Transfer Your Website - Host Geek Singapore

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I request a free Website Migration?

The best way to request our Geeks to migrate your website for you is to lodge a support request with our team. You can do this by any of the following methods:

Lodge Migration Request ticket via the Client Portal
Send an email to migrations@hostgeek.com.sg from your registered email address
Give our team a call on +65 3125 1590

What Information do I need to provide for my website migration?

Providing accurate details for your old hosting environment is critical to helping our team migrate your website quickly and with as little downtime as possible.
At a minimum, we require the following details:

Control Panel URL
Control Panel Username
Control Panel Password
Notes regarding any special configuration, if applicable

If you are also transferring your domain name registration to Host Geek, we can help update the DNS records for you. If your domain is registered elsewhere, then you will need to either provide access for our technicians to update your domain’s DNS Delegation (done via the domain registrar), or be able to make these changes yourself when directed by our support team.

When will my website be transferred?

Once you have requested your website to be transferred and have provided all of the necessary login details for the old host, our team will take a look at the old hosting environment to evaluate which scenario applies to your request, and the amount of time required to complete the migration.
At this point, we will endeavor to book a time with you for the migration to occur. We always aim to complete the transfers at a time that is suitable for you (where any disruption is likely to cause the least inconvenience).

All website transfers are completed within standard business hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, excluding public holidays). If you wish to have your services migrated outside of these times, an additional fee will apply. You may request a quote for out-of-hours migration of your hosting services at the time you request your services to be transferred.

How do I know which transfer scenario applies to me?

Our support team will be able to confirm the transfer scenario that applies to you hosting migration request.

Website Transfer Scenarios

Scenario A: WHM single account

This scenario applies to most customers with a standard hosting account with another provider who uses the WHM/cPanel server software (most providers). This scenario allows our team to download a full backup of your web hosting from the old provider, and restore it to the Host Geek servers.This is the quickest migration scenario, and provides the least amount of interruption/disruption to your services.The time required to complete the migration under this scenario depends on the size of your website (and supporting files such as email accounts and databases). Typically, a migration in this scenario would be completed within ½ to 1 hour.If you have a ‘Reseller’ type service with the old hosting provider (that is a type of service that provides you with one master account, under which sub accounts are created), then this process needs to be completed by our team for each account to be migrated.

Scenario B: WHM VPS (root level access)

If you have a VPS (or other type of dedicated server system) with your old provider, and it is running the WHM/cPanel software, and you have ‘root’ level access to the server, Scenario B applies to you.Under this scenario, we can use some built in transfer tools that exist in the WHM/cPanel software to help transfer your accounts across to the new server. You are likely to have multiple accounts on your old server, and these can all easily be transferred across.Typically, it would take approximatley ½ to 1 hour to transfer each account in this scenario. Again the amount of time required for each account is directly affected by the size of the account, including the web files, email accounts and databases. The speed of the old server also has a direct impact on the transfer time.

Scenario C: Other Control Panel

If your old web hosting provides a control panel that you can log into to manage the hosting (e.g. website files, databases and emails), then Scenario C most likely applies to you. Examples of other hosting control panels that you may be using include: Plesk, DirectAdmin.In this case, our team will need to manually transfer all of the sub-components of your website across to Host Geek. Depending on the size and complexity of your website services, this process can take a long time to complete for each account.Some examples of the additional work our Geeks will need to complete for a migration under this scenario include:Manually transferring website files Exporting and importing database tables Updating web software to connect to the correct database details Manually re-create email accounts Under this scenario, the transfer of any email accounts requires the most amount of work. The reason for this is that the old email accounts are generally not able to be imported into the Host Geek servers – rather they need to be manually re-created. As part of the migration service, our team will assist you to:Export your old mail using your existing email application Update your email client settings to connect to the new server Import your old mail The time required to migrate service under this scenario depends on the size of the website of the account, including the web files, email accounts and databases, as well as the complexity of the software running on the account. Typical transfers under this scenario may take 1-2 hours to complete.

Scenario D: Custom Web Software Hosting

Some website providers deliver their service using a managed hosting environment, and using their proprietary CMS (Content Management System) software. These providers typically do not provide their customers with access to the underlying hosting services.Examples of these providers include: Shopify, Weebly, Adobe Business Catalyst etcIn these cases, migrating your website to another provider can be anywhere between very difficult and almost impossible. Our team will be able to provide you with detailed information on your individual scenario, and the options available to you for migrating your web services.