SWPanel migration tool

Guide to Migrating Services from another Hosting Provider to SWPanel

1. Introduction

In this guide we will learn how to migrate services from another hosting provider to your SWPanel.

The new version of SWPanel includes a function that facilitates the transfer of web content from an external provider. With this tool, the migration of your website, databases and emails is significantly simplified.

What will you learn in this manual?

• How to access the migration tool in SWPanel.
• How to select the type of migration according to your needs.
• How to synchronize web files, databases and email accounts.
• How to ensure that the migration is carried out effectively.

2. Access the Migration Tool

To start, access the SWPanel main Dashboard. Follow these steps:

1. Click on the SWPanel logo (or the personalized logo) located in the upper left part of the screen.

2. In the left-hand side menu, select:

• Tools
• To migrate Websites
• Migrate a Web now

3. Starting the Migration Wizard

The migration wizard will guide you through the process. The first step is to choose where the website will be migrated from. In this case, we will select any control panel.

Next, choose whether you want to migrate the data to:

• A new hosting service.
• An existing hosting service (option used in this manual).

To learn how to create a Hosting service, review the following manuals::

• 📃 Manual: Create a Hosting service for my Website
• 📃 Manual: Create a Web Hosting in my Cloud

4. Migrate to an Existing Hosting Service

1. Select the option Migrate the Website to an existing Hosting service.
2. In the drop-down menu, choose the service where you want to perform the migration.

⚠ Important: For the migration to be successful, the hosting service must be empty, that is, it must not contain WordPress, Prestashop, Moodle, databases, FTP accounts or created email accounts.

5. Synchronize Web Content

1. Choose what you want to migrate and how. We recommend using FTP or SSH.

2. Check the option Synchronize Web content.
3. Enter the connection details and choose FTP or SSH.
4. If there is no website to migrate, leave this option unchecked.

The required data are:

• IP of the origin server: IP address of your site at the current provider.
• Web Path: Directory where the website is located on the current server.

⚠ Depending on the provider's management panel, the directory path may vary. For example:

• cPanel → /public_html
• Plesk → /httpdocs
• However, if your FTP is already pointing to the web directory, you only need to enter the path “/”

Migration via FTP or SSH

To migrate via FTP

• FTP user
• FTP password
• Activate the option Create FTP account on destination server (or overwrite if it already exists).

To migrate via SSH

• SSH user
• SSH password
• SSH connection port

6. Install an SSL Certificate

You can install an SSL certificate in two ways:

• Self-signed (generated by SWPanel).
• Imported from another provider (requires CRT, CA and KEY keys). In this case we have chosen in the configuration to carry out the migration by FTP and we have decided to import the certificate from another hosting provider. It would look like this:

7. Synchronize Databases

1. Select the option Synchronize Databases.
2. Enter the necessary data:

• IP of the source database server. The IP assigned to your database server by your current provider. You can check the IP from the administration panel you currently have with your service provider.
• Database name.
• DB username and password. It is very important that these details are exactly the same as those you have in your source database

⚠ Remote access must be enabled. Make sure to open port 3306 for IP 81.25.112.90 (which is our server in charge of this process). In case it is not possible to open the port, this part of the migration should be unchecked and performed via import (you can use PHPMyAdmin, or HeidiSQL, etc...).

To make sure that your port is enabled, you can check the following manuals:

• 📃 Manual: How to open port 3306 in Plesk
• 📃 Manual: How to open 3306 port in cPanel

In our example configuration, it would look like this:

8. Synchronize Email Accounts

If you want to migrate email accounts, activate the option Also take advantage of and move my email accounts and enter the data:

• IP of the source mail server.
• IMAP port (default 993).
• Number of accounts to migrate.

For each email account, provide:

• Account name. You only need to specify the name of the account without having to add “@domain”, as it is automatically entered.
• Email user (login). This field is automatically filled in. You just need to check that it is correct.
• Password.

In our example configuration it would be as follows:

If you wish, you can provide an email address to be notified when the migration is complete:

9. Finish the Migration

1. Check that all the data is correct.
2. Accept the contract and the conditions.
3. Press Accept and create.

The migration is free of charge, so the “Total service cost” will be €0.

⚠ Do not close the screen during migration preparation. Once started, it will run in the background and you will be redirected to SWPanel.

When finished, verify that the website is working properly by modifying your Hosts file:

📃 Manual: Modify 'hosts' file on Windows, Mac and Linux

10. Glossary