cPanel-to-cPanel transfers explained

If your current host also runs cPanel, moving to Maxinodes is the easiest kind of migration: we restore a full cPanel account onto your new service, so your files, databases and most settings come across in one go. Your mailboxes come across too. One thing deliberately does not travel with the account — your live DNS — and this article explains why, plus exactly what to check once the move is done.

Applies to: All plans. Migration is free on every plan — on both Self-Managed and Managed we do it for you at no charge.

Before you start: you need a full cPanel backup file from your old host, the domain you are moving, and your Maxinodes client area and cPanel logins.

What a cPanel-to-cPanel transfer is

A full cPanel account is a single package: the website files, the databases, and a bundle of account settings. When your old host uses cPanel too, that whole package can be exported as one backup and restored onto your new account here — no rebuilding by hand. It is the cleanest way to move, and on this platform it is the route we recommend whenever your current host supports it.

To hand it to us, open a request in our Help Center at support.maxinodes.com (or email support@maxinodes.com) with the domain you are moving and a full cPanel backup — generate it on your old host under cPanel Backup or JetBackup, then upload it to your Maxinodes account or send us a download link. We restore it onto your Maxinodes account and test it before you change anything live. See What we need from you to migrate (checklist).

We will never ask you for a password by email or chat. A backup file is all a cPanel-to-cPanel transfer needs, so there is no reason to send us your old host's cPanel password — and no reason for it to sit in a support request afterwards. If a backup genuinely cannot be produced, we will ask you to create a temporary account at your old host with only the access the move requires, agree a secure one-off way to hand the password over, and you delete it as soon as the migration is signed off.

What carries over

A full account restore brings across the things stored inside the cPanel account:

Website files — everything under your document root (usually public_html), including .htaccess rules.
Databases — your MySQL/MariaDB databases, database users and their data.
FTP/SFTP accounts and their credentials.
Subdomains and addon domains configured in cPanel.
Cron jobs (scheduled tasks).
Mailboxes — each mailbox with its mail, folders and password, plus your forwarders and filters. Mail counts toward your plan's storage and each plan has a mailbox allowance, so check both fit — see What's included in your plan.
DNS zone data as a copy — your old zone file comes in the backup, but it does not become your live DNS here (see below).

Result: Your site, its databases, mailboxes and account settings run on Maxinodes, ready to test before you switch your domain over.

Live DNS and your email

Your live DNS is handled separately, by design, and your email needs one decision before you switch.

Your email. Mailboxes on your old cPanel server come across with the account, into the mailboxes included in your plan. What happens to new mail depends on where it is handled today:

Mail at your old cPanel host? Depending on how that host set up its mail records, incoming mail either starts arriving in your mailboxes here as soon as the nameservers switch, or stays with the old host until the records change. Tell us before you switch the nameservers or cancel your old hosting: we check which, and copy anything that reached the old server in the meantime.
Already on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? Nothing moves with the website. When we create your DNS zone we copy your provider's records, so mail keeps going there; check them in the client area before you switch the nameservers.
Want Professional Email from us instead? Order seats in the client area store and add Managed email (€19/month including 3 users, then €5 per additional user), then move your mail into the new mailboxes. Order those seats through us and we handle the email move and configure SPF, DKIM and DMARC for you, on any hosting plan. See Email at Maxinodes and How to migrate your email to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.

Live DNS is not the cPanel zone editor. Your DNS here is managed by us, on our own nameservers, and lives in the client area, not in cPanel. The zone copied in your backup is inert on our platform. Manage all your records — A, CNAME, MX, TXT and so on — in the client area instead. See How to manage DNS records in your client area.

Cut over when you are ready

Your old site keeps serving visitors until you repoint your domain, so there is no surprise downtime. When the copy looks right:

Test your mailboxes first: use the Webmail button on your service page in the client area, or open https://node11.maxinodes.com:2096 and sign in with a full email address and its password, which came across with the account.
Point your domain at our nameservers at your registrar: ns1.maxinodes.com and ns2.maxinodes.com. See How to point your domain to Maxinodes.
Check your email DNS records in the client area. For the mailboxes included in your plan, the zone holds them for you (MX mx.maxinodes.com, SPF, DKIM and DMARC). On Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, check that your provider's records were copied; the exact values come from its admin console. Then ask us for a final copy of anything that reached the old mailboxes, and keep your old hosting for another week as a safety net. See The DNS records your email needs.
DNS changes propagate over a few hours (occasionally up to 24–48), governed by your record TTL. Free AutoSSL issues your HTTPS certificate automatically once the domain points to us.

For a full switch-over plan, see What to expect on go-live day (cutover checklist).

What to check afterwards

Once the account is restored and your domain points to us, run through these:

Browse the site — pages, images, logins and contact forms all load.
Database connection — apps that use a database (such as WordPress) connect; if your old config pointed at a hard-coded database host, set it back to localhost.
Email flow — send and receive a test message; mail apps that used your old host's server name now use mail.yourdomain.com; your MX and SPF/DKIM/DMARC records are correct in the client area.
HTTPS — the padlock shows and there is no "Not secure" or mixed-content warning. See Free SSL (AutoSSL) and how to force HTTPS.
Plan limits — your databases, mailboxes and disk usage (mail included) fit your plan; if not, the path is to upgrade. See Understanding your hosting account's limits.

Note: Customer websites are served over both IPv4 and IPv6 (dual-stack). When your domain uses our nameservers, the zone we create contains both the A records pointing at 185.185.49.198 and the AAAA records pointing at 2a00:7c80:0:286:c::10, for your domain, www, cpanel and ftp — you do not have to add anything. AutoSSL (Let's Encrypt) covers both addresses.

Troubleshooting this task

Mail stopped after cutover: a mail app may still point at your old host's server name (set it to mail.yourdomain.com); a mailbox may be full (raise its quota under Email Accounts, up to your plan's maximum); or the account may be out of storage, since mail counts toward it. On Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, check that its MX and SPF records are in the client area. See Email isn't sending or receiving.
DNS edits in cPanel do nothing: the cPanel zone editor does not control live DNS here. Make the change in the client area instead.
"Error establishing a database connection" after the move: the app's database host or credentials are wrong. Point the host at localhost and confirm the database name, user and password. See Database connection errors.
Account too big for your plan: if disk usage (mail included), database count or mailbox count exceed your plan, upgrade before or right after the move. See How to upgrade or downgrade your plan.