How to Move Your Website to InterServer: Free Migration Step by Step

Yes. InterServer advertises free website transfer help for new hosting accounts: its team copies your files, databases and settings from your old host. The safest process is order, request the migration, test on the new server, switch DNS, and cancel the old host only at the very end.

This guide walks through each step with the checks that prevent downtime and lost email. It is based on InterServer's own pages and independent plan trackers checked in October 2026, not on a migration we ran ourselves. New to the host? Read our InterServer review first.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from our InterServer link. Read our disclosure.

InterServer's Standard hosting page lists free website transfer help for new accounts. Independent plan tracking describes the scope as website files and databases, email accounts, domain transfer assistance and nameserver changes, carried out by InterServer's own team rather than a self-service tool.

• Website files copied from your old host
• Databases exported and imported for you
• Email account transfer (confirm mailbox scope in your ticket)
• cPanel to DirectAdmin conversion where needed
• Guidance on the nameserver or DNS switch

What is usually not included: fixing a broken or hacked site, redesign work, and moving domains you do not control. Confirm your exact scope in writing before you order.

1. Know what you are moving

List your sites, databases, email accounts and any cron jobs or custom server settings. A single WordPress blog is simple; a store with payment webhooks and business email needs more care.

2. Take your own backup

Even with a free migration service, keep an independent copy of files and databases. InterServer's Standard plan runs weekly backups, so your own backup habit matters after the move too. Our backup guide shows a simple routine.

3. Check where your domain lives

Your domain registrar is where you will change nameservers at the end. Make sure you can log in there before starting.

4. Keep the old hosting paid up

Do not let the old account expire mid-move. Overlap of a few weeks is cheap insurance against a failed transfer.

For most sites, Standard web hosting is the right start: $2.50 for the first month, then $7/month, with longer terms (6 months $15, 12 months $30, 24 months $60) listed on the same page. A separate Price Lock campaign advertises $5/month for life on eligible orders; our Price Lock explainer covers the difference.

Standard uses the DirectAdmin control panel. If your old host used cPanel, the migration team converts your account, but day-to-day screens will look different. A separate cPanel plan exists at a higher price if you prefer it.

After ordering, open a support ticket and ask for a free website migration. Independent testers describe using a clear subject such as "Free Website Migration" and including:

• your old host's name and control panel (cPanel, DirectAdmin, Plesk, custom)
• the list of sites and databases to move
• whether email mailboxes must move too
• anything that must be preserved exactly (custom code, cron jobs, SSL)

Getting the scope confirmed in writing protects you: if something is missed, the ticket is your record of what was agreed.

The team will ask for access to your old hosting account, typically the panel login or FTP plus database access. Where possible, set a temporary password first and change it back after the move.

InterServer does not publish an official completion time. Third-party testers report most moves finishing within about 24–48 hours, but treat that as a rough expectation, not a promise. Large or unusual sites can take longer.

During the wait, your old host still serves visitors, so nothing changes for them.

This is the step that prevents disasters. Before touching DNS, preview the migrated site and check:

• every important page loads, including images and downloads
• WordPress admin login works and plugins are intact
• contact forms, checkout and search work
• SSL certificate is active (https with no warnings)
• email accounts exist and can send and receive

If something is wrong, reply to the migration ticket while the old host is still live. Fixing issues now costs nothing; fixing them after the DNS switch means downtime.

Once tests pass, log in to your domain registrar and change the nameservers to the ones InterServer gives you in your welcome email or ticket. The alternative, editing only the A record, works too but nameservers are simpler for most people.

DNS changes spread worldwide over up to 24–48 hours. During that window some visitors see the old server and some the new one, which is fine because both show the same site. Avoid publishing new content during the switch, or it may land on the old server.

Wait several days after the DNS switch. Watch the site, check email delivery and confirm orders or form entries arrive. Then:

1. download a final full backup from the old host
2. cancel the old hosting plan
3. store the backup somewhere safe for a few months

Cancelling early is the most common migration mistake. The old account is your fallback until the new one is proven.

If you would rather not hand over logins, WordPress sites move easily with free plugins. InterServer's own knowledge base documents Migrate Guru, and UpdraftPlus is a common alternative:

1. install WordPress on InterServer with the one-click installer
2. run the migration plugin on your old site and point it at the new one
3. test the copy, then switch DNS as in steps 4–6 above

For non-WordPress sites, the manual route is an FTP download of all files plus a database export through phpMyAdmin, then the reverse on the new account. Our InterServer WordPress review covers the panel and installer in more detail.

Email is the most fragile part of any host move. Independent plan tracking lists mailbox transfer in InterServer's migration scope, but confirm it explicitly in your ticket, and note:

• if you use Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or another external email provider, your email does not move at all; only DNS records need checking
• if mailboxes live at your old host, ask the team to confirm they are included and test sending and receiving before the DNS switch
• keep old webmail access until you are sure no messages are stranded

• InterServer Standard web hosting, including the free transfer offer and current prices, checked October 25, 2026.
• InterServer knowledge base: migration guides, including cPanel to DirectAdmin conversion and Migrate Guru, checked October 25, 2026.
• CrowsNest plan tracker: InterServer Standard, migration scope details, updated October 4, 2026.

We did not run our own test migration for this guide, and InterServer publishes no official completion timeframe, so treat third-party timing reports as estimates. Confirm the exact migration scope for your site in a support ticket before ordering. Still comparing hosts? See InterServer vs Hostinger, InterServer vs Bluehost or try our Hosting Finder.