How to Migrate Your Website to Hostinger 2026: Free Migration Guide

Why People Migrate to Hostinger

The most common reasons website owners migrate to Hostinger: their current host is slow (Bluehost, GoDaddy, and HostGator on Apache servers average 2-2.4 second load times vs Hostinger's 1.2 second LiteSpeed average), they are overpaying at renewal (SiteGround's $34.99/month renewal vs Hostinger's $15.99/month for comparable performance), or they are outgrowing a restrictive plan (1-site plans that don't grow with their portfolio). The migration process itself is simpler than most people fear — Hostinger offers a free migration service, and manual migration with a plugin takes under an hour for most WordPress sites.

Hostinger's Free Website Migration Service

Hostinger provides free website migration for all new hosting customers. To use the free migration service: buy your Hostinger hosting plan, log into hPanel, navigate to Hosting → Manage → Migration, and submit a migration request with your current hosting login credentials. Hostinger's migration team handles the entire process — copying your files, databases, emails, and settings to Hostinger's servers — typically within 24-48 hours.

What the free migration covers: WordPress websites (most common), static HTML sites, Joomla installations, PrestaShop stores, and most other PHP-based websites. What is NOT covered: websites on proprietary builders like Wix, Squarespace, or Weebly — these platforms don't allow data export in a format compatible with other hosts. If migrating from a proprietary builder, you will need to rebuild your site on WordPress (one-time effort that's worth it for long-term flexibility).

The free migration is available once per account. For multiple sites, use the self-service migration plugin method described below for additional migrations.

Before You Start: Pre-Migration Checklist

Complete these steps before initiating migration to make sure a smooth, loss-free transfer:

• Full backup of current site: Export a complete backup from your current host's control panel or use UpdraftPlus to download your WordPress backup locally. Never migrate without a verified backup in hand.
• Note all current settings: Document your current email settings, DNS records, custom configurations, and any special server-side settings your current host provides (custom PHP.ini settings, .htaccess rules).
• Buy Hostinger plan: Your new Hostinger hosting must be active before migration begins. Buy Business plan at $3.99/month for best WordPress performance.
• Lower TTL on your domain's DNS: 48 hours before migration, change your DNS TTL (Time to Live) to 300 seconds (5 minutes) at your domain registrar. Lower TTL means DNS changes propagate faster when you switch nameservers — reducing potential downtime from 48 hours to under an hour.
• Test your Hostinger environment: Install a test copy of WordPress on Hostinger using a temporary URL or subdomain to verify your site works correctly before switching DNS.

Manual WordPress Migration Step by Step

If you prefer to migrate manually without using Hostinger's migration service or a plugin, here is the complete process:

Step 1 — Export database from current host: Log into your current host's cPanel or phpMyAdmin → select your WordPress database → Export → Quick method → SQL format → Download. This downloads a .sql file containing all your posts, pages, comments, settings, and user data.

Step 2 — Download WordPress files from current host: Use FTP (FileZilla) or your host's File Manager to download your entire public_html (or www) folder to your local computer. This includes all themes, plugins, uploads (images), and WordPress core files. The download size depends on your media library — anywhere from 100MB to several GB.

Step 3 — Create new WordPress on Hostinger: hPanel → Auto Installer → WordPress → install with a temporary password and title. This creates the WordPress database and file structure on Hostinger.

Step 4 — Replace Hostinger WordPress files: Using Hostinger's File Manager, upload your downloaded WordPress files to public_html, overwriting the fresh installation. Upload the wp-content folder (themes, plugins, uploads) and wp-config.php with your old database credentials temporarily.

Step 5 — Import database to Hostinger: hPanel → Databases → phpMyAdmin → select your Hostinger WordPress database → Import → upload your exported .sql file → Import. All your content, settings, and users are now in Hostinger's database.

