Free site migration to ZevsHost

ZevsHost migrates a site from any hosting provider free of charge. Below is not marketing copy but the real workflow: what the team does and in what order, what happens to your domain, and how long the site is actually unavailable.

What we migrate

All site files (HTML, PHP, CMS, uploaded media)
MySQL/PostgreSQL databases with all tables and privileges
Email accounts and their settings (not message contents — mail is migrated separately, see below)
SSL certificates, if they were not issued through Let's Encrypt on the old hosting
DNS zone settings as a ready-made record set for comparison

Migration order with no downtime

ZevsHost engineers migrate the site without turning off the old hosting, and switch the domain only after your own check.

Files and the database are copied to ZevsHost servers, while the old site keeps running and serving visitors.
A test domain such as example.com.zevshost-test.net is set up on the new server, or a hosts entry for preview.
You check the copy on the new server: the homepage, the catalog, the checkout form, and account login.
After your confirmation, the domain's NS or A records are updated to point at ZevsHost servers.
For about a day, while DNS caches at various providers update, the old hosting keeps running as a fallback.

Checking the site before the DNS switch yourself

If you want to check the result before support replies, remap the domain locally through the hosts file on your own computer:

# Linux/macOS
echo "NEW_SERVER_IP example.com www.example.com" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts

# Windows: the line is added to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

After the edit the browser still requests the domain but gets the page from the new server — the domain's DNS is not changed, and site visitors notice nothing.

Comparing migration options

Option	Who does it	Timeframe	Site downtime
Free ZevsHost migration	ZevsHost support	usually up to 24 hours	0 — until you confirm the switch
Migration via a CMS plugin	you	30 minutes to a few hours	minutes for the DNS switch
Manual migration (mysqldump + rsync)	you or your developer	from an hour, depends on volume	minutes, if you follow a checklist

How to request a migration

Sign up on ZevsHost and pay for any hosting or VDS plan.
Open a support ticket titled "Site migration" and specify the site address and CMS.
Provide access to your current hosting: FTP/SSH and the control panel (cPanel, ISPmanager, or similar).
Wait for the notification that the test copy is ready and check it against the checklist below.
Confirm the DNS switch in the ticket — engineers will update the records within an hour.

Common problems when handing over access

Situation	What to do
FTP access is restricted by IP	Temporarily lift the restriction or add ZevsHost server IPs to the allow list
The hosting panel password is lost	Reset it through the old hosting provider — this does not affect access to the site itself
The domain is registered with one registrar and hosted with another	Only the DNS records (NS or A) at the registrar change, the domain itself is not moved anywhere

When the free migration does not fit

Free migration covers typical sites on popular CMS platforms and ordinary databases. If you run a custom application with complex infrastructure (queues, separate services, non-standard ports), it needs an individual assessment — describe your stack in the ticket so engineers can plan the transfer in advance.

What takes longer than a day

Online stores with tens of thousands of products and large image catalogs, as well as sites with a database over 10 GB, take longer than the standard 24 hours — support tells you the real timeframe in advance after assessing the volume.

What engineers do not migrate

Settings for third-party software outside the web stack — for example, standalone CRM systems, VPN servers, or monitoring — stay on your side: migration covers the site, the database, and mail.

Checking the result after the switch

Open the site from different devices and networks — make sure DNS has updated everywhere.
Check sending and receiving mail, if email was migrated too.
Check the SSL certificate: the browser address bar should show a secure connection with no warnings.
Keep access to the old hosting for another 3-5 days in case something did not carry over immediately.

Mailboxes are migrated separately from files and the database — details are in migrating email to a new hosting. A full post-migration checklist is in post-migration check, and what to do if a switch fails is in migration rollback plan.