How to Migrate your Website at PlanetHoster

Contents

This article explains how to do the migration of your site from another host to PlanetHoster.

This article contains some information that applies only to a version of the product prior to the redesign.

We have produced a video to accompany the text, which we invite you to watch first to get an overview of the protocole to follow.

In the video, the word “account” is used to refer to a Web Project. This will be corrected later.

The PlanetHoster Glossary contains explanations on multiple topics and can be consulted to clarify certain terms.

Prerequisites

We assume you already have a hosting plan at PlanetHoster (please refer to the articles How to Order a The World or How to Order a HybridCloud Plan).

You must first install FileZilla on your workstation. You can download it from the official website: https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client.

Enter the following address in your web browser: https://my.planethoster.com.

Protocole

To migrate your website, you will need to follow these eight steps:

Copy the files from your current hosting account to your computer.
Copy the files to your Web Project on PlanetHoster.
Export the database from your current hosting account to your computer.
Create a new empty database for your Web Project on PlanetHoster.
Import the database into the new database for your Web Project on PlanetHoster.
Update the settings in the database connection file.
Recreate your email accounts.
Update the servers for your domains.

Each hosting provider has its own specific procedures for obtaining the various pieces of information needed for steps 1 and 3. That’s why we’ve provided a series of articles to help you:

If necessary, you can also refer to your hosting provider’s documentation.

Step 1: Copy the files from your current hosting to your computer

Use FTP to copy the files from your website that are on your current hosting provider to your computer.

Generally speaking, two steps are necessary:

Open an FTP session with FileZilla, fill in the Host, Username, Port and Password fields, then click on the Quick Connect button.
Select the contents of your website folder from the Remote Site section and download it to your computer. The section “Downloading files from the FTP server to your computer” in the article How to Put my Site Online with FileZilla explains how to do this.

Additional instructions on how to copy files to your computer can be found in our articles about:

Step 2: Copy the files to your PlanetHoster Web Project

Copy these files via FTP to your hosting in the public_html folder for your main domain.

If you are using the MG panel, you have to refer to the article How to Connect to Your Hosting Using FTP and Send Files.
If you use another panel, you have to refer to the article How to Put my Site Online with FileZilla.

If it is for a Web Project different than your main domain, you will first need to add the domain as an additional domain with the MG panel, as explained in the article How to Manage Domains.

For another panel, you will have to add an additional domain name on an account. Once you have done that, you will need to put your files in the root folder of your site.

Step 3: Export the database from your current hosting provider to your computer

With the MG panel, export your database to your computer from your PhpMyAdmin utility on your current hosting.

If you do not use the MG panel, you have to export the database with another panel.

Additional instructions on how to copy database are available in our articles for:

Step 4: Create a new empty database on your PlanetHoster Web Project

With the MG panel, create a database on your Web Project.

If you do not use the MG panel, you have to create the database with another panel.

Please make a note of the database name, user name and password you have chosen, so that you can recreate the connection in step 6.

Step 5: Import the database into the new database at PlanetHoster

Import the previously exported database into your new database.

If you are using the MG panel, use the PhpMyAdmin tool of your account.
If you use another panel, you have to import the database to the account in SSH.

Step 6: Modify the settings in the database connection file

Modify the database connection file parameters duly noted in step 4.

To do this, please update the following four lines: DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and DB_HOST.
The approach varies according to your CMS.

Step 7: Recreate your email accounts

Recreate your email accounts by copying the emails from an IMAP server to a PlanetHoster server.

Step 8: Change your domain servers

Once you have done that, change your domain servers to PlanetHoster’s.

After your tests, take care to cancel any automatic renewals with your previous host to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Updated on 17 April 2026

Tagged: migration Website migration

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