Step 6 — Update wp-config.php: Edit wp-config.php in Hostinger's File Manager to use Hostinger's database name, username, and password (found in hPanel → Databases). This connects your uploaded WordPress files to the imported database.

Step 7 — Test before switching DNS: Access your site via Hostinger's temporary URL to verify everything works correctly — all pages load, images appear, forms function, and admin login works.

Migration Using All-in-One WP Migration Plugin (Easiest)

For most WordPress site owners, the plugin-based migration is the simplest and safest method. It needs no FTP knowledge, no database management, and completes in under an hour for sites under 512MB.

On your current WordPress site: Install "All-in-One WP Migration" plugin (free, 5 million+ installs) → All-in-One WP Migration → Export → Export To → File. The plugin packages your entire WordPress installation — files, database, themes, plugins — into a single .wpress archive file. Download this file to your computer.

On your new Hostinger WordPress installation: Install WordPress fresh via hPanel Auto Installer → install "All-in-One WP Migration" plugin → All-in-One WP Migration → Import → Upload your .wpress file. The plugin restores your complete site — all content, settings, theme, and plugins — exactly as it was on your previous host.

Free version file size limit: The free version of All-in-One WP Migration limits imports to 512MB. For larger sites, either buy the premium version ($69), use the manual migration method, or use Hostinger's free migration service which has no file size restriction.

Updating DNS Without Downtime

After verifying your site works correctly on Hostinger, update your domain's nameservers to point to Hostinger. This is the step that switches live traffic from your old host to Hostinger.

Update nameservers at your domain registrar: Log into Namecheap, GoDaddy, or wherever your domain is registered → Domain settings → Nameservers → change to Custom nameservers → enter ns1.dns-parking.com and ns2.dns-parking.com (or the specific nameservers shown in your Hostinger hPanel).

Propagation timeline: DNS changes propagate globally in 1-48 hours. With TTL pre-lowered to 300 seconds (as recommended in the pre-migration checklist), propagation completes in under 2 hours for most regions. During propagation, some visitors see your old host, some see Hostinger — both versions of your site have identical content, so there is no user-visible difference during this transition period.

Keep your old hosting active during propagation: Do not cancel your old hosting until DNS has fully propagated and you have verified your Hostinger site serves all visitors correctly. Canceling early creates potential downtime during the transition window.

Post-Migration Verification Checklist

• ✅ Homepage loads correctly at your domain with HTTPS
• ✅ All internal page links work (no broken navigation)
• ✅ Images display correctly across all pages
• ✅ WordPress admin login functional at yourdomain.com/wp-admin
• ✅ Contact form submits and sends email notification
• ✅ WooCommerce checkout functional (if applicable)
• ✅ SSL certificate active (padlock in browser)
• ✅ Force HTTPS redirect working (http:// redirects to https://)
• ✅ LiteSpeed Cache activated in WordPress Dashboard
• ✅ Google Search Console updated with new Hostinger nameservers
• ✅ Google Analytics still tracking (GA4 tag present)
• ✅ Email accounts recreated in Hostinger hPanel and receiving mail

Common Migration Problems and Fixes

Images not displaying after migration: WordPress stores the full URL of images in the database. If your old site URL differs from your new URL (http vs https, www vs non-www), images break. Fix: install the free "Better Search Replace" plugin → search for your old URL → replace with your new URL across all database tables.

WordPress redirecting to old site URL: Old site URL stored in wp-options table. Fix: WordPress Dashboard → Settings → General → update WordPress Address and Site Address to your correct Hostinger domain URL.

"Error establishing database connection" after migration: Database credentials in wp-config.php don't match Hostinger's database. Fix: hPanel → Databases → note the exact database name, username, and password → update wp-config.php accordingly.

Emails not working after migration: Email hosting needs to be recreated on Hostinger. Fix: hPanel → Emails → Email Accounts → create your email accounts → update DNS MX records if using external email provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Also read: Hostinger hPanel complete guide | Google Analytics setup guide