Assisted Migrations

What you need to know about moving to us from Wix, Squarespace, or another page builder

We’re so happy you’re thinking of moving to us!

This page explains how our assisted migration process works. It’s specifically for Wix, Weebly, and other page builder websites.

If you’re moving from Blogger, WordPress.com, or a different self-hosted WordPress host (such as Bluehost, GoDaddy, TSO Host or similar), please head over to our full migration page instead.

Many people are nervous about switching hosts, which is completely normal and understandable, but we make the process as easy as possible for you without charging any extra. Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions. We’re looking forward to welcoming you to the Lyrical Host family!

What is an “assisted migration”?

Instead of transferring your whole website from your current provider, we do the main tech set up for you so you have a new WordPress website and your theme installed. Then you copy over your old content, images, and so on from your old website to your fresh WordPress website and recreate your pages and posts.

Once you’re ready to go live, just let us know via support ticket, and we’ll sort out any last tweaks and put your website live. As part of this we sort out your domain name and SSL certificate, install Google Analytics and Search Console for you if you want them, and generally try our best to make sure you have everything you need.

The reason we do it this way, and why you have to copy your content over yourself, is because page builders such as Wix have very proprietory systems. They want to keep you using them by making it difficult to move away, whereas WordPress and Blogger websites are much easier to move between hosts.

As you can imagine, this can be many weeks of time-consuming manual work, depending on the size of the website and how many posts, pages, images, and other features are involved. It’s also difficult to know what you want to keep, how you want it arranged, what you don’t really care about, and so on – you know your own website better than we do!

If you don’t want to copy your own content over, we can recommend some great virtual assistants in the Lyrical Host family who can provide reasonable quotes for the work. Just drop us an email at sales@lyricalhost.com if you’d like recommendations before you buy hosting.

Who is WordPress for?

WordPress is awesome, but it’s not for everyone. Here are some ways to decide if it’s for you.

You're looking to get more from your website, with a bigger choice of themes, styles, and layout options.

You're looking to add more features to your website and/or monetize it in more flexible, feature-rich ways (for example working with ad networks, adding courses, creating a shop, developing a social network) without spending more money.

You want full control and ownership over your website and content at all times.

You don't want to be vulnerable to page builder features disappearing, prices going through the roof, or long contracts.

You want to be able to get professional support or peer-to-peer help easily; so much of the web is powered by WordPress that it's easy to get help and advice.

You want a website to love. You won't have a finished website in a day, so you need to be prepared to put the time in (or pay a designer/developer to do it for you!)

You love to learn. WordPress has a learning curve, so if you just want to build a super quick ``set and forget`` website, it's not a good option for you.

You're prepared to commit. Going from a page builder to WordPress is like going from a pet goldfish to a pet dog. It's a lot more work, but you get a lot more back.

Try a demo

Not sure if you’ll get on with WordPress? We have a demo set up so you can see what you think. For the login details, please email sales@lyricalhost.com for a “no selling” test drive!

Questions everyone asks (it’s not just you!)

Do I need to sign up with WordPress?

Nope! You don’t need to sign up with WordPress.com or download anything from WordPress.org. Everything you need for WordPress is included in your Lyrical Host hosting plan as standard.

Where do I log in to edit my website?

Our support team will give you the temporary link you need to log in when you’re in the process of initially creating your website.

After your website is live, simply enter your domain name in your web browser and add /wp-admin to the end before hitting enter. This will take you to your WordPress Dashboard login.

You can edit your website from your phone or tablet by going to the same web address, you don’t need an app as WordPress is fully responsive.

How much does it cost to transfer over to you?

Website migrations are free with any of our hosting plans.

If you have a domain name you’d like to transfer to us, there’s a transfer cost which varies depending on your domain name extension. All the prices can be found here and all domains renew at the same price. Transferring a domain to us extends your domain’s renewal date, so it’s basically like renewing it and moving it in one.

Do I need to tell anyone I'm moving hosts?

It’s totally up to you – some people prefer to announce it on social media or their blog, some people prefer to mention it afterwards, or not at all! If you get a lot of comments, you may want to tell your visitors you’re temporarily turning comments off while your site is being migrated.

If you’re with an independent ad network, you may need to tell them that you’re moving hosts if that’s part of their terms and conditions.

Can I transfer my domain name at a later date?

This will depend on your current provider, so please check with our support team first. For some providers, such as Wix, you’ll need to transfer your domain to us at the time, and for others you can move later or just keep renewing with them.

We recommend having at least 7 days left on your domain name before it expires. There is a transfer cost equal to a year’s renewal, which also extends your domain name’s renewal date by a year (so effectively it’s like you’re renewing it). Our support team can handle the transfer and any redirects needed – just raise a support ticket whenever you’re ready!

Can I change my billing cycle, date, or plan in future?

You can change your billing cycle or billing date any time you like; just let our support team know and they’ll make the switch for you.

Upgrading your plan is just as easy – it only takes our support team a few minutes to do and there’s no risk to your files or any down time.

Unlike other hosts, we even let you downgrade your plan as needed. We’re here to make your life easier & fit in with what you need.

Is it just my website you migrate?

We can usually also migrate your email, set up an SSL certificate, and many other tasks for free as part of your website migration. Feel free to message our live chat or email sales@lyricalhost.com if there are specifics you want to ask about.

Is there any down time?

