Project host-move-small-business-site-and-email-to-new-providers · revised 11 October 2026
Project
Move your WordPress site, domain DNS and mailboxes to new providers as one project
We plan and run the move of one business's WordPress site, its DNS and its mailboxes in the right order, then hand over a verified, documented result.
This asks for a proposal by email. Nothing is charged, and nothing starts, until you have agreed the scope, the price and the terms in writing.
The result you are buying
Moving a website, its mailboxes and its DNS are three linked jobs with one ordering rule: each must be tested before traffic or mail is pointed at it, and the DNS switch must follow the other two. Done in the wrong order, mail bounces, the site shows an old copy or both go quiet. Done by three suppliers, nobody owns the whole result or the list of accounts and renewal dates afterwards.
Who it’s for: Owner of a small business whose website, email and domain are all tied to one old hosting account that is closing, expensive or no longer trusted.
Usually starts when: A host closing, a renewal notice, a recommendation to leave cPanel hosting, or an unfixable recurring outage means website, mail and DNS must all move, in the right order.
The result: You buy the finished move, not the separate jobs. The website runs at the new host, the mailboxes are in Microsoft 365, DNS is at the new provider, authentication and uptime alerts are set, backups are tested and you hold a written list of every account and renewal date.
How the work fits together
The project is complete when each required component has been accepted by you against its own checks and the final end-to-end check has passed after cached DNS answers have expired. You accept the finished move, not each internal step.
Move one WordPress site to a new host and switch over with a way back Job Included
Copy one WordPress site, files and database, to a new host, test it on a preview address, then switch traffic with a written way back and live checks.
One WordPress site
In this project its switch step is the DNS move below.
Set up off-site backups for a website and prove a restore works Job Included
Back up one site and its database to a storage account you own, then restore a copy on staging and test pages and a record before signing off.
One site, at the new host, after the site has moved
After: Move one WordPress site
Move up to five cPanel mailboxes to Microsoft 365 Job Included
Copy up to five hosted business mailboxes and their old messages into Microsoft 365, switch incoming mail safely, and prove new and old mail are present.
Up to five mailboxes
Move your domain’s DNS with a plan to protect website and email Job Included
Move one domain’s nameservers to a new DNS provider. Compare mail and website records before the switch, then check the services after it; cached DNS can delay recovery.
One domain, up to 60 records
After: Move one WordPress site, Move hosted mail to Microsoft 365
Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for business mail going to spam Job Included
Authenticate mail from your domain across your mailboxes and up to three other sending tools. Check headers and DMARC reports; inbox placement cannot be guaranteed.
One domain, after the mail move
After: Move one domain’s DNS
Set up outside uptime, certificate and domain-expiry alerts and test them Job Included
Configure up to five outside checks for one site with alerts to two named people, then trigger a deliberate test failure to prove the alert arrives. No on-call cover is included.
One website, up to five checks
After: Move one domain’s DNS
Move a custom PHP site and its database off shared cPanel hosting Job Optional
Move your custom PHP site's files and MySQL database to a managed host, test the pages and forms on a preview address, then switch traffic with a way back.
In place of the WordPress move, if the site is custom PHP
Find and fix why mail sent to your domain does not arrive Job Each time it fires
Correct the MX records and, where your host has one, the mail routing setting, so test messages from outside and from your own website reach the right mailboxes.
If mail routes wrongly after the switch
Included only when the final check finds mail misrouted.
Fix "too many redirects" on a site behind Cloudflare Job Each time it fires
For a site behind Cloudflare, trace the redirect chain, find the two settings that disagree and fix them so each http and https address reaches your site within two redirects, tested with a log-in.
If a redirect loop appears after the switch on a site behind Cloudflare
Included only when the final check finds it.
How an engagement works
The price covers the agreed jobs only. Extra mailboxes, a shop, calendars or redesign are quoted separately, and a job that turns out larger is re-scoped with you before work continues.
How it starts
You tell us about the site, the mailboxes, the domain and the date you need it done by, by email.
We read what you send, ask for sizes and the closing date, and propose which jobs are in the project, in what order, with a fixed price.
You agree the scope, price, cut-over window and terms in writing. Nothing starts before then.
We carry out each component to its own acceptance checks, in the agreed order, with your approval at each cut-over.
We run the final end-to-end check and send the handover pack.
Who decides what
You decide the cut-over window and accept each stage. Your domain holder makes the DNS change and you hold every login.
Handover
Each stage ends with its evidence pack. The final pack lists every account, who owns each login and the renewal dates, and anything left open. The old host and old mailboxes stay untouched until you agree to close them.
Sharing your product safely. Send the domain, the provider names and the sizes in words. Do not send passwords, mailbox contents or customer data. After you agree the project we arrange a company-controlled secure handoff for the backup and the access each job needs.
