Moving 120 websites to a new server with zero downtime

Bluepeak Media had 120 client websites on slow shared hosting. The goal: move everything to a tuned LiteSpeed server without a single minute of downtime. This is the plan I follow on every migration.

1. Lower the DNS TTL two days before

Set the TTL of every record to 300 seconds. When you switch later, visitors reach the new server within minutes instead of hours.

2. Copy files and databases

# copy every account (run again just before the switch)
rsync -azP --delete /home/ root@new-server:/home/

# export and import a database
mysqldump -u user -p shop_db > shop_db.sql
mysql -u user -p shop_db < shop_db.sql

3. Test before you switch

Use a hosts-file entry to open each site on the new server, check forms, logins and checkout, then run a final rsync.

4. Switch DNS and watch

Update the A records, issue SSL certificates and keep an eye on the error logs for 24 hours. Email needs SPF, DKIM and DMARC on the new server too.

Download my migration checklistPDF · 1 page