If you are currently looking for a guide on how to move both hosting and domain from GoDaddy to Bluehost then you are at the right place.
I have recently transferred my domain and hosting from GoDaddy to Bluehost.
So here I will help you with a detailed tutorial for the migration.
Migrating domain and hosting might seem like a huge task to do but I assure you it is not that difficult.
I will tell you easy 11 steps that you can follow to migrate to your domain and hosting by yourself.
Both Bluehost and GoDaddy keep changing things so when I searched for a tutorial online most of the results were outdated.
I intend to help you transfer your hosting and domain from GoDaddy to Bluehost in the smoothest way possible.
Update: Bluehost has offered me a special discount for my readers.
You can now get a Bluehost hosting at only $3.95/month.
Yes, it’s $3.95/month that also includes a free domain name for a year.
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Here in this tutorial, I will show you how you can change your hosting manually without any plugin within a short time.
I am not a techie but it took me less than an hour to transfer my hosting and domain from GoDaddy to Bluehost.
Whether you have a WordPress website or a blog on GoDaddy you can follow these same steps.
How to migrate a WordPress website from GoDaddy to Bluehost:
- Get hosting from Bluehost
- Download your WordPress files
- Export your GoDaddy database
- Change the domain nameservers on GoDaddy
- Assign your website to Bluehost
- Transfer your WordPress files to Bluehost
- Create a new database on Bluehost
- Move your database to Bluehost
- Edit the wp-config.php file
- Save permalinks
- Transfer your GoDaddy domain to Bluehost (Optional)
In other words, first, you need to purchase a hosting plan with Bluehost and then migrate your whole website from GoDaddy to Bluehost.
Then you need to connect your domain to Bluehost and upload your site from your computer to Bluehost.
That’s how easy it is!
This step-by-step detailed tutorial will help you migrate your site from any hosting with a cPanel.
So even if you want to transfer your site from HostGator to Bluehost, GoDaddy to HostGator, or SiteGround to Bluehost you can follow these steps.
As you want to move your site from GoDaddy to Bluehost I assume you already own a domain and hosting on GoDaddy.
Let’s start the process then.
Table of Contents
Step-1: Get Hosted with Bluehost
First, you need to register on Bluehost and buy one of their hosting plans.
For all my readers I have this special discount where you can Bluehost hosting at only $3.95/month and a free domain for the first year.
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Once you click on the “Get Started‘ button, you will see the hosting plans and you need to choose one.
If you have a blog or small informational website then the basic plan is more than enough for you.
On the next page type in your existing domain name( one that you have on GoDaddy) in the “Use a domain you own” field.
Next, enter your information, select the duration of your plan, and opt for domain privacy if you want.
After that pay the amount online and create a password.
Here are the reasons why you should choose Bluehost as your new hosting provider:
- Super affordable- only $3.95/month.
- A free domain name for a year.
- 24/7 support team to help you.
- A user-friendly interface.
- Recommended by WordPress and comes with pre-installed WordPress.
- Very popular and highly recommended by most bloggers.
- Great security measures.
- Fast loading host.
Step-2: Download Your WordPress Files
Follow these steps to download WordPress files:
- Log into your GoDaddy account.
- Check the web hosting tab and click on “Manage”
- Once logged into the cPanel, choose the File Manager icon under the “Files” section.
- A new page will popup on your left-hand side panel, find public_html and click on that.
- Upon clicking the content will appear on the right side of the panel, select all and compress.
- Now select “Zip Archive” and find “Compress Files”.
- Take note of the location of the archive file, usually, it will be the public_html folder.
- Once the compression is done, download the newly created zip file from the top menu to your computer.
Step-3: Export Your GoDaddy Database
- Log in to your GoDaddy cPanel again and click on phpMyAdmin under the Database tab.
- The database will appear on the left side of your panel, click on it and it will expand on the right side of the panel.
- You will see tables showing posts, comments, etc. Check the top menu and click on “Export”.
- Choose the export method as Quick and Format and then SQL.
- The database will be saved to your computer.
Step-4: Change Domain Nameservers
- Now go to your GoDaddy account and expand the Domains tab.
- Click on “Manage DNS”
- A new page will show up, scroll down and find “Nameservers”.
- Use the “Change” option to replace the GoDaddy nameservers with the Bluehost nameservers.
- Usually, you will get the Bluehost nameservers via mail once you sign up.
- The Bluehost nameservers will look like NS1.BLUEHOST.COM or NS2.BLUEHOST.COM
- Once you save the changes, your domain will point to Bluehost.
- After completing all the steps, if you want to move your website from Bluehost you will be able to do that also.
