What HostArmada’s Free Migration Covers
HostArmada includes free website migration with every hosting plan. That covers shared hosting, WordPress hosting, Reseller hosting, VPS, and Dedicated CPU plans.
The migration is handled by their in-house technical support team, not an automated tool.
- HostArmada migrates your site for free on every plan, including VPS and Dedicated CPU
- Their technical team handles the transfer and runs post-migration checks
- Two methods: full cPanel migration (faster, more complete) or manual transfer (for non-cPanel hosts)
- Most migrations complete with minimal to zero downtime
- You need to prepare credentials, back up your site, and lower your DNS TTL before submitting a request
- Submit the request through a “Website Transfer” support ticket in the client area
What is included:
- Website files and file structure
- Databases (MySQL and associated configurations)
- DNS zone records where applicable
- Post-migration testing by HostArmada’s team
What requires separate handling:
- Email accounts, aliases, and forwarders (these need to be reconfigured manually on your new cPanel unless a full cPanel migration is possible)
- Third-party integrations that connect to external services
- Custom server configurations specific to your previous host’s environment
If you are moving multiple sites on a Reseller plan, contact HostArmada’s support team before submitting to confirm how many accounts the migration covers.
The Two Migration Methods
HostArmada uses two approaches depending on your current hosting environment.
Knowing which one applies to your situation before you submit your request saves time and sets the right expectations.
Method 1: Full cPanel Migration
If your current host uses cPanel, HostArmada can generate a full backup of your account and transfer everything in one operation.
This is the faster and more complete method. It moves your website files, databases, email accounts, aliases, subdomains, and DNS zone records together.
This method requires HostArmada to have access to your current cPanel login credentials. Once you provide those, their team generates the backup and handles the rest.
There are a few situations where full cPanel migration may not be possible even if your current host runs cPanel:
- Your current host has disabled the backup generation feature in cPanel
- Your cPanel account is above 30GB and your new plan does not have enough available disk space to hold the full backup during transfer
- The backup generation times out or the archive becomes corrupted during the process
In any of these cases, HostArmada falls back to the manual transfer method.
Method 2: Manual Transfer
If your current host does not use cPanel, or if a full cPanel backup is not possible, HostArmada performs a manual migration.
This method moves your website files and database, but does not automatically carry over email accounts, aliases, and subdomains. Those need to be reconfigured on your new cPanel account after the migration completes.
For a manual transfer, you need to provide:
- FTP or SSH login credentials for your current hosting account
- phpMyAdmin login details, or access to a similar MySQL database management tool
Once HostArmada has these, their team moves the files and database, deploys them on your new hosting account, and runs a series of tests to confirm the site is working correctly.
Step by Step: How to Request a Migration
The migration request goes through HostArmada’s ticketing system. Here is the exact process.
Step 1: Sign up for your HostArmada plan
You need an active HostArmada account before you can request a migration. Complete the signup process and confirm your account is provisioned before submitting a migration ticket.
Step 2: Log into the client area
Navigate to the HostArmada client area and log in with the credentials from your confirmation email.
Step 3: Open a new support ticket
From the dashboard, click “Open New Ticket” or select “Support Tickets” from the main menu. You will be presented with a list of department categories. Select “Website Transfer” as the department.
This routes your request directly to the team that handles migrations rather than the general support queue.
Step 4: Fill in the ticket form completely
The Website Transfer form has dedicated fields for every piece of information the migration team needs.
Here is what each field requires:
- Subject: A brief description of your request, for example “Migrate WordPress site from [current host] to HostArmada”
- Related Service: Select the HostArmada hosting plan you want the site migrated to
- Website (Domain Name): The domain of the site you are moving
- Control Panel URL / FTP Hostname: Your current host’s cPanel login URL, or your FTP hostname if you are on a non-cPanel host
- Username: Your cPanel username, or FTP/SSH username for a manual transfer
- Password: The corresponding password for the above username
- Message: Use this field for any additional context, such as database names, a secondary domain being migrated, or specific instructions the team should know before starting
The dedicated credential fields mean you do not need to paste sensitive login details into the message body. Fill every field that applies to your situation and submit. The migration team picks up the request from there.
Step 5: Wait for confirmation
HostArmada’s team will confirm receipt and begin the migration. Based on HostArmada’s support response times across other tested interactions, technical tickets receive responses within 9 to 15 minutes during business hours.
Migration timelines vary depending on site size and complexity, but most standard WordPress and shared hosting migrations complete within a few hours.