What is included, and what is not
- The written plan and the cut-over timetable
- The evidence packs of each component job
- A final end-to-end check after the cached DNS answers have expired
- The handover pack and a list of anything left open
Included
- One WordPress site, one domain and up to five mailboxes moved from one old cPanel-style host to a new host and Microsoft 365 that you own
- A written plan that orders the website move, the mailbox copy, the DNS move and the checks, with the cut-over window agreed
- Each component job carried out to its own acceptance checks
- Email authentication for the domain at the new provider, backups with a restore test at the new host, and outside uptime alerts
- A handover pack listing every account, who owns each login, renewal dates and what to do if something fails, with no credentials in it
Not included
- Buying hosting, Microsoft 365 licences or a domain: the accounts and their charges are yours
- Shops, membership sites and Multisite networks, and mailboxes beyond five or 10 GB each
- Redesign, new features, content rewriting or search-ranking redirects for changed addresses
- Calendars, contacts and file storage, unless added in writing
- Ongoing hosting, monitoring or support after hand-over, which is a separate standing service
How we know it’s done
Agreed with you before work starts. Each check produces evidence you keep.
Every required component has been accepted by you against its own acceptance checks, and the evidence pack of each is in the handover.
Evidence: Each component's evidence pack and your acceptance record
Once cached DNS answers have expired, the site loads over https at the bare domain and www, a test message to each moved mailbox arrives, and a reply from each reaches an outside address.
Evidence: Lookup output, a status for each address, and the test messages with headers
dig +short MX yourbusiness.co.ukThe handover pack lists every account for the site, mail, DNS and monitoring, who holds each login, and the renewal dates, and contains no passwords or keys.
Evidence: The handover pack, which you check against your own accounts
Sign-off. You accept each stage as it finishes, then the finished move after the final end-to-end check. The old host and mailboxes are closed only when you say so.
If it fails. A component we cannot complete is named with the reason and what it would take, and the price is adjusted to match. Nothing is billed as delivered that you have not accepted.
When it fits, and when we stop
It fits when
- You own, or can create, the new hosting account and the Microsoft 365 tenant, and the domain is registered to you or your business
- You can give us a full backup of the site and secure access arranged through a company-controlled handoff, and the old host stays active for at least 30 days
- A named person can accept each stage and the domain holder can make the DNS changes at the agreed time
We stop and tell you if
- The site is compromised or the old host login is lost and no backup exists
- The site takes orders or payments that cannot be paused for the final sync
- The old host will close before a safe cut-over window can be agreed
- Domain ownership is disputed
What could go wrong
The old host and the old mailboxes stay unchanged for at least 30 days, and the previous DNS values are recorded. Before the DNS switch you can stop with no change to your live site; after it your domain holder can restore the old records, although mail delivered in between must be collected from both places.
Scroll the table sideways to read it all.
| Risk | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| Mail bounces or splits between the old and new providers during the switch. | The mailboxes are tested before the switch, a catch-up copy runs after it, both providers stay live during the overlap and mail is tested in both directions. |
| The old host closes before the work is finished. | We ask for the closing date first and decline the project if there is no safe window. |
| Ownership of the new accounts ends up with a supplier instead of you. | You own and pay for every new account, and the handover pack lists each owner. |
Each change or report is checked by a reviewer separate from the work that produced it before it reaches you. No human supervisor is included unless your agreement names one. At launch the work is largely automated, and we say so.
Stays with a person
- You accept each stage and approve each cut-over
- Your domain holder makes every DNS change
Access we would need
- A full site backup, DNS export and scoped mailbox migration access, arranged through a secure handoff
- Invitations to the new hosting account and Microsoft 365 with only the permissions each job needs
Questions
Why buy this instead of the three jobs separately?
The jobs depend on each other and must happen in one order. As a project one plan, one cut-over window and one handover cover all of them, and you accept the finished result.
Is my mail at risk during the move?
No cut-over can promise zero delay for every sender. The mailboxes are tested first, a catch-up copy runs after the switch, and the old mailboxes stay untouched for at least 30 days.
What if my site is custom PHP, not WordPress?
The project can use the custom PHP move instead. Tell us in your enquiry.
Send an enquiry
Send us
- The domain, the old host and the new host and mail provider, if chosen
- How many mailboxes there are and their approximate sizes
- The date the old host closes, or the date you need the move done by
- Who accepts each stage, and what the site and the mail are used for
Later, once you agree
- A full backup of the site, mailbox access and DNS export through a company-controlled secure handoff
- Your new hosting and Microsoft 365 accounts, with the invitations the component jobs need
- The domain holder's agreement to the cut-over timetable
- No live passwords or customer records by ordinary email
The domain, the hosting accounts and the mailboxes stay in your name. We work from your backups and scoped, revocable access, keep no copy after sign-off, and your domain holder makes the DNS change.
Email fallback: open your mail app
If website submission is unavailable, review and send the fallback email yourself. An email fallback is not a website receipt. Or write to hello@syntheticindustry.ai with “host-move-small-business-site-and-email-to-new-providers” as the subject.