Free Tool
Hosting migration guide
Moving between hosting providers is four separate jobs that people treat as one. Pick what you are actually moving and who you are moving it between, and get the steps for that specific job — including the order that keeps your site and email up.
Start with your domain
Optional, and usually the fastest way in. Your registrar, nameservers and server address are public records — this reads them and works out which steps you actually need.
Reads public DNS and registry records only. Nothing is stored, and no personal registrant details are requested or shown.
Where things are today
All optional — but these three are frequently at three different companies, and knowing which is which removes most of the guesswork.
Who bills you for the domain
Who answers DNS queries
Where the files actually live
Get the steps for one job
Every guide stands on its own. Pick a single thing and do only that — there is no requirement to move everything at once.
Domain registrar: Move who the domain is registered with and who bills you for it. Does not move your website, DNS or email.
Full guide available
Transfer a domain from Bluehost to GoDaddy
Written to be followed on its own, with the exact menu paths, what changes and what does not, and links to both providers' official documentation.
The four kinds of transfer
These get used interchangeably and they are not interchangeable. Knowing which one you need is most of the job.
Domain registrar
Move who the domain is registered with and who bills you for it. Does not move your website, DNS or email.
Nameservers
Change which company answers DNS questions for your domain. Swaps your whole DNS zone in one move.
DNS records
Copy the individual A, CNAME, MX and TXT records so the site, email and verifications keep working.
Website files & database
Move the actual site — files, database, and for WordPress the wp-config connection details.
Detailed migration guides
Pairs someone has actually walked through, with the menu paths verified against the live control panels.
Bluehost → GoDaddy
Verified August 8, 2026Four different things get called "moving to GoDaddy", and they are not the same job. Transferring the registrar changes who bills you for the domain. Changing nameservers changes who answers DNS for it. Copying DNS records keeps your email and verifications alive. Moving files is the only one that touches the actual website.
GoDaddy → Bluehost
Verified August 8, 2026Moving to Bluehost means up to four separate jobs, and they are independent of one another. Transferring the registrar changes who bills you for the domain. Changing nameservers changes who answers DNS. Rebuilding the DNS records is what keeps email alive. Moving files is the only part that touches the website itself.
Bluehost → SiteGround
Verified August 9, 2026This is one of the easier migrations to get right, because SiteGround has done the hard part for you. Its free WordPress Migrator plugin copies a live site across without touching the original, which removes most of the manual export-and-import work that makes host moves stressful.
Bluehost → Hostinger
Verified August 9, 2026Of the moves covered on this site, this is the one with the least manual work. Hostinger will do the website migration for you for free, and unlike most hosts its DNS editor accepts a BIND zone file — which is exactly the format Bluehost exports. The two halves that usually cost an evening each are largely automated.
Need a pair that is not listed? The picker above gives you the standard process for any two providers, and you can ask me to write up yours.
Guides by provider
Best-practice guides for one job at one provider — its exact paths, its real limits, and the mistakes people make there. Useful when you know your destination but the source is unremarkable.
Domain registrar
Nameservers
DNS records
Every combination
Pick any two providers. Highlighted cells have a written guide; the rest open the tool with that combination already selected, and give you the standard process.
| From ↓ / To → | Bluehost | GoDaddy | Namecheap | Cloudflare | SiteGround | Hostinger | WP Engine | Kinsta | DreamHost | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluehost | — | Full guide | Open | Open | Full guide | Full guide | Open | Open | Open | Open |
| GoDaddy | Full guide | — | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open |
| Namecheap | Open | Open | — | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open |
| Cloudflare | Open | Open | Open | — | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open |
| SiteGround | Open | Open | Open | Open | — | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open |
| Hostinger | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | — | Open | Open | Open | Open |
| WP Engine | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | — | Open | Open | Open |
| Kinsta | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | — | Open | Open |
| DreamHost | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | — | Open |
| Squarespace | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | Open | — |
Written guides carry verified menu paths and provider-specific gotchas. Everything else gets the standard process, which is accurate but generic — ask me to write up a pair if yours is missing.
How to tell who runs a site from its DNS
The lookup above works by pattern-matching these. They are useful on their own: given any domain's DNS records, they tell you who runs its DNS, its hosting and its email.
