Switching Providers
Moving a website, a mailbox or a whole cloud estate without breaking anything.
Most migrations fail in the same way: the DNS is changed before the destination is ready. Move in the opposite order — copy everything, test it in place, then re-point the domain — and a website move takes a day with no downtime, while an email move takes a few days and no lost mail. The risk is almost entirely in the sequencing.
These guides cover the three moves businesses actually make: a website to a new host, mailboxes to a new email provider, and workloads to a different cloud. The principles overlap, but the failure modes do not, so they are grouped separately below.
Start here
The four questions that come up before every migration we are asked about.
- Website Migration Checklist: What to Do Before, During and After Switching Hosts
A step-by-step checklist covering what to do before, during and after the move. - How to Move Your Website to a New Host Without Losing Your Rankings
How to move hosts without losing search rankings, and which mistakes actually cost positions. - What Does Email Migration Mean? A Plain Guide for Business Owners
What email migration involves in plain terms, and why it takes longer than a website move. - How Much Does Email Migration Cost for a Small Business?
What email migration costs for a small business, and what should be included in the price.
Moving a website
The mechanics of a site move, including doing it without downtime and deciding whether to do it yourself.
Moving to the cloud
Larger moves, where the planning matters more than the copying.
Where LiberationTek fits
LiberationTek includes migration with hosting and email plans rather than charging for it separately. We copy the site or mailboxes, test everything on our side, and only then ask you to change DNS.
Frequently asked questions
Will moving hosts hurt my search rankings?
Not if the URLs stay identical and the site is reachable throughout. Rankings fall when a migration changes URL structure, drops pages, or leaves the site down for hours. Copy, test, then re-point DNS, and keep every URL the same.
How long does a website migration take?
A day of work plus up to 48 hours for DNS to propagate worldwide. Visitors see whichever server their resolver knows about, which is why both must be live during the changeover rather than one being switched off.
Will I lose email during a migration?
You should not. Mailboxes are copied while the old provider still receives mail, then MX records are changed, then a final sync catches anything that arrived in between. Mail is only lost when that final sync is skipped.
Should I migrate myself or pay someone?
If the site is a straightforward brochure site on common software, doing it yourself is realistic. Databases, ecommerce and anything with live transactions are worth handing over, because the cost of a bad cutover is measured in orders rather than hours.
What does a migration cost?
It varies from included to several hundred dollars depending on complexity and provider. Ask whether it is included before comparing monthly prices, because a cheaper plan with a paid migration is frequently the more expensive option in year one.
Thinking about moving?
Tell us what you are running and where it lives now. We will tell you what the move involves and how long it takes before you commit to anything.
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