Move From Another Host

Set up the new server before touching DNS

Provision the new Corenzy service first, install the same software stack, and copy your files and database over, while the old host is still live and still serving real traffic. Nothing about this step is visible to visitors, DNS still points at the old host the entire time.

Test on the new server before it is public

Every server has an IP address you can reach directly, or you can edit your own computer's hosts file to preview the domain against the new IP before DNS is switched. Load the site this way and check the things that are easy to miss: forms that submit to a hardcoded old URL, absolute image paths, SSL certificates, cron jobs.

Lower the TTL a day before the cutover

DNS records cache for as long as their TTL says. The day before you plan to switch, lower the TTL on your A record to something short, five minutes is common, so that when you do make the real change, resolvers around the world pick it up quickly instead of holding onto the old IP for hours.

Switch DNS, then watch both servers

Update the A (and AAAA) record to point at the new server. Keep the old server running and unchanged for at least 24 to 48 hours after the switch, some visitors and some email systems will still be working off a cached old IP during that window, and you want their traffic to keep working while it drains, not error out.

Cancel the old host only after logs show it is quiet

Check the old server's access logs, once real traffic has dropped to near zero for a full day, it is safe to shut it down. Cancelling early because "the migration looked fine" is the single most common cause of a migration turning into an incident days later.

The safest migration is the boring one: new server ready and tested first, DNS switched second, old server kept alive as a safety net for another day or two.