Applies to: All plans. Migration is free on every plan — Self-Managed and Managed alike — and we do it for you; on Self-Managed you can also self-migrate if you prefer.
Use this checklist to gather everything we need before a migration. The more of this you have ready, the faster and cleaner your move will be. Send it to us in your support chat or ticket — never paste passwords into a public channel; we'll tell you the safe way to share credentials.
1. Access to your current site
Give us one of the following so we can copy your site across:
| What | Why we need it | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Old host login (cPanel or control panel URL, username, password) | Lets us pull your files, databases and settings directly | Your current provider's welcome email or their client area |
| A full cPanel backup file | A self-contained copy we can restore | cPanel Backup / JetBackup on your old host, or ask them to generate one |
| FTP/SFTP details + a database dump | For non-cPanel or custom setups | Your old host or developer |
If you're on cPanel elsewhere, a cPanel-to-cPanel transfer is usually the smoothest path. See cPanel-to-cPanel transfers explained.
2. Your domain and where it's registered
Tell us:
- The domain name(s) you're moving.
- Where the domain is registered (the registrar you pay for the domain) and whether you can log in there.
- Whether you want to keep the domain at its current registrar or transfer it to Maxinodes later.
You don't have to transfer the domain to host with us — you only need to point it. When you're ready, you'll set your nameservers to ns1.maxinodes.com and ns2.maxinodes.com — the zone we create then contains both the A and the AAAA records, so you do not have to add anything. Or, if your DNS stays at another provider, add the records there yourself: an A record to 185.185.49.198 and an AAAA record to 2a00:7c80:0:286:c::10. Customer websites are served over both IPv4 and IPv6 (dual-stack).
Note: DNS records here are managed by us, on our own nameservers, and you edit them in your client area, not the cPanel zone editor.
3. Your current DNS records
If you have custom DNS records (subdomains, verification TXT records, third-party services), list them or point us at where they live now so nothing is lost. We recreate them in your client area DNS manager during the move.
4. Your email setup
Email is not hosted on our server — we resell Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, and you can also bring your own provider. Tell us:
- Who hosts your email today (e.g. your old host's mailboxes, M365, Google Workspace, or another provider).
- Whether you want us to set up Professional Email (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace) as part of the move.
If you're leaving mailboxes that lived on your old host, plan the mailbox move separately — see How to migrate your email to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. On Managed we configure your MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for you.
5. A preferred cutover window
Tell us a low-traffic time (day and time zone) when you'd like to flip the domain over to Maxinodes. We copy and stage your site first, test it, then switch DNS during your chosen window to keep disruption to a minimum. DNS changes usually propagate within minutes to a few hours, occasionally up to 24–48 hours, depending on your record TTL.
6. Anything we should know
- Any apps or frameworks beyond standard PHP/MySQL (so we can confirm they're supported on shared hosting).
- Scheduled tasks (cron jobs) you rely on.
- A working current URL we can compare against after the move.
Result: With items 1–5 in hand, we can stage your site, recreate your DNS and email records, and cut over in your chosen window.
A quick note on fees: domain registrations/renewals are non-refundable once provisioned.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.