
For larger sites or developers who prefer control, manual migration gives you the most precision:
- Export database from old host via phpMyAdmin
- Download all files via FTP (wp-content folder is the most important)
- Create new database on the new host
- Import database and update
wp-config.phpwith new credentials - Upload files via FTP to the new host
- Run a search-replace on the database for the old domain URL
Hostinger Free Migration
If you're moving to Hostinger, they offer free professional migration as part of their Premium plan and above. Their support team handles the entire process — you just provide FTP and database access to your old site.
DNS Propagation: The Waiting Game
After updating your DNS, propagation takes 24–48 hours worldwide. During this time:
- Some visitors see the old site, some see the new site
- This is completely normal
- Your site stays online throughout
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Marcus founded HostPro Reviews after spending 18 months testing web hosting providers across three continents. He has personally migrated over 60 websites between hosts, evaluated 30+ hosting providers across shared, cloud, VPS, managed, and reseller categories, and published 80+ independent reviews since 2022. His methodology uses automated uptime monitoring across 3 global server locations, standardized GTmetrix and Core Web Vitals benchmarks, and live support response-time tracking — never marketing claims. Marcus holds a degree in Computer Engineering and has worked as a full-stack developer for e-commerce, media, and SaaS companies. He has tested reseller hosting platforms, WHM/cPanel environments, and WHMCS billing setups extensively for agencies evaluating white-label hosting income streams. All pricing and feature data is re-verified monthly; articles carry a lastModified timestamp reflecting each verification date. Last methodology review: July 2026.
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