Guide · moving a site
Copy first, test, then switch DNS while the old host keeps running. Eight steps, plus WordPress details and what to do about email and SSL.
Quick answer
How do I move my website to a new host without downtime?
A move without downtime takes 8 steps: copy the files and database to the new host, test the copy, lower the DNS TTL ahead of time, switch DNS, then keep the old host running until caches expire. Velumhold moves an existing site in for free, from $2.49 a month on the yearly term, with no KYC and payment in crypto.
Back up everything
Download all the files and export every database. Keep this copy away from the old host.
Lower the TTL
At your DNS host, set the TTL of the A record and the MX records to 300 seconds. Do it at least one old TTL before the switch.
Set up the new account
Order the new plan first. The old site keeps running meanwhile. Once your payment is confirmed, a member of the team creates your hosting account within minutes, and within the hour at the very latest; follow its status in the dashboard until the control panel login appears.
Copy the files and the database
Upload the files, import the database dump and update the database name, user and password in your site's config file. You manage everything from a web control panel: files, domains, email accounts, databases, SSL and backups. Give an SSH public key at checkout for SFTP and SSH, or leave it blank; the panel login always comes with the account.
Test the copy
Point your own computer at the new server with the hosts file and browse the site. Nobody else is affected.
Freeze, then sync once more
Pause changes on the old site (orders, comments, posts). Copy the files and the database one last time.
Switch DNS
Change the A record, or the nameservers, to the new host. Domains are not sold here: point a domain you own to the account with two nameservers or an A record.
Check, then raise the TTL
Check the padlock, forms, redirects and mail. Raise the TTL again once everything works, and keep the old host until the old TTL has run out.
DNS answers are cached, and the TTL says for how long: lower it before the move, not during it. A TTL is the time interval that a record may be cached before the source should be consulted again (RFC 1035, section 3.2.1). A visitor whose resolver holds the old answer keeps reaching the old server until it expires.
Amazon's Route 53 documentation says a longer TTL makes changes take longer to take effect. For a record already in use, it advises a shorter value first, such as 300 seconds, and a higher value once the new settings are confirmed. So lower the TTL at least one old TTL before the switch. If it was one day, do it a day early. The old host must keep serving the site until then.
Edit the hosts file on your own computer. It maps a name to an IP address, and Windows checks it before it asks DNS (Microsoft Learn). Add a line with the new server's IP address and your domain, then open the site. You see the new server, and everyone else still sees the old one. Remove the line when you are done.
On Windows the hosts file needs administrator rights to save. On Linux it is /etc/hosts. If you cannot find the new server's address, ask support. A person answers support emails within 12 hours, seven days a week, including help with DNS records, WordPress, email accounts and moving a site in.
203.0.113.25 yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.comExport the database to a file, import it on the new account, then fix the config. The mysqldump tool makes a logical backup: SQL statements that rebuild the tables and the data (MySQL reference manual). The manual notes it is not meant as a fast or scalable way to back up large amounts of data, so allow time for a big database.
mysqldump -u DBUSER -p DBNAME > backup.sqlWordPress needs three extra checks.
wp-config.php.wp search-replace handles serialized data, and --dry-run shows the result without saving it.Pick “WordPress, installed” at checkout and the account arrives with WordPress set up on your domain; pick “Empty account” to upload your own site. For a move, send support a backup. See WordPress hosting with crypto.
Move the mailboxes and the MX records separately from the website. Mail arrives wherever the MX record points (RFC 5321, section 5.1), and senders cache that answer like any other, so lower the MX TTL too.
The records are explained in email on your own domain.
A certificate can be issued once the domain reaches the new server. Let's Encrypt checks a domain by fetching a file from http://yourdomain.com/.well-known/acme-challenge/ on port 80 (the HTTP-01 check). Wildcard certificates need the DNS-01 check instead.
Free SSL certificates (Let’s Encrypt), issued and renewed automatically for every domain on the account. After the switch, open the site over https and check the padlock. If it is missing, write to support.
Moving an existing site in is free: send support a backup or the old host’s login and the team copies it over. Before a renewal, compare: according to Velumhold's survey of 2 November 2026, all 14 plans at the 5 hosts that print both a first-term and a renewal price renew higher (why web hosting costs more when it renews). Order first. Once your payment is confirmed, a member of the team creates your hosting account within minutes, and within the hour at the very latest; follow its status in the dashboard until the control panel login appears. Your old host keeps serving the site until you switch DNS, so there is no gap. No setup fee is added: the price of the term you pick is what you pay, at the first order and again at each renewal.
You sign in with an account number and pay in BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, XMR. No KYC, at signup or at any later point: no ID, no selfie, no documents, no card, no phone number. Plans start at $2.49 a month on the yearly term: see the pricing page.
Free move-in on every plan. Paid from a crypto balance.
1 website · 20 GB NVMe
$3.56
3 months $9.61 (−10%)6 months $17.08 (−20%)1 year $29.90 (−30%)
Most chosen
10 websites · 50 GB NVMe
$5.35
3 months $14.44 (−10%)6 months $25.68 (−20%)1 year $44.94 (−30%)
Unlimited websites · 75 GB NVMe
$7.14
3 months $19.27 (−10%)6 months $34.27 (−20%)1 year $59.97 (−30%)
In every plan: Free SSL · Daily backups · Email accounts · WordPress installed on request · No KYC
Not if you copy first and switch DNS last. Visitors whose resolvers still hold the old answer reach the old host, and the others reach the new one. Both must serve the same content during that window.
A resolver may keep the old answer for up to the old TTL (RFC 1035). With a TTL lowered to 300 seconds in advance, that is about five minutes.
Yes. Moving an existing site in is free: send support a backup or the old host’s login and the team copies it over.
Yes. If the database and URLs stay the same, copying the files and the database is enough. Update wp-config.php if the database details change, and use WP-CLI search-replace if the URL changes.
Yes. Domains are not sold here: point a domain you own to the account with two nameservers or an A record.
From $2.49/month · no KYC
Get web hosting