When a site needs to move
Reasons sites move to new hosting: pages load slowly (the host throttles resources or a neighbor "eats" the server); regular outages at peak hours; support answering in days; the price grew while quality did not; you need technologies the current host lacks (fresh PHP, NVMe, CDN). Sometimes a move is part of a bigger plan: switching to a VPS for growth, moving to the developer for convenient maintenance, consolidating sites and mail on one platform. Do not delay: slow hosting hits both conversion (visitors leave) and SEO (search engines demote slow sites). Moving to a fast platform is the cheapest way to speed up a site: often minus 30–70% of loading time without a single code edit.
What the migration includes
We move everything that makes the site a site: code and CMS files, the media library (images, documents, video), databases with integrity and encoding checks, configuration settings for the new environment (PHP versions, extensions, permissions), SSL certificates (reissued on the new platform), domain mailboxes with correspondence and MX, SPF, DKIM setup, cron jobs, integrations and webhooks. After copying — a test verification: pages open, forms submit, login works, cart and payments pass, emails arrive. Only after your confirmation do we switch DNS. This order rules out the "moved and broke" scenario: problems are found on the test platform, not on the production site.
How we ensure zero downtime
The secret is the right order. First we raise a full copy of the site on the new platform and run tests — the production site keeps working as usual. Then we lower the DNS TTL (a day before the switch) — so the address change spreads across the internet in minutes, not days. We switch the DNS, and during the transition period (several hours) we accept orders and forms on both platforms and sync new data. When traffic has fully moved — we shut down the old platform. Every step has a rollback plan: the old platform stays on and ready to take traffic until final confirmation. Result: visitors and search engines do not notice the move, and you get a fast site.
DNS, SSL, email and pitfalls
Migration has subtleties that break DIY moves: old TTLs keep some users on the "dead" platform; the SSL certificate is forgotten — browsers scare visitors; domain mail stops flowing without correct MX and SPF; cron jobs remain on the old server and "duplicate" data; hard-coded paths in the code break in the new environment; CDN caches serve stale content. We walk through all these traps for you: the migration checklist is proven on hundreds of moves. After the switch we monitor availability, log errors, response speed and email deliverability for a week. Peace of mind after the move is part of the service.
Migration to a VPS and ZXY infrastructure
A common scenario — moving from shared hosting to a VPS: the site gets dedicated resources, speed and control. We do such a migration "turnkey": we pick a VPS configuration for your project (CPU, memory, NVMe disks), install and configure the server environment (web server, the right PHP version, databases, caching), migrate the site, set up backups, monitoring, SSL and DDoS protection. We can host the site on our infrastructure: a Tier-3 data center, 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support — then hosting and site support live with one vendor, not a "phone relay" between hoster and developer. Moving to us includes server setup in the price.
Timeline, cost and work order
A simple site (landing, small corporate) moves in 1 working day; an online store or a high-load site — 2–3 days (accounting for order and data sync). Price — from 5 000 RUB for a standard migration; migration with VPS setup — from 15 000 RUB; migration to ZXY infrastructure with server, backup and monitoring setup — from 20 000 RUB. The order: diagnostics of the current platform and site composition (free) → a migration plan with a schedule → copying and test verification → TTL lowering → DNS switching in a convenient window (usually at night or on weekends) → a week of observation. By contract; after the move we can take the site under support — so it stays fast and secure.
What else to do while migrating a website
A migration is a good moment to clean things up.
Data migration helps when databases, files or accounts move between systems along with the site.
Hosting setup makes the new server faster than the old one: PHP, cache, backups and monitoring. And
domain registration and renewal removes the "expired domain" risk — the most painful way to lose a website. We include these items in the migration plan on request.
