--- title: "How to Migrate a WordPress Site to a New Host (2026) | Digital Hosting" description: "WordPress migration, step by step: plugin-assisted and manual paths, database search-replace, staging checks, DNS cutover, and what free host migrations cover." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "name": "Digital Hosting", "url": "https://digitalhosting.com", "potentialAction": { "@type": "SearchAction", "target": "https://digitalhosting.com/articles?q={search_term_string}", "query-input": "required name=search_term_string" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "name": "Digital Hosting", "url": "https://digitalhosting.com", "logo": "https://digitalhosting.com/og-image.png", "email": "hello@digitalhosting.com", "description": "Independent hosting review site — comparisons for web hosting, VPS, WordPress hosting, business email, and domain registration. Not a hosting provider.", "parentOrganization": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "TetraCore", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Bowling Green", "addressRegion": "OH", "addressCountry": "US" } } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "How to Migrate a WordPress Site to a New Host", "description": "WordPress migration, step by step: plugin-assisted and manual paths, database search-replace, staging checks, DNS cutover, and what free host migrations cover.", "datePublished": "2026-07-18", "dateModified": "2026-07-18", "mainEntityOfPage": "https://digitalhosting.com/articles/wordpress-migration-guide", "image": "https://digitalhosting.com/og-image.png", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. Miller", "jobTitle": "Editor", "url": "https://digitalhosting.com/about#authors", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Digital Hosting", "url": "https://digitalhosting.com" } }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Digital Hosting", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://digitalhosting.com/og-image.png" } } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Will my SEO survive a WordPress migration?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, if URLs and content are unchanged — same domain, same permalink structure, near-zero downtime. Verify the new host isn't serving a stray robots.txt or 'discourage search engines' setting (a staging-mode leftover that does real damage)." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do I need to migrate my email too?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Only if mail was hosted at the old web host. Managed WordPress hosts (Kinsta, WP Engine, Rocket.net) don't host email at all, so a move to one forces the question — our standing advice is independent email hosting on your own domain, decoupled from web hosting permanently." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How much downtime should I expect?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Seconds to minutes with a parallel build and a lowered DNS TTL. Downtime comes from cancel-first migrations and default 24–48-hour TTLs, both avoidable. The site runs on both hosts during the overlap; visitors just switch servers mid-session without noticing." } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://digitalhosting.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Articles", "item": "https://digitalhosting.com/articles" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "WordPress Migration Guide", "item": "https://digitalhosting.com/articles/wordpress-migration-guide" } ] } ] --- [![Digital Hosting logo](/__l5e/assets-v1/82d2596a-40de-45e5-9f43-9ce3b34f019c/digitalhosting-logo.png)](/) [Web Hosting](/best-web-hosting)[Cloud](/best-cloud-hosting)[VPS](/best-vps-hosting)[Dedicated](/best-dedicated-hosting)[WordPress](/best-wordpress-hosting)[Email](/best-email-hosting)[Domains](/best-domain-registrars) [Hosting Finder](/hosting-finder) [Web Hosting](/best-web-hosting)[Cloud](/best-cloud-hosting)[VPS](/best-vps-hosting)[Dedicated](/best-dedicated-hosting)[WordPress](/best-wordpress-hosting)[Email](/best-email-hosting)[Domains](/best-domain-registrars) 1. [Home](/) 2. [Articles](/articles) 3. WordPress Migration Guide Migration Guide Editorial guide # How to Migrate a WordPress Site to a New Host WordPress makes hosting migrations easier than any other platform — the whole site is files plus one database — and managed WordPress hosts compete hard on free migration help. Here's the plugin-assisted path, the manual path, and where each one bites. Last updated: July 18, 2026 By: [W. Miller](/about#authors), Editor, Digital Hosting — reviewed independently by the Digital Hosting editorial team. Disclosure: Digital Hosting may earn a commission when you buy through our links. This does not affect our recommendations. Summary verdict ## The short answer If you're moving to a managed WordPress host, let them migrate you: Kinsta performs free team-handled migrations from any host on all plans, and Cloudways offers a free first-site migration plus an unlimited migrator plugin, per their published offers as of July 2026. Otherwise, a migration plugin handles the standard case, and the manual path (files + database + search-replace) is the fallback that always works. At a glance ## Comparison table ### Kinsta High-traffic premium WordPress Best for WordPress Premium Pick Starting price from $30/mo billed annually (1 site, 20 GB) renews at $35/mo billed monthly Verified August 2026 Ease Performance Support Migration Included Email Not included [Compare Plans](https://kinsta.com/plans/?kaid=PACQYRCUZNDC&utm_source=digitalhosting&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=article-wordpress-migration-guide&utm_content=article-table) ### Cloudways Managed cloud for growing sites Best Overall Starting price from $11/mo pay-as-you-go, DigitalOcean 1 vCPU / 2 GB Verified August 2026 Ease Performance Support Migration Included Email Paid add-on [Compare Plans](https://www.cloudways.com/en/?id=2175148&utm_source=digitalhosting&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=article-wordpress-migration-guide&utm_content=article-table) Provider Best for Starting price Ease Performance Support Migration Email Get it Kinsta Premium WordPress sites that need speed and support High-traffic premium WordPress from $30/mo billed annually (1 site, 20 GB) renews at $35/mo billed monthly Verified August 2026 Included Not included [Compare Plans](https://kinsta.com/plans/?kaid=PACQYRCUZNDC&utm_source=digitalhosting&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=article-wordpress-migration-guide&utm_content=article-table) Cloudways