Website migration
Website migration in Uganda without the downtime
We move websites, databases and email between hosting providers with a tested, documented process. Your site stays up, your mail keeps arriving and your search visibility stays safe.
- Files & databases
- Email-safe DNS changes
- SEO-aware redirects
- Old host decommissioned last
Why organisations move their website
Nobody moves a website for fun. Organisations come to us when their current setup stops working. The site is slow and support never answers, or the renewal price jumped without warning. Perhaps the developer who set it up has disappeared, or the provider keeps suspending the account. Sometimes the reason is positive — a new website is ready, or the organisation wants its web and email under one accountable team.
Whatever the reason, the fear is the same: that the move will take the website offline, break email, lose content or damage the organisation’s position in Google. Those things do happen when people rush a migration. They rarely happen with proper planning, and planning is most of what a good migration service provides.
Generation Solutions has moved websites, databases and email for businesses, NGOs, schools and service clubs. This page explains how we do it, what can go wrong and how we prevent it. For general hosting information, see our web hosting page.
What a website migration actually involves
A “website” on a hosting account is usually several connected things. A complete migration accounts for each of them:
Website files
Theme, plugins, uploaded images and documents, and any custom code or configuration files.
Databases
For WordPress and most CMS platforms, the content lives in a database that we must export and import intact.
Email accounts
If your email shares the account, the mailboxes and their contents may need to move too, or go somewhere else on purpose.
DNS records
The records that point your domain to the website and to your mail server, plus verification records for other services.
SSL certificate
A certificate must be in place on the new server so the site loads over HTTPS without warnings.
Scheduled tasks & settings
Cron jobs, PHP settings, redirects and any server rules the site depends on.
Most failed migrations we’re asked to rescue went wrong because one of these was forgotten — most often the email records.
Our migration process, step by step
Discovery and access
We find out where the domain is registered, where DNS is managed, where the website and email are hosted, what the site is built with, and who holds each login. We confirm we can access what we need before anything else happens.
Record the current state
We document every DNS record, note PHP versions and server settings, list email accounts and forwarders, and take a full backup of files, databases and — where relevant — mail.
Prepare the new hosting
The new hosting account is configured with suitable PHP and database versions, and an SSL certificate is prepared.
Copy and import
Files and databases are copied to the new server. For WordPress, addresses stored in the database are updated correctly rather than with a crude search-and-replace.
Test privately
The site is tested on the new server before the domain points to it — every key page, forms, logins, shop checkout and image paths.
Plan the switch
We agree a quiet time to change DNS, lower record lifetimes beforehand where possible, and ensure email records are recreated exactly.
Switch and monitor
DNS is updated. During propagation some visitors still reach the old server, so both stay active and content changes are paused.
Verify and close out
Once traffic has moved we re-check the site, forms and email, fix stragglers, and only then agree when the old hosting can be cancelled.
DNS propagation: why “instant” isn’t
When we point the domain at the new server, internet providers around the world don’t all notice at the same moment. They keep a cached copy of your old records for a period set by each record’s “time to live”. During this window, some visitors see the old server and some see the new one.
This is normal and manageable. That is why we keep the old hosting active and avoid content changes during the switch. Where the DNS provider allows, we also lower the time-to-live on key records in advance. In practice, most visitors move over within hours; occasionally a provider takes longer.
The most damaging migration mistake is cancelling the old account the moment the new one is ready. Keep it until we have checked the move. A few extra days of overlap cost far less than lost email or a missing website.
Protecting email during a website move
Email is where most migration disasters happen, because it is invisible until it stops. If your email shares the website’s account, you have three sensible options:
| Option | When it makes sense |
|---|---|
| Move email with the website | Small organisations happy to keep web and email together on the new host. We copy the mail and switch the MX records in a controlled way. |
| Leave email where it is | Email works well where it is and only the website needs a new home. We change website records only and leave MX records untouched. |
| Move email to a dedicated service | Email is business-critical and should be separated — for example to business email hosting or Microsoft 365. |
Whichever you choose, we document the existing MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records first, so nothing gets lost by accident.
