{"id":8620,"date":"2026-05-28T10:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T08:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/?post_type=manual_kb&#038;p=8620"},"modified":"2026-06-09T21:12:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:12:01","slug":"will-your-website-stay-online-during-a-web-migration","status":"publish","type":"manual_kb","link":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/will-your-website-stay-online-during-a-web-migration\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Your Website Stay Online During a Web Migration?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Website migration is the process of moving website files, databases, and related services from one hosting environment to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In most cases, a properly planned migration does not cause website downtime. Visitors continue accessing the website on the current server while data is copied to the new hosting environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/will-your-website-stay-online-during-a-web-migration\/#How_Website_Migration_Works\" >How Website Migration Works<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/will-your-website-stay-online-during-a-web-migration\/#What_Happens_During_DNS_Changes\" >What Happens During DNS Changes?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/will-your-website-stay-online-during-a-web-migration\/#Will_Visitors_Notice_the_Migration\" >Will Visitors Notice the Migration?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/will-your-website-stay-online-during-a-web-migration\/#What_Can_Cause_Downtime\" >What Can Cause Downtime?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/will-your-website-stay-online-during-a-web-migration\/#Practical_Implications\" >Practical Implications<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/will-your-website-stay-online-during-a-web-migration\/#Summary\" >Summary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Website_Migration_Works\"><\/span>How Website Migration Works<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div id=\"mybox-50630318\" class=\"mybox-content mybox-entity-placement\"><div class=\"early-access-banner-inpost\">\r\n  <div class=\"banner-left-inpost\">\r\n    <div class=\"icon-box-inpost\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/square-info-icon.svg\" alt=\"Info\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"text-box-inpost\">\r\n      <span class=\"label-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Early access<\/span><\/span>\r\n      <h4><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Still need help?<\/span><\/h4>\r\n      <p><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Contact our customer service team.<\/span><\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <div class=\"banner-right-inpost\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/panel.mybox.com\/helpdesk2\/v\/list\/\" class=\"banner-button-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Message us<\/span><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A typical migration takes place in several stages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Website files and databases are copied to the new server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The migrated website is tested on the new environment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>DNS settings are updated to direct visitors to the new server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Traffic gradually begins reaching the new hosting environment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the first stages, visitors continue accessing the website through the existing server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Happens_During_DNS_Changes\"><\/span>What Happens During DNS Changes?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the website has been migrated and tested, DNS records are updated to point the domain to the new server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This process is known as DNS propagation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During propagation, some visitors may reach the old server while others reach the new one. This is expected behaviour and can last from a few hours up to 48 hours, depending on DNS caching and internet providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Will_Visitors_Notice_the_Migration\"><\/span>Will Visitors Notice the Migration?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In most cases, visitors will not notice that a migration is taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the migration is properly planned and the website remains available on the original server until DNS propagation is complete, service interruptions are usually avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Can_Cause_Downtime\"><\/span>What Can Cause Downtime?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although website migrations are generally seamless, temporary issues may occur if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>DNS records are configured incorrectly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The website is not tested before launch<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Files or databases are missing after migration<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The old hosting service is cancelled before propagation is complete<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Careful planning helps reduce the risk of these problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Practical_Implications\"><\/span>Practical Implications<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When migrating a website, it is recommended to keep the existing hosting service active until DNS propagation has finished and the website is confirmed to be working correctly on the new server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This allows visitors to continue accessing the website throughout the migration process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary\"><\/span>Summary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A website migration does not normally cause downtime. Visitors continue accessing the website through the existing server while files are copied and the new environment is prepared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once DNS records are updated, traffic gradually moves to the new server. During this period, temporary differences in how visitors reach the website are expected and are a normal part of the migration process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","manualknowledgebasecat":[25],"manual_kb_tag":[171,253,398,403,406,408,7059,7060,7061,7062],"class_list":["post-8620","manual_kb","type-manual_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","manualknowledgebasecat-hosting","manual_kb_tag-domain-propagation","manual_kb_tag-domain-name-system-propagation","manual_kb_tag-website-migration","manual_kb_tag-hosting-migration","manual_kb_tag-website-downtime","manual_kb_tag-server-migration","manual_kb_tag-maintain-uptime","manual_kb_tag-site-availability","manual_kb_tag-domain-records","manual_kb_tag-domain-name-system-caching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/8620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/manual_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/8620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8622,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/8620\/revisions\/8622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"manualknowledgebasecat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manualknowledgebasecat?post=8620"},{"taxonomy":"manual_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb_tag?post=8620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}