If you're switching to Flashcloud from another host, we'll move your site for you — for free. A real human migration team handles it, not a clunky import script. They'll move files, databases, email accounts, and DNS.
Who's eligible
You qualify for a Free Transfer if you have:
- An active Flashcloud hosting account, or
- A new hosting order ready to activate (we transfer as part of onboarding).
That's it. Plan tier doesn't matter.
How to request a transfer
- Sign in and go to Free Transfer.
- Pick the destination domain (which Flashcloud hosting account the site will land on).
- Tell us about your current hosting:
- Current host (the company name).
- Login credentials or backup — typically cPanel/Plesk login, or a backup file we can import from.
- What to move — files, databases, email, DNS, all of the above.
- Add any notes — special configurations, things to watch out for, deadlines.
- Submit.
The form is forgiving. If you're not sure about something, leave a note and we'll ask.
What happens after submit
We open a ticket in our customer-success queue. Then:
- A migration specialist is assigned within hours during business days.
- They review what you've sent and may follow up with questions.
- They schedule the migration, usually within hours of confirming your details.
- They run the actual transfer (usually overnight to minimize disruption).
- They send you a "ready for testing" message with instructions.
- You verify the new site looks right at a temporary URL.
- We do the DNS cutover when you're ready.
For most sites, the whole move is done within about 24 hours of submitting the form. It can take longer when the login details you gave us don't work on the first try (a wrong password, or two-factor on your old host's control panel), in which case we'll reach out on the ticket to sort out access before we continue.
What we move
- All files in your hosting account (websites, scripts, custom code).
- All databases (MySQL/MariaDB).
- All email accounts plus their messages (IMAP transfer to preserve folders).
- DNS records — copied to our nameservers so the migration is invisible to visitors.
- SSL certificates — re-issued via Let's Encrypt automatically (no action needed).
- Cron jobs — recreated on our scheduler.
- Subdomains and addon domains — set up matching what you had.
For WordPress sites specifically:
- We update site URLs and home URLs in the database for the temporary URL during testing, then again at cutover.
- We test the site loads, plugins work, admin login works before handing off.
What we don't move
- Custom server configurations — if your old host had specific PHP modules, NGINX config, or custom server software, those aren't necessarily portable. We'll discuss alternatives during migration.
- Third-party paid services — your Stripe account, Mailchimp lists, payment integrations all belong with the third-party providers, not your hosting.
- Domain registrations — domain transfer is a separate process (ICANN-mandated). See Transferring a domain to Flashcloud. Often we transfer domains in parallel with the site migration.
Complex migrations
For sites with heavy custom code, e-commerce stores with thousands of orders, or multi-environment setups (dev/staging/prod), submit the form and add detailed notes. We may schedule a brief call to confirm the migration plan before starting.
For migrations from a host where you don't have full credentials (you've lost access, the host is unresponsive), we have alternative paths — restoring from a backup file, scraping public content, etc. Open a ticket and explain the situation.
DNS cutover and downtime
The actual cutover (switching DNS from old host to us) involves:
- Your site is fully migrated and tested at the new location.
- We help you change nameservers (or A records) at your domain registrar.
- DNS propagates over the next few minutes to a few hours.
During propagation, some visitors hit the old site, others hit the new. Both are running, so there's no actual downtime — just a brief period where traffic is split.
If you want zero variance during cutover, we can set up the new site to mirror writes to the old database during the transition window — overkill for most sites, but possible for high-stakes e-commerce.
Pricing
Free Transfer is free. We don't bill for migrations.
If you have a particularly large or complex migration (multi-day work, thousands of email accounts, heavy custom development), we may quote a one-time professional services fee. That's rare — most migrations fit comfortably in the free service.
After the migration
Once your site is live on Flashcloud, the migration team hands off to standard support. From there, you manage the site yourself (or via our Free Website maintenance offerings if you want us to handle ongoing updates).
If anything looks off in the first week, open a follow-up ticket — we'll fix migration-related issues at no charge.