Website Migration to New Hosting with Minimal Downtime

Imagine you decide to move to a new server to boost performance. But something goes wrong during the transfer — a corrupted database dump, files not copied, the site goes down for a day. This is a typical situation for those attempting migration for the first time. Our engineers (5+ years experience) have performed 200+ successful migrations with a 99.9% success rate. Our process guarantees downtime under 15 minutes — we use parallel operation and preliminary testing. In detail: before switching DNS, we spin up a full copy on the new server, check all scenarios (authorization, payment, forms). Only then do we change the A-record with a TTL of 300 seconds. This approach eliminates data loss and long downtime. We also keep both servers active for up to 72 hours after the switch — in case of rollback.

What Are the Risks of Changing Hosting?

Incorrect hosting transfer leads to:

• Web server configuration errors (incompatible PHP versions, modules)
• Data loss due to incomplete DB dump or corrupted archive
• Long downtime (12+ hours instead of 15 minutes)
• Broken links in content (absolute paths left from the old server)

We solve these problems step by step with redundant checks.

How to Minimize Downtime During Migration?

The key principle is parallel operation (hot standby). We perform the migration on the new server while the old one serves visitors. After full verification via hosts file, we switch DNS with a low TTL (300 s). Average downtime is 5–15 minutes. Our method reduces downtime by 95% compared to traditional migration.

Comparison of Data Transfer Methods

rsync is 5–10 times faster than FTP for volumes >10 GB according to rsync documentation. We use rsync for primary copy and tar for backup archive. Additionally, we use pigz for parallel compression — speeding up the process by 30%.

What Is Included in the Work?

• File transfer (rsync with exclusion of .git, cache)
• Database migration (dump + restore on the new DBMS version)
• Web server (Nginx/Apache) and environment (PHP, Node.js, Redis) setup
• SSL certificate installation (Let's Encrypt or your own)
• Cron, queue workers, environment variables configuration
• Verification via /etc/hosts before DNS switch
• 72-hour monitoring after the switch

Deliverables

• Detailed migration report
• Server access credentials
• 72-hour post-migration support
• 30-minute training session on new server management

A typical seamless migration costs between $300 and $800 depending on complexity, saving you up to $500 in potential lost revenue from downtime.

What Are Typical Mistakes in Self-Migration?

Developers often forget:

• To sync .env and storage permissions (chmod 775)
• To export the database with --add-drop-table and --complete-insert flags for InnoDB
• To check redirects (http→https, www→non-www) on the new server
• To update IP in CDN settings (Cloudflare, Vercel)

Migration Stages: Step-by-step

Step 1: Prepare the new server

Install the required stack (LEMP, Node.js, etc.):

# Install LEMP stack on Ubuntu 22.04 sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y sudo apt install -y nginx mysql-server php8.2-fpm php8.2-mysql php8.2-gd \ php8.2-curl php8.2-zip php8.2-mbstring php8.2-xml php8.2-intl redis-server # For Node.js projects curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash - sudo apt install -y nodejs 

Step 2: Transfer files and database

First copy the database, then the files — to minimize data discrepancy:

# MySQL: dump and restore mysqldump -u root -p mysite_db > /tmp/mysite_db.sql scp /tmp/mysite_db.sql user@new-server:/tmp/ ssh user@new-server "mysql -u root -p new_db < /tmp/mysite_db.sql" # rsync files (excluding .git) rsync -avz --progress --exclude='.git' \ -e "ssh -p 22" \ user@old-server:/var/www/mysite/ \ user@new-server:/var/www/mysite/ 

For PostgreSQL, use pg_dump/psql. Important: for large databases (50+ GB), use streaming dump via pg_dump -Fc and pg_restore -j 4 for speed.

Step 3: Configure the new server

• Create virtual host (Nginx/Apache)
• Transfer .env with current data
• Install SSL certificate
• Set permissions on directories: storage, cache, uploads
• Configure cron and queue workers

Step 4: Verify via hosts file

Before DNS switch, test the site locally:

# On local machine, add to /etc/hosts (or C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) NEW_SERVER_IP mysite.com www.mysite.com 

Open the site in a browser, check forms, authorization, payment scenarios. Perform thorough site testing to ensure all functions work, including critical flows like payments and email sends.

Step 5: Perform DNS switching

A day before the switch, lower TTL to 300 seconds. At the switch moment, change the A-record to the new server's IP. After propagation, revert TTL to 3600+.

# Monitor DNS propagation watch -n 5 "dig @8.8.8.8 mysite.com A +short" watch -n 5 "dig @1.1.1.1 mysite.com A +short" 

Step 6: Post-migration monitoring

Keep the old server active for 48–72 hours. Perform:

• curl availability checks
• SSL certificate verification (openssl)
• Redirect checks (http→https, www→non-www)

curl -I https://mysite.com echo | openssl s_client -connect mysite.com:443 2>/dev/null | grep "Verify return code" curl -I http://mysite.com # expect 301 

Importance of Testing on the New Server Before DNS Switch

If you switch DNS without prior testing, you may end up with a broken site: forms not working, broken CSS, data loss. We always test via hosts file to ensure the new server handles all scenarios, including critical ones like payments, registration, and email sends.

Timeline and Pricing

A standard migration takes from 4 to 16 hours depending on data volume, number of databases, and environment specifics. Pricing is individual — contact us to evaluate your project. We work with hosting of any complexity: from shared to dedicated. Our no data loss migration guarantee ensures zero data loss, and we offer a migration to VPS service with full support.

Order a turnkey migration — get a seamless transfer with a full operability guarantee. Contact us for a consultation.