Nameservers — who manages the DNS
| If you see | It is |
|---|---|
| *.bluehost.com | Bluehost |
| *.domaincontrol.com | GoDaddy |
| *.registrar-servers.com | Namecheap |
| *.ns.cloudflare.com | Cloudflare |
| *.siteground.{net, eu} | SiteGround |
| *.dns-parking.com | Hostinger |
| *.hostinger.com | Hostinger |
| *.wpengine.com | WP Engine |
| *.dreamhost.com | DreamHost |
| *.squarespacedns.com | Squarespace |
| *.hostgator.com | HostGator |
| *.inmotionhosting.com | InMotion Hosting |
| *.a2hosting.com | A2 Hosting |
| *.greengeeks.com | GreenGeeks |
MX records — who receives the email
| If you see | It is |
|---|---|
| *aspmx.*.google{mail}?.com* | Google Workspace |
| *.googlemail.com | Google Workspace |
| *.mail.protection.outlook.com | Microsoft 365 |
| *.outlook.com | Microsoft 365 |
| *.zoho.{com, eu} | Zoho Mail |
| *.mailgun.org | Mailgun |
| *.protonmail.ch | Proton Mail |
| *.messagingengine.com | Fastmail |
| *.bluehost.com | Bluehost email |
| *secureserver.net* | GoDaddy email |
A record addresses — where the site is served from
| If you see | It is |
|---|---|
| 192.0.78.0/24 | WordPress.com / Automattic |
| 198.185.159.0/24 | Squarespace |
| 198.49.23.0/24 | Squarespace |
| 185.230.63.0/24 | Wix |
| 23.227.38.0/24 | Shopify |
| 185.199.108.0/22 | GitHub Pages |
| 75.2.60.0/24 | Netlify |
| 76.76.21.0/24 | Vercel |
| 216.198.79.0/24 | Vercel |
| 162.241.0.0/16 | Bluehost |
| 162.144.0.0/16 | Bluehost / Unified Layer |
| 50.87.0.0/16 | Bluehost / Unified Layer |
One caveat:an A record in a Cloudflare range tells you the site is behind Cloudflare's proxy, not who the real host is — the origin is hidden by design. That is still useful to know, because it means the A record you need to edit lives at Cloudflare rather than at your host.
Common questions
What is the difference between transferring a domain and changing nameservers?
Transferring a domain changes which company you buy the registration from — it is a billing and ownership change and moves nothing technical. Changing nameservers changes which company answers DNS questions for the domain, which moves your website, email and every subdomain at once. You can do either without the other, and confusing the two is the most common reason a migration takes a site down.
In what order should I do a hosting migration?
Move the files first and test them on a temporary URL while the old host is still live. Then recreate the DNS records at the new provider, where they sit harmlessly until they are needed. Then change the nameservers, which is the actual cutover. Do the registrar transfer last or separately, since it takes 5–7 days and blocks nothing else.
Will my email break when I move hosts?
It will if you change nameservers without recreating the MX records at the new DNS provider. Email follows MX records, and those live in whichever DNS zone is authoritative. The failure is silent — the website looks perfect while inbound mail bounces — so verify MX before every cutover, not after.
How long does DNS propagation actually take?
Record changes inside an existing zone usually apply within an hour, governed by the TTL you set. Nameserver changes are slower: the delegation TTL is set by the TLD registry, typically 48 hours for .com, and lowering your own record TTLs does not shorten it. Plan for up to 48 hours and check with dig rather than your browser.
Do I have to move everything to the same company?
No, and there is a reasonable argument for not doing so. Keeping the registrar, the DNS and the hosting at different providers means a billing problem or an outage at one cannot take down all three, and future migrations touch fewer moving parts.
Migrate WordPress to a new host
Done for you, including the database and the DNS cutover.
Fix DNS issues
When records are right and the site still will not resolve.
Domain not loading
Diagnosing a domain that stopped resolving after a change.
SEO site migration
Keeping rankings intact when URLs or hosts change.
Compare hosting providers
Intro prices against renewal prices, before you commit.
Hosting cost calculator
What the plan you are moving to should actually cost.
Want someone else to do the migration?
I move sites between hosts for a living — files, database, DNS and the registrar. Tell me where it is now and where it is going.