How to Migrate from HostGator to Cloudways (Step-by-Step)

Why People Leave HostGator

HostGator still works for some people. I’m not gonna pretend it’s a scam or whatever. But the same problems keep showing up on Reddit, Trustpilot, and every hosting forum I’ve checked — and they’re hard to ignore once you start noticing them.

The renewal price shock. This is the big one. HostGator’s Hatchling plan starts at around $3.75/mo on a 36-month term. Sounds fine. But when renewal hits, that jumps to $10.99/mo — nearly a 200% increase. The Baby plan goes from about $5.25 to $16.49. And a lot of customers don’t realize this until the charge just… appears on their card. I saw one person on Trustpilot who got hit with a $567 CAD renewal that they never agreed to. After they’d already cancelled.

“Unlimited” that isn’t. HostGator advertises unlimited storage and bandwidth on their plans. What they don’t tell you is there are hidden file count restrictions and resource caps. If your site grows beyond what they think is acceptable for shared hosting, they throttle it or straight up pause it. Sometimes without telling you first.

Support that reads from a script. The 24/7 chat they promote? Often unavailable. Email responses can take days. And when you do get through, you get someone reading from a script who can’t help with anything beyond the basics. This has been a recurring theme since the Newfold acquisition — the people who actually knew what they were doing seem to be gone.

Overcrowded servers. Because HostGator crams as many sites as possible onto each server, everyone suffers. Slow load times. Random downtime. Sites getting suspended for exceeding limits that weren’t clearly communicated in the first place. This is the shared hosting tax — you’re sharing with hundreds of other sites, and you have zero control over what your neighbors are doing.

The checkout dark patterns. Pre-checked add-ons at checkout (domain privacy, SiteLock, CodeGuard), auto-renewal enabled without making it obvious, and trying to get a refund feels like navigating a maze. The whole billing experience has this feeling of… they’re hoping you won’t notice.

Why Cloudways?

Cloudways is a completely different animal. Instead of cramming your site onto a shared server with hundreds of others, you get your own dedicated cloud server — managed through a clean dashboard so you don’t need to know what SSH is.

Here’s what sold me:

Real cloud infrastructure. You pick your cloud provider — DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS, Google Cloud — and you get dedicated resources. Your own CPU. Your own RAM. No more sharing with strangers who run some sketchy plugin that takes down the whole server.

No renewal surprises. $11/mo is $11/mo. Next month, next year, forever. No contracts, no promotional-price-that-secretly-triples. Pay monthly, cancel anytime.

They manage the server stuff. Cloudways handles updates, security patches, monitoring, all the things you don’t want to think about. You just manage your WordPress site.

Free migration. The Cloudways WordPress Migrator plugin does the heavy lifting. It’s not glamorous, but it works.

Quick Comparison

The honest math: Cloudways costs more upfront. But after HostGator’s first-term discount expires, Cloudways is actually cheaper at $11 vs $10.99 — and you’re getting a dedicated cloud server instead of an overcrowded shared box. That’s not even a close comparison.

Before You Touch Anything

Take 15 minutes. Do this checklist. Future-you will be grateful.

Back up your entire site. Files and database. Use UpdraftPlus, or export manually through cPanel. Save it locally — your computer, Google Drive, wherever. I keep mine in two places because I’m paranoid. Don’t skip this step. Seriously.

Sort out your email first. This is the thing that catches people. Cloudways does not include email hosting. If you’re using HostGator for email (like yourname@yourdomain.com), you need a new email home before you cancel HostGator. Options: Google Workspace ($7/mo per user), Zoho Mail (free for 1 user), or Cloudways’ own email add-on ($1/mo per account). Set it up, make sure it works, then continue.

Screenshot your DNS settings. Go to HostGator’s cPanel, find Zone Editor or DNS settings, and screenshot the whole thing. You’ll need these records when you point your domain to Cloudways. Especially MX records if you’re setting up email elsewhere.

List your domains and subdomains. Every one that’s hosted on HostGator. Each needs to be migrated separately.

Pick your Cloudways server. For most sites coming from shared hosting, DigitalOcean with 1GB RAM ($11/mo) is the right call. If your site gets heavy traffic — like 50,000+ monthly visitors — bump to 2GB ($24/mo). You can always upgrade later without migrating again, which is nice.

The Actual Migration (It’s Easier Than It Sounds)

This looks like a lot of steps written out. In practice, it takes about an hour and most of that is waiting for things to finish.

Step 1: Sign Up for Cloudways

Head to Cloudways and create an account. They offer a 3-day free trial — no credit card required — so you can test the whole thing before spending anything.

Step 2: Launch a Server

Once you’re in the Cloudways dashboard:

1. Click Add Server
2. Choose WordPress as your application
3. Select DigitalOcean as your cloud provider (best value for most people)
4. Pick 1GB RAM for the server size
5. Name it something you’ll recognize (like “My Site Migration”)
6. Choose the data center closest to where most of your visitors are
7. Click Launch Now

Takes about 5-7 minutes to spin up. Cloudways sets up a fresh WordPress install automatically.

