How to move my website and email to Webway from another host

Moving hosts has three parts: the website files and database, the email, and the domain's DNS. Do them in this order and nobody notices the move.

Golden rule: don't cancel the old hosting until everything works at Webway. Keep it running for at least a week after the switch.

Can Webway move it for me?

Yes, at no charge, for hosting and reseller accounts. Open a support ticket with the old host's control panel details and what needs to move. We back everything up first and do the move at a time that avoids downtime.

The rest of this guide is for doing it yourself.

Step 1: Prepare

1. Order Webway hosting. Don't change nameservers yet.
2. Get your login details for the old host's control panel and, if separate, the domain registrar.
3. Make a list: every domain and subdomain, every mailbox, every database, and any cron jobs or special settings.
4. Lower the TTL of your domain's DNS records at the old host to 300 seconds a day before the switch, if you can. It makes the final change propagate faster.

Step 2: Copy the website

You can reach the new account before DNS changes by using the one-click login in the client area.

WordPress: use a migration plugin or Softaculous. See How to move a WordPress site to Webway. Most other CMSs follow the same pattern: copy files, export and import the database, update the configuration file with the new database details.

Static or hand-coded site:

1. Download all files from the old host with FTP or its file manager.
2. Upload them to public_html on Webway. Delete the placeholder index.html first. See How to upload my website with FTP using FileZilla.

Database-driven sites:

1. Export each database from the old host's phpMyAdmin.
2. Create a database and user on Webway, then import. See How to create a MySQL database and use phpMyAdmin.
3. Update the site's configuration file with the new database name, user and password. Webway prefixes database names with your username, so they won't match the old ones.

Preview before switching DNS: temporarily add a line to the hosts file on your computer pointing your domain at the Webway server's IP, then remove it afterwards. Test the home page, an inner page, a form and the admin login.

Match the PHP version the old host used if the site breaks. See How to change my PHP version and PHP settings.

Step 3: Set up email

1. Create every mailbox on Webway with the same addresses (cPanel: Email Accounts; DirectAdmin: E-mail Accounts). Use the same passwords if you want devices to keep working, or new ones and plan to update every device.
2. Recreate forwarders and autoresponders. See How to set up email forwarders and autoresponders.
3. Copy old mail across. Options:
   • IMAP drag-and-drop: add both the old and new mailboxes to an email program (Thunderbird works well), using server names that reach each server. Drag folders from old to new. Slow but reliable.
   • Migration tool: DirectAdmin has E-mail Manager → IMAPSync Migrations, which copies a mailbox from the old server. Or ask us to move the mail for you.
   • cPanel full backup: if the old host is cPanel, the account restore brings mail with it.
4. Copy the old host's SPF, DKIM and DMARC settings, then update them for Webway. See How to set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for my domain.

Do the bulk of the mail copy before changing DNS, then a final top-up afterwards to catch stragglers.

Step 4: Change the nameservers

Once the site works on the new server and mailboxes exist:

1. At your registrar (or in the Webway client area if the domain is with us), set the nameservers to dns1.webway.host and dns2.webway.host. See Point my domain to Webway (change nameservers).
2. If you use Cloudflare or external DNS instead, update the A records and MX records there to Webway's server. Keep the mail record unproxied.
3. Wait. Most visitors switch within a few hours; a few take up to 48. See How long does DNS propagation take?

During propagation, some visitors and some incoming email land on the old server and some on the new. That's why the old account stays live.

Step 5: After the switch

1. Check the padlock: the free SSL certificate issues within a few hours of DNS pointing to Webway.
2. Update devices with the new mail settings if server names or passwords changed. See Email server settings: IMAP, POP3 and SMTP.
3. Do a final mail top-up: copy anything that arrived at the old host during propagation.
4. Recreate cron jobs and any redirects.
5. After a week with no problems, cancel the old hosting. Keep the domain wherever it's registered, or transfer it: see How to transfer a domain to Webway (including .co.za).

Common mistakes

Still stuck?

Open a support ticket and include:

• The domain, and who hosts it now.
• Whether the old host is cPanel, DirectAdmin or something else.
• Which step you're on and what's not working, with the exact error.
• Whether you've changed nameservers yet.