There shouldn’t be any downtime for your website during your migration, regardless of where you’re moving from. On extremely rare occasions, it may take a while for the changes to kick in globally, which may make your site temporarily inaccessible for a short period. In all the migrations we’ve ever done, this has only happened twice.

If we’re setting up an SSL certificate for you, there is likely to be a 30 minute window where you and your visitors see a “Website not secure” browser warning. This is due to the nature of the SSL certificate activation process.

What about domain names?

If you’re planning to transfer your domain name to us as well as your website, we recommend waiting until after your website has been migrated before transferring the domain to us.

Transferring your domain to us involves a transfer cost (typically the same price as it would cost you to renew the domain anyway) and will extend its current expiry date by one year.

If you don’t already have a domain name, you can register one with us (or through another provider if you’d prefer), and our team will connect your domain to your hosting during the migration.

If you want to keep your domain where it’s currently registered, just let our team know, and they’ll get everything connected up during the migration.

What if my hosting/domain is due to expire soon?

We strongly recommend giving yourself enough time to copy everything over from your old website and checking it thoroughly before your current hosting and/or domain name are due to expire. If not, you may be able to request a goodwill extension from them rather than getting stuck in another contract, but our first recommendation would always be to give yourself enough time to move!

When do I cancel with my old host?

Our support team will be able to confirm when you’re good to cancel with your old host. Please don’t cancel your services with them until you’ve finished copying everything over, you’ve spoken to our support team, and your domain name has finished transferring.

How does the assisted migration process work?

We set up your WordPress install and theme, and you move over your content (pages, posts, images, and anything else you want to keep) from your old website. If you have any questions, our support team will help. When you’re ready to go live with your new site, just contact our team and they’ll sort out your domain name, redirects and SSL certificate.

The steps for the assisted migration process are explained in more detail further down this page.

I’m ready to get started! What do I do now?

There are four steps to your Assisted Migration. Once you’ve completed them, you’ll have a brand new WordPress website.

1. Head Through Checkout

2. Raise A Ticket

3. Recreate Your Site

4. Go Live

Step 1 of 4: Head through checkout

Here’s what you need to pick at each stage of checkout. Click each image to view full size.

Firstly, head to our secure checkout. Choose your hosting package and click ‘Order Now’ to go to the next stage of checkout.

If you don’t already have a domain name you want to use, you can search available names using the top (default) option, “Register a new domain,” and add one to your cart.

Or:

If you already have a domain name you want to use, choose the bottom option. “I already have a domain name I want to use. (Choose this option if you’re going to update your name servers or you’ve booked a Website Migration).” Then enter your existing domain name in the box that appears. If you’re migrating multiple websites, just enter one domain name. Our team will talk through transferring or updating your domain later on in the migration process.

Next, choose your preferred billing cycle from the dropdown menu. You can choose to pay monthly, six monthly, yearly, every 2 years, or every three years.

If you change your mind later, just contact our team and they can switch your preferred billing cycle, upgrade or downgrade your plan, or change the date payment is taken.

Once you’ve chosen your billing cycle, click ‘Continue.’ On the following screen you can review and edit your order, and enter a promo/discount code if you have one.

Finally, complete your order by entering your contact and payment details. Please use your main email address for sign up as all important notifications and actions will be sent there (for example if a payment is declined or a service is due to renew).

During this stage of checkout, you’ll also be asked to agree to our Terms and Conditions, which are linked for easy reading.

When you’re happy, click “Complete Order.” Your order will be confirmed and you’ll receive payment confirmation and a Welcome email to the email address you entered during the process.

Now it’s time to move on to the final step, raising a ticket.

Step 2 of 4: Raise a ticket

Ignore the “Start Here” link in your Welcome email as it won’t apply until you’re done with your migration. Instead, the second thing to do is to contact our support team here. They’ll be able to explain where to log in, and how to build your website on a temporary URL so that people won’t see your site until you’re ready to make it live.

Let our support team know you’re moving in, what page builder you’re coming from (e.g. Wix or Squarespace), and what WordPress theme you’d like installing, and they’ll help you get started. (If you’re planning to buy a WordPress theme, please check with our support team before you purchase so we can check it for compatibility and security).

Click the ‘Submit’ button, and your ticket will be safely sent to our migration team.

Step 3 of 4: Recreate your site

It’s time to copy over your content; this is where the work (and patience) comes in!

We have videos on using WordPress, and a Getting Started PDF guide is available from our Resource Library (just ask our support team for access).

If you have any questions or need any help, please contact our support and they’ll be happy to help. Please be specific as possible with your questions (it’s much easier to answer, “How do I make categories show up in my menu bar?” vs “I can’t use WordPress, help!”).

Step 4 of 4: Go live

Once you’ve copied over everything you want to keep from your old website to your new WordPress website, contact our support team here and let them know you’re ready to go live.

We’ll sort out your domain name, redirects, and SSL certificate (so your website starts https:// instead of http://). Please note that several page builders, including Wix, require us to transfer your domain in order to keep using it. You can find out more about the transfer cost in the table on our Domain Names page.

We can also help with small final tweaks, for example centering your logo, or changing the color of your sidebar headings.

Our team will ask you anything else they need to know, confirm they’ve put your website live. Please also check with them when you’ll be safe to cancel with your old host.

And there you go – you’re officially on WordPress!