Move a WordPress site to Host Dada manually

This guide shows you how to move an existing WordPress website from another host to Host Dada WordPress hosting yourself: copy the files, import the database, check everything on a test address, then switch your domain over with no downtime.

• Applies to: WordPress hosting (Host Dada Control Panel)
• Time: 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the site
• Difficulty: Advanced

Before you start

• An active Host Dada WordPress hosting package with WordPress installed (see Install WordPress). You'll replace this fresh install with your site.
• Access to your old host: its control panel or FTP, plus phpMyAdmin (or another way to export the database).
• An FTP program such as FileZilla, and your Host Dada FTP details (see Connect with FTP).
• Don't cancel your old hosting yet. Keep it running until the site works on Host Dada and your domain has switched over.
• Avoid making changes on the old site (new posts, orders, comments) from now until you switch the domain, or they'll be missing from the copy.

Part 1: Copy the site from your old host

1. Download the wp-content folder. Using FTP or your old host's file manager, download the wp-content folder from the site's root (often public_html). It holds your themes, plugins and uploaded images. If your old host's file manager can compress it into a .zip first, do that; it's much quicker to download one file.
2. Note the table prefix. Open wp-config.php on the old site and find the line starting $table_prefix, for example $table_prefix = 'wp_';. Write down the value. Also copy any custom lines someone added (for example licence keys or define() settings for plugins).
3. Export the database. In the old host's phpMyAdmin, select the WordPress database, click Export, choose the Quick method and SQL format, and click Export (or Go). Save the .sql file. Large databases may export as .sql.gz, which is fine.

Part 2: Prepare your Host Dada package

1. Take a snapshot. Log in to the Host Dada Control Panel, click Manage next to your package, open Timeline Backups and click Take snapshot. That lets you return to the clean install if anything goes wrong. Take a snapshot before you replace anything.
2. Match the PHP version. Under Web Tools → Change PHP Version, choose the same or a slightly newer PHP version than your old host used, so plugins behave the same way (see Change your PHP version).

Part 3: Upload the files

1. Connect to Host Dada by FTP and open public_html. You'll see the files of the fresh WordPress install.
2. Replace wp-content. Upload your old wp-content folder over the existing one, allowing it to overwrite files. If you made a .zip, upload it to public_html with File Manager, right-click it, extract it there, then delete the .zip.
3. Keep the Host Dada wp-config.php. Don't upload the old wp-config.php: the one already on Host Dada contains the correct database details for your package. Instead, in File Manager right-click public_html/wp-config.php, choose Code Editor, set $table_prefix to the value you noted, add any custom lines you copied, and save.

Part 4: Import the database

1. Open phpMyAdmin. Under Web Tools, click phpMyAdmin. Your WordPress database is listed on the MySQL Host Selection page; click Sign in next to it. (If you also have a staging site, its database is listed separately; make sure you choose the live one, as shown under MySQL Databases.) Sign in to phpMyAdmin for your WordPress database.
2. Empty the fresh database. Select the database on the left, tick Check all below the table list, choose Drop from the menu and confirm. This removes the fresh install's tables so they don't clash with yours.
3. Import your database. Click the Import tab, choose your .sql (or .sql.gz) file and click Import (or Go). Wait for the green success message. For very large databases, see the troubleshooting section.

Full phpMyAdmin steps are in Import or export a database with phpMyAdmin.

Part 5: Test before switching your domain

1. Preview the site. Your domain still points at the old host, so preview the copy on Host Dada using the method in Preview your site before changing DNS. Check the home page, a few inner pages, images, forms and (for shops) the basket and checkout.
2. Log in to WordPress on the copy with your old site's username and password; they came across with the database. Go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes to refresh your link structure.
3. Moving to a different domain at the same time? Follow Change your WordPress site address to replace the old address throughout the database.

Part 6: Go live

1. Check your email first. If your email is hosted with your old provider or with Microsoft 365, note its MX records before changing anything, so email keeps flowing (see Manage DNS records).
2. Point your domain at Host Dada. Change your nameservers to ns1.kandekore.net, ns2.kandekore.net, ns3.kandekore.net and ns4.kandekore.net (see Point your domain to Host Dada). This usually takes effect within a few hours, and up to 24 hours.
3. Check SSL. Once the domain points at Host Dada, free SSL is issued automatically. Check it under Security → SSL/TLS (see Activate free SSL and force HTTPS).
4. Cancel the old hosting only when everything has worked on Host Dada for a few days.

Troubleshooting

"Error establishing a database connection" after the move

The old wp-config.php was probably uploaded over the Host Dada one. Restore your snapshot's wp-config.php, or copy the correct database name, username and server from MySQL Databases into it, keeping your $table_prefix.

WordPress shows the install screen, or "One or more database tables are unavailable"

The $table_prefix in wp-config.php doesn't match your imported tables. In phpMyAdmin, look at the start of your table names (for example abc_posts means the prefix is abc_) and update wp-config.php to match.

The database file is too large to import

Compress it to .sql.gz and try again. If it's still too big, open a ticket, upload the file to your public_html folder by FTP, and we'll import it for you.

Pages other than the home page show "Not Found"

Go to Settings → Permalinks in WordPress and click Save Changes. That rebuilds the .htaccess rules WordPress needs.

Images are missing or still load from the old host

Check that the whole wp-content/uploads folder uploaded. If the site's address changed, run a search and replace from the old address to the new one (see Change your WordPress site address).

Last reviewed: October 2026