Leaving a hosting provider: how to take everything with you before you cancel

Before you cancel, take five things: the site files, the databases, the e-mail, the list of DNS records, and the list of settings that are not in the files (PHP version, scheduled tasks, redirects). Only once the site and the e-mail work in the new place do you ask for cancellation. Cancelling first is the way to lose data.

The order that does not fail

1 Do not cancel yet. The service runs until the date you choose and there is no hurry. See how to cancel a service and keep only the domain.
2 Files. Make a full backup and download it, and if the site is big download the site folder separately too. See making a full cPanel backup and downloading it.
3 Databases. Export each one. See exporting a database with phpMyAdmin. Also note the user and the privileges each database had.
4 E-mail. If you use IMAP, the messages are on the server: copy them to the new place before closing. See bringing your mailboxes from another provider and keeping your own copy of your e-mail.
5 DNS records. If the domain uses our nameservers, the zone lives in the account. Copy every record (A, CNAME, MX, TXT) into a list before you change anything. See DNS records explained and moving your DNS zone to a new provider and checking it before you switch.
6 What is not in the files. Write down the PHP version and extensions, the cron jobs, the redirects, the FTP accounts and any certificates you bought separately. The free certificate is issued again at the destination.
7 Invoices. Download as PDF the invoices your accounts department needs: they all stay in the list, but it costs nothing to have a copy. See your invoice: billing details, tax and receipts.
8 Build and test at the destination. With the site and the e-mail working there, change the domain. See how to migrate a site without downtime.
9 Only now ask for cancellation, for the end of the period already paid.
What you take How Check
Site files Full backup, or the site folder The archive opens and the theme and images folders are in it.
Databases Export as SQL The file is not 0 KB and holds real text.
E-mail messages Copy over IMAP to the destination Folders and message counts match.
DNS records A written list of the zone It includes MX and TXT (SPF, DKIM), not just the A record.
Domain Unlock and ask for the code, if you are changing registrar See transferring your domain to another provider
When the account closes, the data leaves the server. Recovery after closure is not automatic, not free and not guaranteed: only the last copy is kept, for the period in the Terms, and you ask for it through a support request. See how long we keep backups. The domain is a different service, with its own invoice and calendar: cancelling the hosting does not delete it.
There is often a cheaper way out than leaving: a smaller plan, or keeping only the domain. If you are leaving because of a problem, tell us first: see how to make a complaint and how we handle it. And if the question is having the site with us or in a builder, website builder subscription or your own hosting: who owns the site, and how to leave.

Moving and want to be sure you are taking everything? Tell us the domain and what you have in the account.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Making a full cPanel backup and downloading it

How to cancel a service and keep only the domain

Transferring your domain to another provider

Bringing your mailboxes from another provider: the messages, not just the addresses

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