Migration Process
Whether it's a Cpanel, DirectAdmin or manual migration
Even though migrations can be daunting, we will use best practice migration methods to ensure you do not experience any downtime and most importantly, do NOT lose any of your data.
Migration Process Checklist
Kindly familiarize yourself with the below steps that we will follow to ensure a smooth migration of your WordPress site and/or Emails.
Preparation
This is probably the most neglected part of the migration and crucial to ensure a smooth transition from one host to the next.
Pre-migration
This part of the migration process should not be rushed. Ensure that all passwords are obtained as well as any custom DNS records.
Migration period
The migration period should not affect any of your services and you will be able to continue working without any interruption.
Post-migration
Confirmation that all content has been migrated successfully is crucial to ensure no data has been lost.
Let me submit my host panel details
This will allow us to do a pre-migration check
PREPARATION
Agree on the timeline for when the migration process will take place.
This is crucial to ensure that the next steps go according to plan even though the migration will not affect any active services until the domain’s Name servers (NS) or DNS records are updated.
PRE-MIGRATION
Confirm whether the migration process will take place from cPanel, DirectAdmin or if it will be a manual migration.
- A pre-migration check is done to ensure that we don’t run into any nasty surprizes.
- During the pre-migration we will confirm the total amount of INODES (data files). If this cannot be determined prior to moving your hosting services, we will advise if your new hosting pacakge with us will suffice or if you are required to upgrade, after completion of the migration.
- The same applies to system resources, as the info on our site is merely a guideline and additional resources might be required for the site to function optimally.
- Always take a backup of the existing site , database and Emails (if possible).
- For manual migrations, the Email accounts have to be created on the new host panel, prior to the migration commencing. It is best practice to keep the passwords the same for the migration period. The passwords can be changed again afterwards.
- Do not add new Email accounts, nor change the Email passwords on the old host panel. The same applies to the WordPress Site credentials.
- Extract address books and/or calendars for each user, which should be saved as a vCard file. No changes should be made to the address book or calendars during this period.
MIGRATION PERIOD
You are informed once the migration process is underway
The migration runs silently in the background and as mentioned earlier, it should not affect any of your active services with the existing provider.
You will receive confirmation as soon as the migration is complete.
POST-MIGRATION
The testing phase
Before the Name Servers (NS) or DNS records are updated, the following steps are followed;
- Hosts file is updated in order to view the website “off-line”.
- You are required to login to the webmail, in order to view your inbox and confirm if all messages/folders reflect correctly.
- At this point contacts should be imported via the webmail.
- As soon as confirmation is received that everything is reflecting as expected, the Name Servers (NS) or custom DNS records are updated.
- Your website and Emails should now reflect and relay via our server(s) within the hour. It is best practice to update the NS after hours.
- Email settings should also be updated if required. This depends on the environment your services were hosted on.
- You can now visit our helpful knowledge base for assistance with any support queries and also view your Email settings and setup instructions.
- The domain transfer can now be initiated, should you wish to have the domain(s) moved to our domain registrar service.
Migration Notes
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Please read these important notes to familiarize yourself with the migration terms:
- Clients are required to submit their migration request within 7 days after they have signed up with Serious.host to qualify for the initial free migration.
- Free migrations are subject to certain restrictions;
– Web site storage does not exceed 20Gb.
– Less than 25 Email accounts.
– Database size does not exceed 5Gb. - Migration process from start to finish will complete within 2-3 business days and you will be notified should the process take longer due to unforseen reasons.
- Please note that no migrations will take place on a Friday.
- Hosting packages are limited to their allocated number of files allowed, which makes up all the files your content consists of. This includes database files, theme and plugin files, Email messages and attachments, etc. Please familiarize yourself with the amount of inodes allocated to each hosting plan to ensure that all files are copied across successfully.
You can view the amount of files in your existing host panel. - In the event of migrating infected files due to malicious/harmful code, these files may be quarintined as our malware software will not allow the files to be executed.
- You will be required to whitelist our IP prior to migration to ensure that it is not blocked by your current provider. Please request the IP from us and provide your current host with the IP address.
- Any dynamic site, e.g online store (eCommerce) or discussion forum must be placed in maintenance mode to ensure that no sales or posts are lost during the migration. Sites of this nature will be bumped up the migration queue. Kindly request this from your developer/designer.
- Clients are encouraged to also take a backup of the site, database and Emails, as well as any custom DNS records prior to the migration.
- Please ensure that any redirects in your .htaccess file is copied to a safe place and should be added by your developer post-migration, if required.
- Kindly note that we do not make contact with the existing hosting provider in the event of a technical issue arising and therefore clients are required to make contact with their support team in order to have any issues resolved, preventing us from performing the migration.
- It is crucial that you leave your existing hosting account active in order for us to access the client area/host panel to run the migration.
- Although we take great care with the migration of custom DNS records, it remains the client’s responsibility to confirm these records reflect correctly post-migration.
Intial migration is free for cpanel/directadmin (T’s & C’s apply). Subsequent migrations charged at R250.00 (incl VAT) per domain. All manual migrations charged at R250.00 (incl VAT).
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Will I experience any down time?
This depends!
As with most IT related services, you are reliant on software (and hardware), mostly 3rd party, e.g. panel software.
This is why we follow industry best practices to avoid unecessary down time.
What if you lose my data?
To avoid any possiblility of data loss, we take a full back up prior to the migration commencing.
How do I know that all data has been moved to your servers?
The migration is successful if no errors are received when backup is done or mails are moved across to our servers. You are still required to view site and/or Emails after the migration has completed to confirm that everything is reflecting as expected.
Will I receive some kind of confirmation that the domain has transferred successfully?
After successful registration, renewal or transfer of Global domain extensions (TLD’s), e.g .com, .net, .org, etc. the domain owner (registrant) will receive an Email from the Registry to verify ownership of the domain, while confirming the Email address linked to the domain is correct.
For local domains, i.e. .co.za, .net.za, .org.za and .web.za you should receive confirmation from our domains management system that the domain is now with Serious.host (our domain registrar company will be listed as HOSTING SUPPORT AND DOMAINS (PTY) Ltd.))
Is there any cost involved if you manage the migration?
The initial migration is free of charge, followed by a fee of R250.00 (incl VAT) for all additional migrations. All manual migrations (non-cPanel/DirectAdmin) is charged at the above fee.
What happens if I decide to manage the migration and somehow it fails?
We are happy to assist, although the applicable fees will be payable before we commence.
How experienced are you with "hassle free" migrations?
We have many years experience and have been faced with multiple challenges that we were able to overcome and complete the migrations successfully. Our tried and trusted method ensures that we are able to migrate 99.9% of the domains and associated data without too much trouble 😉