Difference between a site migration and a domain transfer

It’s common to confuse site migrations with domain transfers because both involve moving something related to your website. However, they are two very different processes.

Site Migrations

A site migration means moving your website content from one hosting provider to another.

What’s included:

• Website files (HTML, PHP, images, etc.)
• Databases (e.g., MySQL)
• Email messages (if hosted with your old provider)
• Control panel settings (for cPanel-based accounts)

Key points

• Your existing site remains online during the migration.
• Content is copied, not removed.
• To make the migrated site “live,” you must update your domain’s nameservers to point to Ruachost.
• Migration time depends on the size of your site usually a few hours to a couple of days.

Domain Transfers

A domain transfer means moving the registration of your domain name (e.g., example.com) from one registrar to another.

What’s included:

• Only the domain registration moves.
• No website files, emails, or databases are transferred.