What Happens After You Submit
Once your ticket is in, HostArmada’s technical team takes over. Here is what they do on their end:
- They access your current hosting environment using the credentials you provided
- They generate or assemble a backup of your site files and database
- They transfer and deploy that backup on your new HostArmada account
- They run post-transfer tests to confirm the site loads correctly and the database connections are working
For complex or highly customized setups, additional adjustments may be needed after the initial transfer. HostArmada will note this in their response if it applies to your site.
One thing to keep in mind: HostArmada’s team cannot test every single aspect of your site’s functionality. After they confirm the migration is complete, you should run your own checks before pointing your DNS to the new server.
Free migration on every plan
What to Check After Migration
Before you update your DNS settings and go live on HostArmada’s servers, work through the following:
- Homepage and key pages load correctly: Check both the front end and any logged-in views
- Database connections are working: If you are running WordPress, log into the admin area and confirm posts, settings, and plugins are intact
- Contact forms submit correctly: These often break during migrations if email settings differ between hosts
- E-commerce functionality works: If you are running WooCommerce or another store, test the checkout process end to end
- SSL certificate is active: HostArmada includes free SSL on all plans; confirm the certificate is applied to your domain after DNS propagation
- Email accounts are configured: If your migration was manual, you will need to recreate email accounts and forwarders in cPanel
If you find any issues, contact HostArmada support with a specific description of the problem and step-by-step instructions for reproducing it. The more detail you provide, the faster their team can identify and fix what went wrong.
What to Prepare Before You Request a Migration
Getting organized before you submit your ticket makes the process faster and reduces the chance of follow-up requests for missing information.
Back up your existing site
Even though HostArmada’s team handles the transfer, always create your own backup before any migration begins. Your current host’s backup tool, a plugin like UpdraftPlus for WordPress, or a manual download of your files and database export from phpMyAdmin all work. If something goes wrong during the transfer, you want a clean restore point that is entirely in your hands.
Check your available disk space
Confirm that the HostArmada plan you have signed up for has enough storage to accommodate your site. If your current site is close to or above 30GB, flag this when you open your migration ticket so the team can plan accordingly.
Note your current DNS TTL
Before you change your nameservers to point to HostArmada, lower your DNS TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) at your current registrar or DNS provider. Do this 24 to 48 hours before the migration. A lower TTL means that when you update your DNS records to point to HostArmada’s servers, the change propagates to visitors faster and reduces the window where some users see the old server and others see the new one.
Gather your credentials
Collect and confirm the following before submitting your ticket:
- cPanel login URL, username, and password (for cPanel hosts)
- FTP or SSH credentials (for non-cPanel hosts)
- phpMyAdmin or MySQL database login (for manual transfers)
- Your domain registrar login (you will need this to update nameservers after migration)
List your email accounts
If your migration is manual, you will need to recreate email accounts in your new cPanel. Write down every email address, forwarder, and alias you are currently using so nothing gets missed during reconfiguration.
Migration by Hosting Type
WordPress and Shared Hosting
For standard WordPress and shared hosting plans, the full cPanel migration method applies if your current host runs cPanel. The transfer covers files, databases, and, where possible, email accounts.
Most WordPress sites migrate cleanly with no code changes required. After migration, confirm your wp-config.php database credentials match the new environment. HostArmada’s team handles this, but it is worth verifying.
VPS Hosting
VPS migrations are included for free, which is less common among providers at this tier. For a VPS transfer, the process is more customized since VPS environments vary significantly between providers.
When you open your migration ticket, include your current server’s SSH access details and a brief description of what is running on the server, including the operating system, control panel, if any, and key applications. HostArmada’s team will assess the migration path based on your specific setup.
Reseller Hosting
If you are migrating a Reseller account, the process depends on how many cPanel accounts you are moving.
Contact HostArmada’s support team before submitting a migration ticket to confirm how many accounts are covered under the free migration offer and whether a phased approach makes sense for larger reseller setups.
WooCommerce Stores
WooCommerce stores require extra attention during migration because they involve both the WordPress installation and an active database with orders, customers, and product data.
Before requesting a migration, confirm that your store is not actively processing transactions during the transfer window. For high-volume stores, schedule the migration during a low-traffic period to minimize any disruption.
Ready to Move to HostArmada?
Switching hosting providers does not have to mean days of downtime or hours spent troubleshooting a broken database connection. HostArmada’s team handles the heavy lifting, and with the right preparation, most sites land on the new server cleanly and ready to go.
