Instructions for Moving Website From Shared Hosting to VPS Without Downtime

Are you "suffocated" with sluggish shared hosting that often crashes when crowded? At Pham Hai, I also experienced that feeling of helplessness when I saw the website drop miserably because the speed was too slow. Moving your website from shared hosting to VPS is the perfect way out, making the system faster, more secure and better able to handle loads. Don't worry about website crashes or access interruptions. I will show you how to move your WordPress website from shared hosting to VPS with 5 main steps, ensuring the website still runs smoothly throughout the process. This is the experience I have gathered after dozens of times migrating servers for customers.

Instructions for moving website to VPS without downtime - Detailed 5-step path

To follow the instructions for moving your website to VPS without downtime, you need to follow the correct order of 5 steps: backup, create a new environment, transfer data, test with the hosts file and point the IP.

These are the most standard steps to move a website from shared hosting to vps that professional webmasters often use. Strict application of this process will help you avoid any risk of data loss or business interruption. Instructions for transferring hosting to vps without downtime actually lies in the technique of "fooling" the computer with the hosts file to check internally before publishing it widely on the Internet.

Step 1 - Back up all "fortune": Package source code and database

The first step is to package the entire source code and export the database from the old hosting into a compressed file to prepare for the move.

Để đảm bảo an toàn, bạn hãy đăng nhập vào cPanel hoặc DirectAdmin của hosting cũ. Mở công cụ File Manager, chọn toàn bộ file trong thư mục public_html và nén chúng lại thành một file .zip. Tiếp theo, truy cập vào công cụ phpMyAdmin để Export toàn bộ database hiện tại ra một file có đuôi .sql.

If you are using popular open source code and are afraid of manually manipulating the code, installing the All in One WP Migration plugin is a great automation solution. Learning how to backup a wordpress website before doing anything is a vital principle that I always remind everyone.

Step 2 - Clean up the "new house": Set up the environment and create a database on VPS

You need to install the operating system and control panel like CyberPanel on the VPS, then create a new, empty database to receive recovered data.

Unlike shared hosting that has everything available, VPS is a pure white server. You need to install a webserver environment so that it can run PHP source code. Based on the latest update in March 2026, I highly recommend using CyberPanel because it is free and helps optimize speed extremely well thanks to OpenLiteSpeed.

After installing the control panel, go to Add Website to add your domain name, then create a completely new database. If you don't know where to start, see the detailed instructions configuring an Ubuntu VPS running WordPress from scratch to have the most solid foundation.

Step 3 - Official move: Upload source code and import database to new house

Use FTP software to upload source code to VPS, and import the .sql file into the newly created database to complete the physical conversion.

Đây là cách chuyển dữ liệu website sang vps an toàn và triệt để nhất. Bạn kết nối vào VPS thông qua giao thức SFTP bằng thông tin IP address và tài khoản root. Tải file .zip mã nguồn đã nén ở bước 1 lên thư mục gốc của domain trên VPS, sau đó giải nén toàn bộ ra.

Đối với cơ sở dữ liệu, bạn truy cập vào phpMyAdmin trên máy chủ VPS mới và chọn tính năng Import để tải file .sql lên. Cách chuyển website wordpress từ hosting sang vps thủ công này giúp bảo toàn mọi cấu trúc link, hình ảnh và nội dung bài viết mà không phụ thuộc vào giới hạn dung lượng của các plugin.

Step 4 - Internal test (Secret no downtime): Edit wp-config.php file and use hosts file to test

Edit the connection information in the wp-config.php file to match the new VPS, then use the hosts file on your computer to try accessing the website without affecting real users.

Hãy mở file wp-config.php trên VPS và thay đổi các thông số DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD cho khớp chính xác với thông tin database bạn vừa tạo ở bước 2. Đây là mấu chốt để chuyển WordPress sang hosting mới không lỗi mà bạn cần đặc biệt lưu tâm.

Để test web mà không gây downtime, bạn mở file hosts trên máy tính (đường dẫn C:WindowsSystem32driversetchosts đối với Windows). Thêm một dòng ở cuối file theo cú pháp IP_VPS Tên_Miền_Của_Bạn. Lúc này, trình duyệt trên máy tính của bạn sẽ tự động trỏ về VPS mới, trong khi hàng ngàn khách hàng ngoài kia vẫn đang truy cập web cũ bình thường.

Step 5 - Open the door to welcome guests: Point the DNS domain name to the IP address of the VPS and install SSL

Once the website on the VPS has run perfectly through the internal test, you can proceed to point the DNS domain name to the IP address of the VPS and install the SSL certificate.

