Moving Your Website to Hostinger: A Complete Migration Guide

Published October 19, 2026

If you’re moving domains off a registrar you’ve lost trust in, your hosting is probably next. Here’s how to move a standard website to Hostinger without downtime.

Step 1: Pick the right plan

• Single site, low traffic → Single shared plan. Cheapest, fine for blogs and brochure sites.
• Multiple sites or a small store → Premium shared. Handles ~25,000 visits/month.
• Outgrowing shared → Cloud or VPS plans. You probably know if you need these.

Buy the longest term you’re comfortable with — Hostinger discounts deepen significantly on 48-month terms, and renewals are always higher than intro prices (true everywhere, not just Hostinger).

Step 2: Migrate your files

If your site is WordPress: Hostinger offers free automatic migration — give them your old host’s login and they move it. Alternatively, use a plugin like All-in-One WP Migration: export from the old host, import at Hostinger.

If it’s static HTML: download everything via FTP from the old host, upload to Hostinger’s public_html via their file manager or FTP.

If it’s something else (custom app, etc.): this guide’s getting long — the principle is the same: copy files, copy database, update connection strings.

Step 3: Migrate the database (WordPress/dynamic sites)

1. Export from the old host (phpMyAdmin → Export).
2. Create a new database in Hostinger’s hPanel.
3. Import the SQL file.
4. Update wp-config.php (or your app’s config) with the new database name, user, and password.

Step 4: Point your DNS — zero downtime method

Don’t cancel the old hosting yet. Here’s the sequence:

1. At your domain’s registrar (or DNS provider), lower the TTL to 300 seconds. Wait 24 hours.
2. In Hostinger’s hPanel, find your server’s IP address.
3. Update your domain’s A record to point to Hostinger’s IP.
4. Wait for propagation (minutes to a few hours with the lowered TTL).
5. Verify the site loads from Hostinger — check in an incognito window.
6. Only then cancel the old hosting.

Your visitors never see downtime because DNS flips them to the new server while the old one still runs as backup.

Step 5: SSL and final checks

1. In hPanel, install the free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate.
2. Force HTTPS (hPanel has a one-click toggle).
3. Test: homepage, contact forms, checkout (if any), email sending.
4. Set up backups — Hostinger includes weekly backups on most plans; consider daily for active sites.

Why Hostinger for this move

Straightforward pricing, hPanel is genuinely easier than cPanel, and the migration tooling means most WordPress moves take under an hour. It’s also independent — not private-equity owned, which is the whole reason you’re moving in the first place.