Step-5: Assign Your Domain to Bluehost cPanel
- Login to your Bluehost account and scroll down to the Domains tab.
- Click on “Domain Manager”.
- Go to the “Assign” option from the top menu.
- Choose the second option that is “Use a domain that is not already associated with your account”.
- Enter your domain name like yourdomainname.com
- Scroll down to the “Choose addon vs parked” and check if an add-on domain is selected.
- Make sure the addon domain is selected and go to the next step.
- Select “Choose addon directory and sub-domain” and add a new directory like public_html/Mydomainname
- Choose your domain name as a subdomain.
- Click on “Assign this domain”.
Step-6: Transfer WordPress Files to Bluehost
- Go to the top menu in your Bluehost account and choose “Hosting”.
- Select the “File Manager” option from the Files section.
- A popup will appear and ask you which directory you want to open.
- Select “Document Root for”, choose your domain name from the drop-down, and hit the “Submit” option.
- Now choose the “Upload” option from the top menu and upload the zip file that you downloaded from GoDaddy.
- In case your zip file is more than 150Mb, you will have to go to the FTP option from the Hosting menu, create an FTP account and download FileZilla software to your computer (it’s free).
- Once you have uploaded the zip file successfully, select it and click on “Extract”.
Step-7: Create A New Database in Bluehost
- Go to your Bluehost dashboard again, find the Database section and choose “MySQL Databases”.
- Select “Create database” and add a name for it including a prefix.
- Your database name should look like prefix_database1.
- Next, scroll down and choose “Add a new user”, add a new username like prefix_user1 and create a password.
- Click on “Create a user” and add the user to the newly created database and hit “Add”.
Step-8: Move Database to Bluehost
- Again go to the Database section and this time click on phpMyAdmin.
- Now in the left-hand side panel search for the database that you created in step 7 and click on it.
- If you cannot find the database, try clicking on the + sign to expand the folders.
- Click on the “Import” option to import the database you downloaded from GoDaddy in step 3.
Step-9: Edit Wp-Config.php file
- Go to the Hosting menu from your Bluehost dashboard.
- Like you did before, scroll down to the Files section and click on “File Manager”.
- The same popup will appear asking you to select a directory, select “Document Root for”, choose your domain name from the drop-down and click on “Submit”.
- Now select the wp-config.php and open it with Code Editor.
- Now select all three options like DB_NAME, DB_USER, and DB_PASSWORD.
- Enter your database name, username, and password in the highlighted areas.
- Save it.
Step-10: Save Permalinks
- Now login to your WordPress dashboard.
- Go to the Settings and then the Permalinks.
- Click on “Save”.
And it’s done! Your website is all set to run on Bluehost.
Step-11: Transfer GoDaddy Domain to Bluehost (Optional)
Now even after transferring your blog to Bluehost, your domain name is still registered with GoDaddy.
You can leave it that way or you can move it to Bluehost as well.
It’s entirely up to you and it will not make any big difference.
To transfer your domain name from GoDaddy to Bluehost follow these steps:
- Log into your GoDaddy account, choose the “Domains” option and then “Manage”.
- Scroll down to the “Domain Lock” option and make sure it’s turned off.
- If you had bought any private registration with GoDaddy before then turn that off too and it might take a few hours to take effect.
- Now scroll down click on “Get authentication code”, you will receive the code in your email address that is registered on GoDaddy.
After receiving the authentication code, log into your Bluehost account and follow these steps:
- Go to the domain section, find your domain name from the list and select the small box next to your domain name.
- Click on “Transfer Options”.
- Click on the link “Transfer this domain to your account”.
- Enter the authentication code from GoDaddy.
- Check if domain privacy is selected or not, if you want to avail auto-renewal for your domain then make the purchase and the renewal will start from the next day of your existing GoDaddy registration expiry.
That’s it.
Conclusion:
Domain registration might take a few days to get completed but these are the backstage things that need to settle down.
After the registration, you have successfully migrated your website from GoDaddy to Bluehost.
If you already had a custom email address with GoDaddy you should transfer it too.
Because there is no point in paying GoDaddy when Bluehost gives you several/unlimited email addresses with its hosting plans.
To transfer your email address, go to the Email tab in your Bluehost dashboard.
Add the custom email addresses that you used to have with GoDaddy.
Then simply connect those custom email addresses to your Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or whatever service you are currently using.
Congratulations! You have just moved your site successfully from GoDaddy to Bluehost.
Prasenjit Dutta Chowdhury, Known as a @digitalprasen is a digital marketing expert, passionate about SEO & content marketing.
He is a blogger, affiliate marketer, writer, author, consultant, and specific SEO & content marketing expert!
He blogs about blogging and Webhosting @Copyproblogger.com
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