Keeping your search visibility during a migration
A pure hosting move — same domain, same page addresses — should not affect search rankings if the site stays available and performs at least as well. Rankings face more risk when you combine a migration with other changes:
- Changing domain (for example from .com to .co.ug): every old address needs a permanent 301 redirect to its new equivalent, and Google Search Console needs to be told.
- Changing page addresses during a redesign: map old URLs to new ones so existing links and rankings carry over.
- Switching from HTTP to HTTPS: redirects and updated internal links prevent duplicate versions of the site.
- Extended downtime or errors during the move, which search engines notice if they visit at the wrong time.
We check Search Console after every significant migration for crawl errors and missing pages. If you are redesigning at the same time, see website redesign.
Difficult migrations we handle
No access to the old hosting
If you can’t reach the previous developer or provider, we may still rebuild the site from public copies, backups you hold or partial access. We’ll explain honestly what is recoverable.
Very old websites
Sites running on outdated PHP or CMS versions may not work on a modern server without updates. We test first. Then we recommend whether to update, rebuild, or run on compatible settings for a while as we prepare a new site.
Large sites and slow connections
Sites with gigabytes of images or long email histories take time to transfer. We copy directly between servers where possible rather than through an office connection, and schedule large transfers sensibly.
Custom applications
Bespoke systems built in PHP with special server requirements need their own assessment. We’ll confirm compatibility before committing to a date.
What we need from you
- login details, or a contact, for the current hosting account;
- access to wherever you manage your domain and DNS;
- a list of email accounts in use, and who uses them;
- a period without major content changes during the switch;
- someone available to test key pages and confirm email is arriving after the move.
If you don’t know where your domain is registered, that’s fine — finding out is part of the discovery step. See also domain transfer if the domain needs to move too.
After the move
Once the site is live on its new hosting, we confirm the SSL certificate is valid and renewing. We also check that backups run, forms deliver and any scheduled tasks run on time. We then give you a short written summary: where everything now lives, what changed and who to contact. If you choose an ongoing arrangement, updates and monitoring continue from there.
How long a migration takes
A small website with a cooperative previous host can move within a day or two, including testing. Larger sites, email migrations, missing access or domain transfers add time. The single biggest factor is usually access: waiting for a previous provider to release logins or authorisation codes. We give you a realistic timeline in the quotation once we’ve completed discovery.
Our post-migration checklist
After the switch, we work through the same checklist on every site before calling the migration complete:
- the homepage and a sample of inner pages load correctly over HTTPS, with no certificate warnings;
- both the www and non-www addresses redirect to the chosen main version;
- contact and enquiry forms submit successfully and the messages arrive in the right inbox;
- WordPress or CMS administrators can log in, and media uploads work;
- shop checkouts and payment confirmations work end to end, where relevant;
- email sends and receives on every account, and phones and Outlook reconnect;
- scheduled tasks and backups are running on the new server;
- Google Search Console shows no new crawl errors;
- DNS records match the documented list from before the move.
Only when we have confirmed every item do we agree a date to cancel the old hosting. We keep a final backup from the old server in case you need anything later.
Your next step
Tell us where your site is hosted now, what it is built with and whether email lives on the same account. We will run discovery, confirm the access we need and give you a migration date and a written plan showing exactly what moves and when.
Website migration questions
Will my website go offline during the move?
Because we test a copy on the new server before switching DNS, most sites have no noticeable downtime.
Will I lose emails?
Not if we document the email records and plan the switch. We confirm mail flow after the move.
Can you move a site from a provider outside Uganda?
Yes. Location doesn’t matter, provided we can access the files, database and DNS.
Do I need to tell Google?
For a hosting move on the same domain, no. If the domain or page addresses change, we use redirects and Search Console to manage it.
What if the old provider won’t cooperate?
We’ll explain your options, which may include rebuilding from backups or public copies. Domain ownership is the key: if the domain is in your name, you can always point it elsewhere.
Does it cost more to migrate a website built by someone else?
The effort depends on how the site works, how much content and email it has, and whether we can get access. It doesn’t depend on who built it. We assess this during discovery and include it in the quotation.
Can you migrate several websites at once?
Yes, though we usually schedule them one after another, so we can test each one properly.