How to move a WordPress site to Maxinodes

You can move an existing WordPress site to Maxinodes in three ways: use a WordPress migration plugin, copy the files and database across by hand, or let us do it for you. Whichever you choose, your old site stays live until you switch your domain over, so there is no rush and no surprise downtime.

Applies to: All plans.

Before you start: you need access to your current WordPress site (admin login, plus FTP/SFTP and database details for a manual move), an active Maxinodes hosting account, and your client area and cPanel logins.

The short version: Migration is free on every plan — Self-Managed and Managed alike — and we do it for you if you ask. Prefer to do it yourself? Use a plugin (easiest) or the manual method below.

Let us do it (free on every plan)

The simplest option is to hand it to us. Open a ticket in your client area -> Support with your current host's details (a full backup, or cPanel/FTP/admin logins) and the domain you are moving. We copy your site onto our servers and test it before anything changes. See How to migrate your site to Maxinodes for exactly what to send us.

The rest of this article covers the do-it-yourself routes.

Option A: use a migration plugin (easiest)

A WordPress migration plugin packages your whole site — files, database and settings — and rebuilds it on the new server. This is the least technical route.

Prepare the destination. Install a fresh WordPress on your Maxinodes account with WP Toolkit in cPanel (the WordPress Management tile). See How to install WordPress with WP Toolkit.
Install your migration plugin on both the old site and the new Maxinodes site (use the same plugin on each).
Export your existing site from the plugin on the old host. This creates a single package or backup file.
Import that package into the new WordPress on Maxinodes, following the plugin's prompts.
Check the result by browsing the new site (see "Test before you switch" below).

Result: Your full WordPress site runs on Maxinodes, ready to test before you change your domain.

Option B: move the files and database by hand

Choose this if you prefer full control or your site is too large for a plugin.

Download your files. Connect to your old host over FTP/SFTP and download your WordPress folder (everything, including wp-config.php, wp-content and .htaccess).
Export your database. In your old host's phpMyAdmin, export the WordPress database to a .sql file.
Create a database here. In cPanel -> Databases -> MySQL Databases, create a new database and a database user, then add the user to the database with all privileges. Note the names and password. See How to create and manage a MySQL database. Watch your plan's database limit — Self-Managed Lite allows 2 databases and Managed Starter allows 10, and the path when you hit a limit is to upgrade.
Import the database. Open cPanel -> Databases -> phpMyAdmin, select your new database, and import the .sql file. See How to use phpMyAdmin.
Upload your files. Put your WordPress files into the site's document root (usually public_html) using cPanel -> Files -> File Manager or FTP/SFTP. See How to upload files with File Manager.
Update wp-config.php. Edit wp-config.php and set the database name, database user and password to the new values you created in step 3.

Result: WordPress on Maxinodes points at your migrated database and serves your content.

Test before you switch

Your old site keeps serving visitors until you repoint your domain, so test the copy on our servers first — before changing any DNS. The simplest way is to temporarily map your domain to our server on your own computer by adding a line to your local hosts file pointing your domain at 185.185.49.198; your browser then loads the Maxinodes copy while the rest of the world still sees the old site. While testing, confirm pages, images, logins and your contact forms all work, then remove the hosts-file line when you are done.

Because we run LiteSpeed, install the LiteSpeed Cache plugin to pair with our server-level cache — most sites are faster after the move. See How to speed up WordPress with LiteSpeed Cache.

Point your domain and finish the cutover

When the copy looks right, switch your domain to our nameservers at your registrar: ns1.maxinodes.com and ns2.maxinodes.com. See How to point your domain to Maxinodes (set your nameservers). DNS changes propagate over a few hours (occasionally up to 24–48), and free AutoSSL issues your HTTPS certificate automatically once the domain points to us.

A few things to keep straight:

Email does not move with the website. We do not host mailboxes on the hosting server. If you use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, re-create your existing email DNS records — especially your MX record — in your client area so mail keeps flowing. See How email works at Maxinodes and The DNS records your email needs.
Manage DNS in the client area, not the cPanel zone editor. See How to manage DNS records in your client area.
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 to 185.185.49.198 and the AAAA records to 2a00:7c80:0:286:c::10 — you do not have to add anything. If you point records manually at another DNS provider, add both there yourself: an A record to 185.185.49.198 and an AAAA record to 2a00:7c80:0:286:c::10.

Troubleshooting this task

Mixed-content or broken links after import: old URLs are still saved in the database. Use your migration plugin's search-and-replace, or update the site and home URLs, so everything points at your domain.
White screen after moving: usually a plugin or theme fault. See Fixing the WordPress white screen of death.
"Error establishing a database connection": the credentials in wp-config.php do not match the database you created here — recheck the name, user and password. See Fixing "Error establishing a database connection".
Upload fails on a large site: raise the upload or memory limit within your plan's limits via MultiPHP INI Editor, or use the manual file-and-database method instead. See How to increase the WordPress memory or upload limit.