Site Migration Workflow

Published · Last updated: May 2026 · 4 min read

Who this is for

Users who need to move a site from one server to another — for example, when upgrading to a larger server, moving to a different cloud region, or consolidating servers.

Overview

CloudAIPilot supports site migration via the Clone feature. The recommended migration approach is:

Clone the site to the target server.
Verify the clone is working.
Transfer the domain DNS to point to the new server.
Issue SSL on the new server.
Delete the original site after confirming everything is working.

This approach gives you zero-downtime migration — the original site stays live while you verify the clone, and DNS cutover is the only moment of potential brief interruption.

Step 1: Identify Target Server

Ensure you have a running server at the destination. It must:

Have a compatible stack (same app type — e.g., LEMP for WordPress).
Have enough disk space for the site files and database.
Have SSH connectivity in CloudAIPilot.

If you do not have a destination server yet, provision one first — see KB-02-02: Provision a New Server.

Step 2: Clone the Site to the Target Server

Open the source site detail.
Click ⋮ → Clone Site.
In the clone form:

Subdomain: enter a temporary subdomain (e.g., migrate) — this is for verification only and will be changed later.
Target server: select the destination server.

Click Clone.

Wait for the clone plan to complete (monitor in Activity Center). The site is now running on the target server at the temporary subdomain.

See KB-03-09: Clone a Site for full clone instructions.

Step 3: Verify the Cloned Site

Add a temporary DNS entry or use the server IP directly to access the cloned site.
Check:

All pages load correctly.
Images and media files are present.
Database-driven content (posts, products, user accounts) is intact.
Forms and functionality work.
Any custom scripts or integrations are functional.

For WordPress: log in to the WP admin of the cloned site and verify plugins, settings, and theme are correct.

Step 4: Update the Domain on the Clone

Open the cloned site detail → Settings.
Change the domain from the temporary subdomain (e.g., migrate.myblog.com) to the real production domain (e.g., myblog.com).
Save.

Step 5: DNS Cutover

At your DNS provider:

Update the A record for myblog.com (and www) from the old server IP to the new server IP.
Set TTL to a low value (60–300 seconds) if you changed it beforehand.
Wait for propagation.

During propagation (minutes to hours), some visitors will still reach the old server and some will reach the new one. Both servers are running and serving the site during this window.

Step 6: Issue SSL on the New Server

Once DNS is pointing to the new server:

Open the cloned site on the new server.
Click Issue SSL.

See KB-03-04: SSL Certificates.

Step 7: Final Verification

Visit https://myblog.com in a browser — confirm it loads from the new server over HTTPS.
Verify all site functionality.
Check the new server monitoring for normal traffic.

Step 8: Remove the Original Site

Once you are confident the migration is complete and the new server is stable (wait at least 24–48 hours):

Delete the original site on the old server — see KB-03-13: Delete a Site Safely.
If the old server has no other sites and you no longer need it, archive or delete the server.

Migration Checklist

[ ] Target server provisioned and running
[ ] Site cloned to target server
[ ] Clone verified (all content, images, functionality)
[ ] Domain updated on cloned site in CloudAIPilot
[ ] DNS A record updated to new server IP
[ ] DNS propagation confirmed
[ ] SSL issued on new server
[ ] HTTPS working on new server
[ ] Backup taken of original site before deletion
[ ] Original site deleted after 24–48 hour confirmation window

What Success Looks Like

The site runs on the new server under the same domain with SSL active. All content is intact. The original server no longer serves this site.