How to Transfer Your cPanel Account from a Remote Server

Transferring Your cPanel Account from a Remote Server

Moving from another host to Braysons Host is straightforward if both servers run cPanel. This guide covers a full cPanel-to-cPanel migration that transfers your files, databases, emails, and DNS records in one step.

What Gets Transferred

• All website files in public_html
• MySQL databases and database users
• Email accounts and their stored messages
• Email forwarders and autoresponders
• Cron jobs
• SSL certificates (new ones will be issued on our server)
• DNS zone records

Method 1 — Request a Free Migration (Recommended)

Braysons Host offers free cPanel migrations for new customers. Simply:

1. Open a support ticket at client.braysons.co.ke
2. Subject: "cPanel Migration Request"
3. Provide:

- Your current host's cPanel URL

- cPanel username and password (or a full backup file)

- Your Braysons Host account username

1. Our team will complete the migration within 4–8 hours

Method 2 — Self-Migration via cPanel Backup

Step 1 — Generate a Full Backup on Your Old Server

1. Log into your old cPanel
2. Go to Files → Backup
3. Click Download a Full Account Backup
4. Select Home Directory as the backup destination
5. Enter your email for notification
6. Click Generate Backup

Wait for the email notification (usually 10–30 minutes depending on site size).

Step 2 — Download the Backup File

1. Return to Backup in cPanel
2. Under Full Backups, click the backup file to download it
3. The file will be named something like backup-MM.DD.YYYY_HH-MM-SS_yourusername.tar.gz

Step 3 — Upload to Braysons Host

1. Log into your Braysons Host cPanel
2. Go to Files → Backup → Restore a Full Backup/cpmove File
3. Upload the .tar.gz file
4. Click Restore

Note: For large sites (over 2 GB), upload via FTP instead of the browser uploader.

Step 4 — Restore via FTP (for large backups)

1. Connect to your Braysons Host account via FTP
2. Upload the backup file to your home directory (not public_html)
3. Contact support to trigger the restore — we will run the cPanel restore command on the server

Method 3 — Manual Migration (Files + Database)

If you do not have cPanel access on the old server:

Files:

1. Download all files from old host via FTP
2. Upload to public_html on Braysons Host via File Manager or FTP

Database:

1. On old host: cPanel → phpMyAdmin → Export database as SQL
2. On Braysons Host: Create a new database in MySQL Databases
3. Import the SQL file via phpMyAdmin

Update wp-config.php (WordPress):

define('DB_NAME', 'new_database_name');
define('DB_USER', 'new_database_user');
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'new_database_password');
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

After Migration — Update Nameservers

Once migration is complete and you have tested your site on the new server:

1. Update your domain's nameservers to ns1.braysons.net and ns2.braysons.net
2. Wait 2–48 hours for DNS propagation
3. Your site is now fully live on Braysons Host

Testing Before Going Live

Before changing nameservers, test your migrated site by editing your computer's hosts file:

# Windows: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
# Mac/Linux: /etc/hosts

196.xxx.xxx.xxx  yourdomain.co.ke www.yourdomain.co.ke

Replace 196.xxx.xxx.xxx with your Braysons Host server IP (found in your welcome email).