Migrating from OVH (or anywhere else)

Switching hosts is scary mostly because of one thing: the fear of downtime. Here is the method for a clean migration, without your visitors ever seeing a gap.

1. Back up what you have

Retrieve everything from your current host:

• the site files (via SFTP or the file manager);
• the database (SQL export from phpMyAdmin or the command line);
• the list of your DNS records (write them down, you will need them).

2. Prepare the new destination

Deploy your site with us and test it before touching DNS. On managed web or WordPress hosting, you can validate the site on a temporary URL while the old one is still running.

3. Lower the DNS TTL

A few hours before the cutover, lower the TTL of your DNS records (to 300 seconds, for example) at your domain manager. That way, when you change the IP, the change propagates quickly.

4. Cut over

Point your domain’s A record (and AAAA if present) at your new server’s address. Since the old site is still running and the new one is already ready, there is no outage: visitors reach one or the other as propagation rolls out.

5. Verify, then clean up

Once propagation is complete (check with dig YOUR_DOMAIN), confirm that everything works: HTTPS, forms, email. Keep the old hosting around for a few days as a precaution, then cancel it.

A helping hand

On our managed plans, we handle the migration for you. Describe your current setup from the web hosting page and we take care of the transfer.