Log in to your domain name management site (like Cloudflare or your domain registrar). Go to the DNS management section and change the A record (A Record) from the old hosting IP to the new VPS IP address. DNS update (propagation) time can take from a few minutes to a few hours depending on the TTL level you set.

During this intervening period, because both old and new servers contain the same source code and identical database, users will not have any errors or interruptions wherever they go. Finally, don't forget to install a free SSL security certificate (Let's Encrypt) on the VPS so that the browser displays a secure green lock.

When should you move your website from hosting to vps? Irrefutable signs

You should consider switching to VPS when your website loads slowly, frequently reports a 508 Resource Limit Is Reached error, or when traffic spikes.

A lot of people text me and ask me when it's appropriate to move my website from hosting to VPS. The answer completely depends on the "health" and current development direction of the website. Below are the 3 most obvious signs that the shared hosting "shirt" has become too cramped and is holding back your business.

When the website starts to "run out of breath": Page loading speed is slow and error 508 is often reported

Error 508 shows that the website has exhausted the CPU and RAM resources allocated on shared hosting, disrupting the user experience.

In a Shared Hosting environment, you have to share hardware resources with hundreds, even thousands of other websites on the same server. When your website has more data, the page loading speed will drop dramatically, especially during peak hours.

More seriously, if you keep getting a white screen saying the "508 Resource Limit Is Reached" error, that's a red flag. Hesitating to upgrade now will cause you to lose a large number of potential customers because they are not patient enough to wait for the website to load.

When you need more "power": Want full control over server installation, configuration and security

VPS gives you the highest root rights, allowing you to freely install specific software and set up in-depth security layers.

Regular hosting blocks many dangerous PHP functions and does not allow you to interfere deeply with the core system. If your project requires installing Redis Cache, Node.js, Elasticsearch or tweaking a firewall to enhance security, you are required to have the highest administrative rights. To better understand this power difference, you should read the article Shared hosting vs VPS vs Dedicated which I have analyzed very carefully.

When traffic spikes: Shared hosting no longer has enough server resources to serve

If your daily traffic exceeds 3,000 - 5,000 visits, the shared hosting environment will no longer be able to respond and will easily lead to a shutdown.

One of the biggest benefits when moving from shared hosting to VPS is the ability to expand server resources almost infinitely. When one of your articles is lucky enough to reach the top of Google, or when you run explosive Facebook advertising campaigns, the amount of traffic pouring in at the same time can immediately crash the hosting. VPS provides independent space and extremely large bandwidth, contributing to improving load capacity, helping the website withstand traffic storms.

What to prepare to move your website to VPS? Checklist is for careful people

For a smooth transition, you need to prepare your old hosting login information, a VPS with a pre-installed operating system and FTP tools.

What to prepare to move your website to VPS is a common question of many new webmasters. According to my experience, careful preparation accounts for up to 50% of the success rate of the moving process. Please stick to the checklist of 3 important items below to avoid confusion when practicing.

Login information on hand: Record the FTP, cPanel/DirectAdmin account of the old hosting

Make sure you have the highest access rights to the old hosting control panel to be able to fully compress and download data.

You need to collect the full login path, username and password of the current hosting package. If you have a cPanel or DirectAdmin account, file compression will take place on the web interface very quickly.

In case you are only given an FTP account, you can still download the source code to your computer but it will take more time because you have to download each small file. In addition, don't forget to request login information for the domain management page from the provider for the final step.

A VPS is ready: Purchased and has root/SSH login information

You need to rent a VPS with the appropriate configuration and receive IP information, root user and password from the service provider.

You cannot move house if you have not bought a new house. Please research and choose to buy a quality VPS package from reputable providers. With the current WordPress platform, I recommend using a VPS with a minimum configuration of 2 Core CPUs and 2GB of RAM for the system to run smoothly.

After successful payment, the provider will send you an important email containing the IP address, root account and SSH password. Please store this sensitive information carefully and absolutely do not share it with strangers.

Tools needed: FTP software (like FileZilla) and domain manager

FileZilla will help you transfer large files without interruption, ensuring the integrity of source code data.

Download and install the free FileZilla Client software on your personal computer. This tool is a great assistant to establish a secure SFTP connection between your computer and VPS.

Besides, open a browser tab and log in to the domain administration page. Having these software tools ready helps you work seamlessly, professionally, and without interruption in inspiration.

Common errors when transferring hosting to vps & Quick handling tips from people in the profession

The conversion process may cause database connection errors, 404 errors due to permalinks or slow website loading due to not having cache configured.

