Guides

Remotely transfer website data from one server to another – cPanel

Changing Server? Many times the situation comes when you want to switch to a different web host because your present host is not performing optimally or charging you too much. You don’t have many options in such a situation. You either need to download all data and upload it to the new server or you need to hire a professional service which will do that for you.

Many users don’t know that cPanel has an inbuilt website backup tool which can easily transfer all your data to the new server. You don’t need to download and upload the data manually. All files and mySQl databases are automatically transferred to the new server. Here’s a simple guide about how to do it:

  1. Firstly, get the FTP details for the new server. You need these so as to enable cPanel to automatically transfer data to the new server. You can either find it in the welcome email of the new host or from the FTP Accounts option in the cPanel.
  2. Now, logon to the cPanel of the old host/server and select Backup Wizard found under Files menu.
  3. Select Backup and move forward.
  4. In the next step, select full backup in the left or any partial backup options from the right. Depends on what all you want to transfer.
  5. Now, in the final step, do the following :
    • Select Backup Destination as Remote FTP Server
    • Enter your email address if you wish to receive a notification when the backup/transfer is completed.
    • Enter the address of FTP Server of your new host in the Remote Server textbox. E.g ftp.techmesto.com
    • Enter Username for the FTP account in the Remote User filed.
    • Enter the FTP password in the Remote Password field.
    • Enter the FTP port in the next box. It is usually 21
    • Enter the directory (of the new server) where you want the backup to be transferred and saved.
  6. Click on generate Backup. All your data will be compressed and then transferred to the new server automatically by the cPanel.
  7. Now, you just need to extract the compressed file transferred o your new server and arrange the sub-files accordingly and as required.

Please leave a reply below if you’re experiencing any issues. I’ll be happy to help you out.

20 Comments

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  • Hi , I am using free hosting , which do not have any backup wizard on cpanel , so how can we take backup.

    • You can simply create a zip file using the “compress” command in cPanel file manager and then transfer the file to your new host.
      You will need to backup your mySQL database separately.

    • In that case, you should make small parts of your data. Around 2-4GB each and start transferring it using this script. Continue to verify that all data being transferred is correct 🙂

  • hi…
    i have one shared hosting in ifast.net
    pls help me
    they suspend my account. i have 400gb data in that cpanel… pls give me some idea how can i transfer my data from there suspended cpanel to my new server.
    if anybody will do i can pay some amount as m not a very rich person… so pls help me.

    • If the account is suspended, they’d have already blocked access. Unless you can access the data, you cannot migrate it to another service unfortunately.

  • You my friend are my hero. Thanks man, it works! before now i used to download the backup and then upload to the new server, just yesterday i felt it was possible and decided to google it, good thing your site came up in the search result. Thanks again.

  • Actually I have a small hosting company. I try, my client website move to my new reseller hosting but don’t successful.

    my new reseller company say :-

    Please refer the above reply. As you under shared hosting environment it is not possible to transfer the data directly from remote server.

    You can move the domain from another hosting provider to us by using the below procedure,

    1. Take the complete backup of old cpanel
    2. Create that domain under our server
    3. Change the nameservers to our server
    4. Upload the files by untarring the backup using the below procedure,.

    For mails, you need to download using any email client such as outlook express. It is not possible to restore mail backup at your end.

    =============================================

    But I try remotely transfer. Please help me.

    Thanks to reply on my query.

  • Hello Sir

    I am following u r step by step instruction but don’t work. I am open new server in filezilla but don’t see any backup folder & tar.gz file. Pls help me.

    saurav

      • ::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<< 220———- Welcome to Pure-FTPd [privsep] [TLS] ———-
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<< 220-You are user number 2 of 50 allowed.
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<< 220-Local time is now 01:34. Server port: 21.
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<< 220-This is a private system – No anonymous login
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<< 220-IPv6 connections are also welcome on this server.
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<>> USER chiphost
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<>> user chiphost
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<>> TYPE I
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<>> CWD /home/chiphost
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<>> PORT xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx.
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<>> QUIT
        Net::FTP=GLOB(0xf2a748)<<< Please reconnect using SSL/TLS security mechanisms.

        • You need to check with your Host’s Support for such an issue. Maybe you’re just required to connect with SSL enabled.

          • My hosting company say’s “As you under shared hosting environment it is not possible to transfer the data directly from remote server. “. It is correct ?

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