Migrate WordPress to Hostinger free, with zero downtime

Hostinger will copy a WordPress site over for free. The sequence is: buy a plan, request the migration in hPanel, check the copy on a temporary address, then repoint the domain. The old host keeps serving visitors right up to the DNS change, so nobody sees an outage.

Prefer to do it yourself? A migration plugin handles a typical small site in about half an hour. Either route works from Bluehost, GoDaddy, SiteGround, Namecheap or anywhere else.

Four things to do before anything moves:

• Keep the old hosting. Leave it running until the new site has been live for a few days.
• Back up at the current host. Files and database. This is your way back if something goes wrong.
• Find out where your email lives. If the mailboxes sit on the old host, the domain move affects them. The email section below covers it.
• Update everything. WordPress core, theme and plugins. Up-to-date sites migrate with fewer surprises.

This is the route I'd recommend for most people.

1. 1Buy a hosting plan. Premium suits most sites; Business adds daily backups and more resources. See Premium vs Business vs Cloud Startup if you're unsure.
2. 2In hPanel, open Websites and choose to migrate a website. The label moves between hPanel updates, so search for "migrate" if it isn't obvious.
3. 3Give Hostinger access to the old site: WordPress admin credentials, or a backup file from the old host. Admin access is usually faster.
4. 4Wait for the confirmation email. Small sites often finish within a few hours; larger ones take longer.

All-in-One WP Migration and Duplicator both bundle the whole site, meaning files, database and settings, into a single file you import on the other side.

1. 1Install the plugin on the old site and export everything to a file.
2. 2In hPanel, create a fresh WordPress install on your domain.
3. 3Install the same plugin there and import the file. It overwrites the fresh install with your site.
4. 4Sign in with your old site's username and password, then open Settings → Permalinks and click Save to regenerate the URL rules.

Whichever route you used, don't point the domain yet. hPanel can give the new site a temporary preview address so you can click through it first.

• Load the homepage, several posts and every page that matters.
• Submit the contact form and confirm the message arrives.
• On WooCommerce, place a test order.
• Confirm images load and the admin area works.

Once the copy checks out, send the domain to Hostinger. Either switch its nameservers to the two listed in hPanel, or keep your current DNS provider and change the A record to your Hostinger IP. Most visitors hit the new server within a few hours; full propagation can take up to 24.

After DNS has moved, install the free SSL certificate in hPanel and confirm the site loads over https.

Migrating a website copies the site. It does not copy mailboxes. If your mail is hosted at the old provider and you change nameservers, incoming mail can simply stop.

• Mail on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: recreate the MX, SPF and DKIM records in the new DNS before you switch nameservers.
• Mail at the old host: create the same mailboxes on Hostinger first, then switch, and bring old messages over with your mail app or an IMAP migration tool.

• Remove any old caching plugin and enable LiteSpeed Cache, which Hostinger's servers are built around.
• Look at Google Search Console again. SEO is unaffected as long as URLs stay the same.
• After a few quiet days, take one final backup from the old host, then cancel it.

Once you're settled, work through the speed fixes for Hostinger sites. If you haven't bought the plan yet, the coupon page shows how WEBHOST2026 takes an extra 20% off.