No matter how carefully and meticulously you do it, sometimes you still encounter common mistakes when transferring hosting to VPS. Don't panic, this is completely normal. At Pham Hai, we have compiled special "prescriptions" for the most common diseases below for you to confidently handle.

White page error or "Error establishing a database connection": 99% of information is wrong in the wp-config.php file

This is the most classic error, mainly caused by you entering the wrong database name, user or password in the configuration file.

Khi truy cập vào website và thấy dòng chữ tiếng Anh báo lỗi kết nối database, hoặc màn hình trắng xóa, hãy bình tĩnh mở file wp-config.php ra kiểm tra lại ngay lập tức.

The parameters you fill in must match 100% with the database information you created on the VPS in step 2. A very small unintentional error such as an extra space at the end of the password, or copying a missing character will also cause the system to refuse the connection completely.

Images and article links have error 404: How to "refresh" permalinks in 1 minute

If the home page is accessible but the child posts have a 404 Not Found error, just go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes.

Lỗi này xảy ra do file .htaccess trên VPS mới chưa được cập nhật đúng đường dẫn tĩnh, hoặc webserver chưa bật module rewrite. Cách khắc phục trên WordPress cực kỳ đơn giản.

Bạn đăng nhập vào trang quản trị wp-admin, tìm đến menu Cài đặt (Settings) -> Đường dẫn tĩnh (Permalinks). Bạn không cần thay đổi bất kỳ tùy chọn nào cả, chỉ việc cuộn chuột xuống dưới cùng và bấm nút "Lưu thay đổi" (Save Changes). Hệ thống sẽ tự động tạo lại file .htaccess chuẩn xác và các link sẽ hoạt động trở lại.

Website on new VPS is still slow: Optimize website performance with Caching and CDN

An empty VPS that has not been tweaked will not be fast immediately, you need to install additional Caching tools combined with CDN to speed up.

Many of you wonder why after upgrading to a high-configuration VPS, website performance is still sluggish. The reason is because VPS only provides hardware, and optimizing the software is your task.

Immediately install the LiteSpeed ​​Cache plugin (if you are using CyberPanel/OpenLiteSpeed) or set up Redis Object Cache to store database queries. At the same time, connect the website to the Cloudflare CDN network to reduce bandwidth load on the origin server. This is the core secret to help optimize page loading speed to the maximum level.

Discussing costs: What is the actual cost of moving a website from hosting to vps?

Moving costs completely depend on whether you do it yourself or hire a service, ranging from 0 VND to several million VND.

Financial issues are always a barrier that makes many business owners hesitate when deciding to upgrade. The cost of moving a website from hosting to vps is actually not as expensive as you think if you know how to balance resources. Below is a cost breakdown for you to easily visualize.

Do-It-Yourself Cost: Almost zero if you follow this guide yourself

If you follow the instructions yourself, you will not have to pay any additional conversion fees in addition to the monthly VPS rental fee.

If you have a little basic technical knowledge and are diligent in following the 5 steps I have instructed above, the conversion cost is completely 0 VND.

The only money you have to spend is the monthly VPS package maintenance fee paid to the provider. Based on the latest market updates in early 2026, the price to rent a good quality VPS in Vietnam currently only starts at about 100,000 VND - 150,000 VND/month. This is a great price for the great value of speed and stability it brings.

Service rental costs: Market reference price and when to rent

Professional data transfer services usually charge from 500,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND for each website, suitable for large systems.

If you are a very busy CEO, or your website has a huge database capacity (up to several dozen GB) and is running complex WooCommerce e-commerce systems, hiring an expert is the wisest choice.

The current market fee ranges from 500,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND depending on difficulty and data capacity. In return for that money, you buy absolute peace of mind, ensure data security and save hours of stress trying to fix errors.

Moving from shared hosting to VPS may seem technical and dry, but it is actually very within reach if you work methodically and follow the correct process. This is not a consumable expense, but a worthy investment for the "health" and long-term future development of the website. Don't let a weak hosting platform be a barrier holding back your revenue and traffic. Boldly upgrade to bring the smoothest, most professional experience to users. At Pham Hai, I firmly believe that with these detailed step-by-step instructions, you can completely confidently successfully move your website from shared hosting to VPS.

If you find this experience sharing article really useful, please share it with your friends and the webmaster community! If you are having any difficulties in the steps of configuring VPS or pointing IP domain names, do not hesitate to leave a detailed comment below. I will directly read and answer your questions as best I can.

Note: The information in this article is for reference only. For the best advice, please contact us directly for specific advice based on your actual needs.