Step 3: Install the Migrator Plugin

While your server is provisioning, head over to your current site on HostGator:

1. Log into your WordPress dashboard
2. Go to Plugins > Add New
3. Search for “Cloudways WordPress Migrator”
4. Install and activate it

Step 4: Get Your Cloudways Credentials

You need three things from your Cloudways dashboard:

Go to Servers > select your server > click www > select your application. Under Application Details, grab the Destination Site URL (your temporary Cloudways URL). Under SSH/SFTP, copy the Host (IP address), Username, and Password.

Keep these somewhere you can paste from. You’ll need them in about 30 seconds.

Step 5: Run the Migration

Back on your HostGator WordPress dashboard:

1. Find Cloudways Migrate in your sidebar
2. Enter your email (for status updates)
3. Accept the terms
4. Fill in the form:
   • Platform: Cloudways Flexible
   • Destination Site URL: paste from Step 4
   • SFTP Host: paste the IP address
   • SFTP Username and Password: paste those too
5. Click Migrate

Now you wait. The plugin copies everything — files, database, themes, plugins, media — to your Cloudways server. Usually takes 15-45 minutes depending on how big your site is. You’ll get an email when it’s done.

Don’t close your browser or make changes to your HostGator site while this is running. Just go make coffee or something.

Step 6: Test Everything

Once the migration’s done, visit the temporary Cloudways URL to see your site. Click around. Check your pages. Make sure images load. Test your forms. Log into the WordPress admin and make sure your plugins are behaving.

If something looks off, you can re-run the migration. Your HostGator site is completely untouched — nothing has changed there. That’s the nice thing about this process. There’s no point of no return until you switch DNS.

Step 7: Update DNS and Go Live

When you’re happy with how everything looks:

1. In Cloudways, go to Application > Domain Management
2. Add your real domain name
3. Go to wherever your domain is registered (might be HostGator, might be Namecheap, GoDaddy, wherever)
4. Update the A Record to point to your Cloudways server IP

DNS propagation takes up to 48 hours technically, but in practice most people see their site on Cloudways within a few hours.

Step 8: Set Up SSL

After DNS has propagated:

1. In Cloudways, go to Application > SSL Certificate
2. Select Let’s Encrypt (free)
3. Enter your email and domain
4. Click Install Certificate
5. Enable Force HTTPS

Done. Your site is on Cloudways. That’s it.

After You’ve Migrated

Don’t cancel HostGator immediately. Give it 48 hours after the DNS switch. Check your site from different devices. Ask a friend to load it. Make sure everything’s solid before you pull the plug.

Canceling HostGator is… an experience. Log into their billing portal, find your hosting plan, and look for the cancellation option. They’ll throw retention offers at you. They’ll make it annoying. Persist. And if your domain is registered through HostGator, transfer it to Namecheap or Cloudflare first — you don’t want your domain trapped at a host you’re trying to leave.

Set up Cloudways CDN. CloudwaysCDN costs $4.99/mo per domain. It’s optional, but it’ll help your site load faster for visitors in different regions. If you don’t want to pay that, Cloudflare’s free plan works too — it just takes an extra 10 minutes to set up.

Check your backup schedule. Cloudways includes automated backups, but verify the settings. Daily backups with at least 7 days of retention. It takes 30 seconds and saves you from a potential nightmare.

What’s Not Great About Cloudways (Being Real)

I recommended this move, so I should tell you what’s going to annoy you.

No cPanel. If you’ve used cPanel for years, the Cloudways panel feels unfamiliar at first. It’s actually well-designed once you learn it, but that first day or two where you can’t find anything is frustrating. Power through it.

No email. This is the biggest friction point coming from HostGator where email is just… included. On Cloudways you need Google Workspace ($7/mo), Zoho’s free tier, or their email add-on ($1/mo per account). It works fine once it’s set up, but it’s one more thing to deal with.

No domain registration. Can’t buy or manage domains through Cloudways. Keep your domain wherever it already is, or move it to Cloudflare Registrar (cheap, transparent, no upsells).

CDN isn’t free. $4.99/mo per domain for CloudwaysCDN. Most shared hosts throw in a basic CDN for free. You can use Cloudflare’s free plan instead, but it’s still more setup work than you’re used to.

It’s more hands-on. Cloudways manages the server, but you’re still choosing server sizes, managing PHP versions, and making decisions that shared hosting never asked you to think about. If you want literally zero decisions about infrastructure, SiteGround might be a simpler switch. See our Best HostGator Alternatives for more options.

Should You Actually Do This?

Migrating from HostGator to Cloudways is one of those things that feels way more intimidating than it actually is. The Migrator plugin handles the heavy lifting. Your HostGator site stays live the entire time. And because Cloudways has a free trial, you can test everything before you spend a cent.

Make this switch if you’re tired of HostGator’s renewal prices, slow shared servers, and support that can’t help you. If you don’t mind spending 10 minutes setting up email elsewhere and learning a new dashboard, Cloudways gives you real cloud performance at an honest price.

Don’t make this switch if you need email hosting included, want cPanel, or genuinely prefer a zero-decisions hosting experience. In that case, look at SiteGround — it’s closer to what you’re used to, but actually good.

Ready to try it? Start with the free trial — no credit card, no commitment. See how it feels.

Try Cloudways free for 3 days →