Moving to cPanel from Plesk, DirectAdmin or another panel: what moves and what you rebuild

A control panel is just the shop window for five things that exist on any server: files, databases, mailboxes, DNS records and scheduled tasks. So changing panels means copying those five, and redoing the settings each panel stores in its own way. Do not assume cPanel will restore a backup in another panel’s format with a button; what always travels is the content. If you would rather not do it yourself, our migration department handles it, and the hosting migration page explains how to ask.

What comes and what you rebuild

Item Comes with the copy? How it travels or is rebuilt
The site files Yes, but the folder changes name. Each panel has its own site folder (Plesk usually uses httpdocs; in cPanel it is public_html). Copy the contents into the domain’s folder.
Databases Yes, by export. Export each database (phpMyAdmin or mysqldump), create the new database and user, import, and update the configuration file. The names change.
Mailboxes and messages No. Recreate the mailboxes and bring the messages over IMAP: bringing your mailboxes from another provider.
Forwarders and filters No. Redo them by hand. Note them down before you move.
DNS records No. Recreate them, or take the nameservers. See moving the DNS zone.
Scheduled tasks No. Create them again under Cron Jobs (cron jobs), with the new paths.
PHP version and extensions No. Set them per folder in Select PHP Version (which PHP version to use).
SSL certificate No. It is issued again once the domain points to the account.
Web server rules Partly. Rules that lived in the server configuration, like nginx directives, do not move into .htaccess by themselves. Rewrite them.

Step by step

1 Take inventory in the old panel. Domains and subdomains, databases, mailboxes and forwarders, scheduled tasks, DNS records, PHP version, special rules. It is the list you check against at the end.
2 Make a full backup and keep it off the server (your own backup).
3 Add the domain to the new account without touching its DNS (adding another domain or a subdomain).
4 Copy files and databases as in moving a site by hand.
5 Rebuild the rest from the table above, line by line.
6 Test with the hosts file (testing before you change the DNS) and only then change the DNS (migrating without downtime). Keep the old panel until the new one answers everywhere.
A site built for Windows may not run on Linux. If your site uses ASP.NET, a SQL Server database or IIS, it is not just a change of panel: it is a change of technology. See moving a site between Linux and Windows. PHP, WordPress and HTML sites pass without trouble.
Understanding the differences between panels saves surprises: cPanel, DirectAdmin or Plesk: what actually differs. Almost everything has the same name elsewhere, in a different menu.

Want us to handle the migration from your current panel? Tell us where the site comes from and which panel it uses.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

How to migrate a site without downtime

Moving your site to us: what comes across, and how long you are offline

cPanel, DirectAdmin or Plesk: what actually differs between control panels

Hosting migration

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