Growing sites that want managed cloud without ops work Managed cloud for growing sites from $11/mo pay-as-you-go, DigitalOcean 1 vCPU / 2 GB Verified August 2026 Included Paid add-on [Compare Plans](https://www.cloudways.com/en/?id=2175148&utm_source=digitalhosting&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=article-wordpress-migration-guide&utm_content=article-table) Providers in this guide ## Our picks, scored Best premium WordPress ### Kinsta Premium WordPress sites that need speed and support 4.8 Editor score Pricing from $30/mo renews at $35/mo billed monthly Verified August 2026 #### Pros - + Google Cloud Premium Tier network - + Excellent support and developer tooling - + Daily backups and staging environments #### Cons - − Higher price point than shared WordPress hosts - − Visit limits on lower plans Confirm current pricing on the provider's site. [Visit Kinsta](https://kinsta.com/plans/?kaid=PACQYRCUZNDC&utm_source=digitalhosting&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=article-wordpress-migration-guide&utm_content=article-card) Best managed cloud ### Cloudways Growing sites that want managed cloud without ops work 4.6 Editor score Pricing from $11/mo Verified August 2026 #### Pros - + Managed hosting on top of DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS, GCP - + Easy scaling and server cloning - + Solid caching stack out of the box #### Cons - − No included email hosting - − Add-ons can increase monthly cost Confirm current pricing on the provider's site. [Visit Cloudways](https://www.cloudways.com/en/?id=2175148&utm_source=digitalhosting&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=article-wordpress-migration-guide&utm_content=article-card) ## Path 1: Let the new host do it Managed WordPress hosts treat migration as an acquisition cost. As published in July 2026: Kinsta's team performs free migrations from any host on every plan, Cloudways gives every account one free managed migration plus an unlimited-use migrator plugin, and Rocket.net advertises free migrations handled by staff. If you're paying managed prices, you should not be doing the migration yourself. What host migrations don't cover: your DNS cutover timing, email (managed WP hosts don't host mail at all — plan mailboxes separately), and anything living outside WordPress like standalone scripts or subdomain apps. ## Path 2: The plugin route Migration plugins package the site (files plus database) into an archive you restore on the new host. They handle the detail that breaks naive copies: WordPress stores absolute URLs throughout its database, and the plugin rewrites them for the new environment, including inside serialized data where a plain text-replace corrupts settings. Two caveats from the field: very large sites (tens of GB of uploads) can exceed plugin and PHP limits — move the uploads folder separately by SFTP — and some managed hosts restrict backup/migration plugins that conflict with their own systems; check the receiving host's allowed-plugin list first. ## Path 3: Manual, the way that always works Copy wp-content (themes, plugins, uploads), export the database with a search-replace pass for the URL and file paths (respecting serialized data — use a WP-aware tool, not a text editor), create the database on the new host, update wp-config.php credentials, and point a test hostname at it before touching production DNS. Then follow the standard cutover discipline from our general guide: TTL down a day early, switch DNS in a quiet hour, keep the old host alive for two weeks. WordPress adds one extra check — log in and re-save permalinks on the new host, the classic fix for 404s after a move. ### Best fit for - + WordPress owners leaving shared hosting for managed or cloud hosting - + Anyone whose host's 'free migration' fine print needs decoding - + Site owners who want the manual fallback documented before they need it ### Consider another option if - − Your site isn't WordPress — see our general host-switching guide instead - − You're only changing domains, not hosts — that's a search-replace job, not a migration - − Your WordPress install is heavily multisite — get the receiving host's migration team involved first Questions readers ask ## FAQ Will my SEO survive a WordPress migration? Yes, if URLs and content are unchanged — same domain, same permalink structure, near-zero downtime. Verify the new host isn't serving a stray robots.txt or 'discourage search engines' setting (a staging-mode leftover that does real damage). Do I need to migrate my email too? How much downtime should I expect? Keep reading ## Related on Digital Hosting - [How to Switch Web Hosts Without Downtime → The platform-agnostic playbook this guide builds on. ](/articles/how-to-switch-web-hosts) - [Best WordPress Hosting → Where to migrate to: managed WP hosts scored with verified pricing. ](/best-wordpress-hosting) - [When Managed WordPress Hosting Is Worth Paying For → Decide the budget question before you pick the destination. ](/articles/best-wordpress-hosting) Written and reviewed by [W. Miller](/about#authors) — Editor, Digital Hosting W. Miller is the editor of Digital Hosting and oversees TetraCore's review sites. Every price on this site is verified against the vendor's public pricing page and dated; nothing is scored on marketing claims. See our [affiliate disclosure](/affiliate-disclosure) and [how we test and score providers](/how-we-test). ![Digital Hosting logo](/__l5e/assets-v1/82d2596a-40de-45e5-9f43-9ce3b34f019c/digitalhosting-logo.png) Independent comparisons for hosting, VPS, WordPress, business email, and domain registrars. #### Categories - [Web Hosting](/best-web-hosting) - [Cloud Hosting](/best-cloud-hosting) - [VPS Hosting](/best-vps-hosting) - [Dedicated Hosting](/best-dedicated-hosting) - [WordPress Hosting](/best-wordpress-hosting) - [Email Hosting](/best-email-hosting) - [Domain Registrars](/best-domain-registrars) #### Site - [About](/about) - [Renewal Price Index](/articles/hosting-renewal-prices) - [True Cost Calculator](/renewal-cost-calculator) - [Uptime Study](/uptime-study) - [How We Test](/how-we-test) - [Provider Badges](/badges) - [Glossary](/glossary) - [Contact](/contact) - [Affiliate Disclosure](/affiliate-disclosure) - [Privacy Policy](/privacy-policy) #### Contact Editorial questions, corrections, and partnership inquiries: [Contact us](/contact) © 2026 Digital Hosting. All rights reserved. Digital Hosting may earn a commission when you buy through our links. This does not affect our recommendations.