Switching hosting provider sounds straightforward until you start. Then the questions stack up fast.
Will the website go down during the move? Will emails stop working? Will anything break in WordPress? Will Google notice and drop the rankings?
These are real concerns, and they are the reason many businesses stay with a hosting provider they are not happy with rather than risk the disruption of moving.
Eazyhosting handles website migrations for free with every hosting plan. This page explains what we move, how we do it, and what you can check before anything goes live.
What we migrate
We move the full setup, not just the website files:
Website files and databases. Your website, its content, images, and database all move across. For WordPress sites, this includes themes, plugins, media, and all settings.
Email accounts and content. We migrate your email mailboxes including existing messages, folder structure, and sent items. Your email address stays the same.
Domain settings. We update the DNS records so your domain points to the new hosting once everything is confirmed working. We do not touch your domain nameservers until you have checked the migrated site first.
SSL certificates. Your free SSL certificate is installed on the new hosting before the domain switches over, so visitors never see a security warning.
How it works
Step 1 — Tell us what you have. When you sign up for Eazyhosting hosting, let us know your current host and what access you can provide (usually your current hosting control panel login or FTP details). If you are not sure what you have, describe the situation and we will work it out.
Step 2 — We do the migration. We copy everything across to Eazyhosting servers. Your existing website stays live throughout. Nothing is removed from your old host until you are happy with the move.
Step 3 — You check before anything switches. We provide a preview link so you can test the migrated site on the new server before a single visitor is affected. Check that the pages load, the contact form works, and the images are displaying. If anything is not right, we fix it before proceeding.
Step 4 — DNS switches over. Once you are satisfied everything is working, we update the DNS. Your domain starts pointing to the new hosting. The switchover typically takes a few hours to fully propagate.
Step 5 — Email migrates across. After DNS has settled, we migrate your email content using IMAP so your existing messages, sent items and folders transfer with no gaps.
What happens to your Google rankings during a migration?
This is the question most small business owners want answered before they move.
A hosting migration done carefully should not have a lasting effect on search engine rankings.
Google cares about your website address, content, and page speed — not which server your files sit on. As long as your domain stays the same, your pages stay the same, and the site loads at least as quickly on the new server, rankings should be unaffected.
Where migrations cause ranking drops is when something goes wrong: a redirect is missed, a page returns an error, the site becomes temporarily unreachable, or the SSL is not in place before the domain switches. These are the mistakes we check for before DNS is changed.
What to expect in the days after a migration: Google may re-crawl your site as it notices the server change. This is normal. Keep an eye on Search Console, important page URLs, redirects, and server errors after the move so any unexpected issue is caught quickly.
Migrating from 20i-based hosting
If your current host runs on the 20i platform — which includes a number of UK resellers — Eazyhosting is already familiar with how your setup works.
We know how 20i handles databases, email, SSL, and domain management, which means migrations from 20i-based hosts tend to be straightforward and take less back-and-forth to complete.
If you are not sure whether your current host uses 20i, check your hosting control panel. A control panel that looks like "20i" or references "My20i" is a reliable sign.
What we need from you
In most cases, all we need is:
- Your current hosting control panel login (or FTP details if you have them)
- Confirmation of which website and email accounts to move
- Your domain registrar login if you want us to handle the DNS update directly
If you do not have these details, or if your previous host is not cooperating, let us know. We can work around most situations.
Common questions
Will my email stop working during the migration? No. Your email continues to work on your current host right up until DNS switches over. During the DNS switchover period — usually a few hours — there may be a brief window where some messages arrive at the old server. We minimise this with careful timing and can advise you on the best time of day to make the switch.
Do you migrate e-commerce sites? Yes, including WooCommerce stores. E-commerce migrations need a little more care because of live orders and payment gateway settings. Let us know upfront that your site takes orders and we will plan accordingly.
Can you migrate if I have lost access to my old host? Sometimes. If you still have FTP or database access, a migration may still be possible without the hosting control panel. If you have lost access entirely, we can advise on what your options are.
How long does a migration take? For most small business websites, we complete the migration within a working day. Larger sites with substantial databases or lots of media may take a little longer. We keep you updated throughout.
Is the migration really free? Yes. There is no migration fee. The cost is the hosting plan itself.
Ready to move?
If you are currently with a hosting provider that is slow, expensive, hard to contact, or just not right for your business, moving to Eazyhosting is straightforward.
View our hosting plans and get in touch when you are ready to move. We will confirm what you need to provide and take care of the rest.
If you have questions before committing, contact us and we will give you a straight answer about whether and how we can move your setup.