Overview
DreamHost offers several hosting plans you can use to put your site online. Depending on your needs overtime, you may wish to change the hosting plan you're using. This article details the steps necessary to migrate your site to another hosting plan.
Migrating a single site to a different server
You can move a single domain by creating a new username on the new server, then switching your site to use this new username.
When you select this new username, leave the checkbox Move files to the new user? checked. When you save your changes, all files will be migrated to the new server. View the following article for further details:
How long does it take the user data to migrate?
This depends on how much data there is to copy. When you save your domain settings under the new username, your website data immediately begins to copy to the new server. However, depending on how much data you have, this could take 30 min or several hours.
Will I need to change my FTP client's hostname when connecting?
Possibly. There are two hostnames you can use to connect to your website:
If you're using the website name to connect, you'll be logged into the server DreamHost has assigned your site.
If you're using the servername, this must be updated to your new servername. View the following article for further details:
DNS propagation after migrating
If you're migrating between two DreamHost servers, there is no downtime during the move as the data is copied while the former server continues to serve the website. However, you should not work on your site during this 4-6 hrs time period. This is because it's possible your changes will be made to the old site, not the new. You should wait until the DNS has fully updated being continuing to work on your website.
If your domain is not using DreamHost’s nameservers, you’ll need to update your DNS records manually at the company where your nameservers are hosted.
You can see all of the DNS records that are set up for any site you host at DreamHost in your panel. Please note that after any DNS change, the records must propagate online.
Visit the following articles for more information: