Moving from another host, with nothing left dangling
If your host is slow to respond, vague about backups, or leaving the updates to you, moving is less work than living with it. We handle the whole move: a full backup before anything changes, your site set up and tested on our infrastructure, then a DNS switch timed to keep disruption to minutes. We’re a small studio in north Norfolk, a short drive from Norwich, moving sites in for businesses there and across the UK. £50 to £150 as a one-off, and free with a new annual hosting contract.
If any of this rings true
Signs your hosting is letting you down.
Plenty of small businesses put up with poor hosting longer than they should, because moving feels like a hassle and the problems don't seem urgent enough to act on. A few signals that it’s worth making the change:
Your site is slow, and you've been told it's fine as often as it's been fixed
Backups are vague: you're not sure when they run, what they cover, or whether you could restore from one
Security updates are your problem, not your host's: you're responsible for keeping WordPress, themes, and plugins current, and that's drifting
Your host is hard to reach, or slow to respond, or funnels you through a ticketing system with no idea when you'll hear back
Something went wrong and recovery was painful, or worse, you didn't have anything to recover from
You've outgrown a cheap shared plan and the performance shows it: slow page loads, poor response under any real traffic
Your host isn't UK-based, and you're starting to care about where your data lives
What we do
The full move, in five steps
We take care of the whole migration. The sequence below is the same for almost every job, with some variation depending on the kind of site you're running.
1. Full backup of your existing site
Before anything else changes, we take a complete backup of your site as it currently stands on your old host. Files, database, everything. If something unexpected happens during the move, we have a clean snapshot to fall back on.
2. Set up your site on BrainWeb's infrastructure
We build out the site on our hosting environment: WordPress installation, database configuration, all your files transferred across. The site runs on our infrastructure before any visitors see it there.
3. Test everything
Once the site is set up on our side, we go through it: pages, forms, any integrations, checkout if there is one. The aim is to confirm it's working exactly as it should before the DNS switch happens. If anything needs adjusting, it gets done now, not after you're already live.
4. DNS switch, timed to minimise disruption
When everything is tested and ready, we change the DNS records that point your domain to the new hosting. Most of the time this is quick, typically a few hours for most visitors. We time the switch for low-traffic periods where the site's analytics make that possible, and we stay available while it propagates.
5. Cancel your old hosting, if you want us to
Once the site is confirmed live on the new hosting and the DNS has settled, we can handle cancelling your old account if you'd rather not deal with it. Or you can do it yourself: either way, we'll make sure nothing's left dangling.
The question everyone asks
Rarely, and never for long.
The answer is that a brief window of mixed traffic is normal during a DNS switch: some visitors will see the old site on your old host, some will see the new one on ours, depending on which DNS servers have updated yet. In practice this is invisible to almost everyone, and it resolves within a few hours for the large majority of visitors.
What we avoid is the scenario where the site is down during the move itself: that happens when people pull the site from the old host before the new one is live. We test everything on our infrastructure first, confirm it's working, and only then make the switch. The two versions of the site overlap briefly; there's no gap between them.
If your site handles anything time-sensitive during the switch window (a live sale, a webinar, a booking with immediate confirmation), we'll flag it in advance and either plan around it or talk through the options.
Worth knowing
Domain and email stay where they are, unless you want to move them.
Hosting a website and where your domain is registered are separate things. Moving your hosting to BrainWeb doesn't require moving your domain. We just update the DNS records that point your domain at your site: the domain itself stays registered wherever it is.
Similarly, moving your website hosting doesn't affect your email if it's set up separately, through Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or a standalone email service. If your email is running through your current host's mail server, that's worth sorting out before the move rather than after, and we'll flag it during the assessment.
If you do want to transfer your domain to us, or move your email to a managed setup, we can handle both as part of the same project. Neither is required for the migration itself.
Pricing
Free with a new annual contract. Modest as a one-off.
Migration is included free when you take a new annual hosting contract with us. There's no separate charge on top of the hosting.
If you'd prefer to start on a monthly plan, or if you'd like us to migrate a site we didn't build, migration is quoted separately: typically £50 to £150 depending on the size and complexity of the site. Larger sites with more content, more database complexity, or integrations to test tend to sit at the higher end; straightforward brochure sites sit at the lower end. We'll give you a clear figure before any work begins.
No work starts without an agreed price.
Where the edges are
What we can and can't carry across.
Most migrations are clean. A few things are worth knowing before you start.
We migrate sites as they are.
If the current site has problems before the move, those problems travel with it: outdated plugins, broken links, a bloated database, a theme that's drifting away from its original install. A migration is a move, not a rebuild. If the site needs work as well as a new home, we'll tell you, and we can quote for that separately if it's useful.
If your site has already been compromised, migration comes second.
Moving a hacked site is moving the hack. If there's any sign the site has been infected or tampered with, the right first step is a Website Security Rescue, and then the migration once it's clean.
Email hosted through your current host needs separate attention.
If your inbox runs through the same company as your website hosting, changing hosting changes your email too, unless it’s moved first. We'll check for this at the assessment stage and won't proceed until it's sorted.
Some older hosts make migration awkward.
Most don't, but occasionally a host limits access to backups, restricts database exports, or makes it hard to get the files out. If that happens, we’ll lay out the options rather than quietly struggling through it.
Related services
Where you end up after the move.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Fast UK servers, daily backups, SSL, security monitoring, and active maintenance, for WordPress sites. Standard hosting covers most small business websites. Performance covers busier ones. The natural destination for a WordPress site moving away from an underperforming host.
App & Static Website Hosting
If the site is being converted to Astro or Next.js as part of the move, this is where it lands.
Website Security Rescue
If the site arriving from its old host has already been compromised, or you suspect it might be, this is where to start. We clean and harden first, then migrate to a managed setup.
Ready to move, or just curious what it involves?
Get in touch and we'll take a look at your current setup. We'll tell you what the move would involve, what it would cost if anything, and what you'd get at the other end. The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.