WordPress Migration Checklist

A reusable checklist for moving WordPress hosting without forgetting backups, email, DNS, SSL, analytics or redirects.

Updated August 30, 2026 · Research-based editorial guide

Editorial note: We do not claim firsthand use unless explicitly stated. Provider details can change; verify live terms before purchasing.

Key takeaways

Document the current environment before touching it.
Preserve backups and credentials, record DNS, test forms and ecommerce, and verify analytics after cutover.
Do not cancel the old hosting account immediately.

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Inventory

Inventory matters because it changes either the amount of work your hosting environment must do or the amount of work you must do yourself. Evaluate it in the context of your actual site rather than treating it as a checkbox.

A good hosting decision is usually the result of several moderate advantages working together: suitable resources, reliable recovery, clear support, manageable workflows and a cost structure that still makes sense when the introductory term ends.

Backups

Security should be evaluated as prevention, detection and recovery. No single firewall, plugin or host feature can remove every risk, so layered controls and recoverable backups matter.

WPX currently advertises malware scanning and removal, brute-force protection, a web application firewall, hybrid DDoS protection, SSL certificates and daily backups. Those are useful hosting-layer controls, but site owners still remain responsible for credentials, plugins, themes and application-level decisions.

DNS records

Treat migration as a controlled change. Inventory the current site, preserve a restorable backup, build the destination, test it before public cutover and keep a rollback path until the new environment is proven.

WPX currently offers site migration as part of its hosting service. Even when a host performs the move, you should still validate forms, ecommerce flows, DNS, SSL, analytics, email and any scheduled jobs that matter to the business.

Email

Email matters because it changes either the amount of work your hosting environment must do or the amount of work you must do yourself. Evaluate it in the context of your actual site rather than treating it as a checkbox.

Files and database

Dynamic WordPress requests are usually more expensive than cached pageviews because PHP and the database must do work for each request. That is why two sites with the same visitor count can need very different hosting resources.

Use monitoring, slow-query information and representative load tests to understand the actual bottleneck. Capacity planning is strongest when it is based on the shape of traffic, not a generic monthly-visitor threshold.

SSL

Security should be evaluated as prevention, detection and recovery. No single firewall, plugin or host feature can remove every risk, so layered controls and recoverable backups matter.

Testing

Testing matters because it changes either the amount of work your hosting environment must do or the amount of work you must do yourself. Evaluate it in the context of your actual site rather than treating it as a checkbox.

Cutover

Post-launch

Post-launch matters because it changes either the amount of work your hosting environment must do or the amount of work you must do yourself. Evaluate it in the context of your actual site rather than treating it as a checkbox.