Moving a WordPress site off GoDaddy is a technical process with a few GoDaddy-specific quirks worth knowing about before you start. This guide covers the complete procedure: preparing the migration, backing up your site, setting up the new host, restoring, testing, updating DNS, and verifying everything before you cancel GoDaddy. If you've already decided to leave, this is the practical part.
GoDaddy separates hosting and domain registration into distinct account sections, which confuses many users during migration. Your hosting account and your domain registrar account are managed separately even if you set both up through GoDaddy at the same time. You'll need to access both independently, hosting to get your files and database, registrar to update DNS.
GoDaddy also enforces a 60-day transfer lock on domains after certain account changes. This is an ICANN rule, but GoDaddy applies it broadly. The important distinction: you don't need to transfer your domain to move your hosting. You can keep the domain at GoDaddy and point its nameservers or A record to your new host. Only consider a domain transfer later, after the lock period, if you want to consolidate everything at one registrar. Start by lowering your DNS TTL to 300 seconds at least 24 hours before migration day.
You have two main options: a plugin-based backup or a manual backup via cPanel. The plugin method is simpler for most people and works across all GoDaddy hosting types.
Plugin method with Duplicator: Install Duplicator from the WordPress plugin repository. Go to Duplicator → Packages → Create New. Duplicator runs a site scan, then packages all your files and the database into a single archive.zip and an installer.php file. Download both files to your local machine. These two files are everything you need to restore the site on the new host. The archive can be large for sites with many images, allow adequate time for download on slower connections.
Plugin method with UpdraftPlus: Go to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups → Backup Now. Choose to back up files and database. After the backup completes, download all the generated files (separate archives for plugins, themes, uploads, other, and database). Store them locally, not just in GoDaddy's own backup storage.
Manual method via cPanel: GoDaddy's cPanel is standard cPanel with some cosmetic differences. Go to File Manager, navigate to public_html, select all files, right-click and compress to ZIP, then download. For the database, open phpMyAdmin, select your WordPress database (the DB_NAME value from wp-config.php tells you which one), click Export → Quick → SQL → Go. Download the resulting .sql file. This gives you everything needed for a manual restore.
If your site is on GoDaddy's Managed WordPress hosting rather than standard cPanel hosting, you won't have direct cPanel or FTP access. Use the plugin method, Duplicator and UpdraftPlus both work on GoDaddy Managed WordPress.
Sign up with your new host and get the hosting environment ready before attempting a restore. Note the following details from your new account: the server IP address (needed for DNS and for the local hosts file test), the temporary URL your host assigns before DNS is pointed (for testing), and the cPanel login credentials.
If you're doing a manual restore, create a new MySQL database and user in cPanel → MySQL Databases. Create the database, create a user with a strong password, and use the "Add User to Database" section to assign that user ALL PRIVILEGES on the new database. Note the database name, username, and password, you'll need these for wp-config.php.
If you used Duplicator: Upload installer.php and archive.zip to the root of your new hosting account via cPanel File Manager or FTP. Navigate to the temporary URL your new host provided, adding /installer.php to the end. The Duplicator installer walks you through selecting the database, entering credentials, and completing the restore. It handles file extraction and database import automatically. When prompted for database details, use the credentials from the database you created in Step 2.
If you used UpdraftPlus: Install a fresh WordPress instance on the new host. Install the UpdraftPlus plugin, go to Settings → UpdraftPlus → Restore, upload the backup archives from GoDaddy, and run the restore. The plugin handles both the file restoration and the database import. After restore, update the database credentials in wp-config.php if they've changed.
If you did a manual backup: Upload your files to public_html via FTP. Import the .sql database via phpMyAdmin on the new host. Open wp-config.php and update DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, and DB_HOST to match the new database. Also check the wp_options table, if siteurl or home contain a GoDaddy-specific temporary URL rather than your domain, update them via phpMyAdmin with a direct SQL UPDATE statement or via the WP-CLI command wp option update siteurl 'https://yourdomain.com'.
Before touching DNS, test the site thoroughly. Use your local hosts file to point your domain at the new server's IP, so your browser loads the new server while the world still sees GoDaddy. On Windows, edit C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts as administrator; on Mac/Linux, edit /etc/hosts with sudo. Add a line: NEW.SERVER.IP.ADDRESS yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com.
With that in place, browse your site and check: all pages load correctly, images display, forms work and send email, WordPress admin is accessible, SSL is active (install Let's Encrypt from cPanel → SSL/TLS if not already set up), and any plugins function correctly. Common issues at this stage include database credential mismatches (recheck wp-config.php), missing files that weren't included in the backup, and plugins that conflict after being deactivated during migration. Fix everything before proceeding to DNS.
Log into your GoDaddy domain management account (separate from your hosting account). Find the domain's DNS settings, in GoDaddy's interface, this is under Domains → Manage DNS. You have two options for the DNS change. Updating nameservers to your new host's nameservers is simpler if you want the new host to manage all DNS. Updating only the A record (and www CNAME) to point to the new server IP is better if you're keeping email hosted at GoDaddy's email service or at Google Workspace, this way, MX records remain unchanged.
With your TTL already lowered to 300 seconds, most visitors will hit the new server within 5–15 minutes of the change. Keep GoDaddy hosting active for at least 48 hours after DNS switch before cancelling, propagation stragglers and the potential need to retrieve anything missed during the backup are good reasons not to rush the cancellation.
Once DNS has propagated fully, remove the hosts file entry you added for testing. Run a final check: browse the live site from a clean browser session or a different device, verify admin login, check that contact forms are sending email correctly (outgoing email sometimes needs SMTP configuration on the new host, WP Mail SMTP is the standard plugin for this), and run a Google PageSpeed Insights test to confirm performance on the new server.
Raise your TTL back to a normal value, 3600 seconds is standard. If you want to transfer the domain away from GoDaddy to consolidate registrar and hosting at one provider, wait for the 60-day transfer lock to expire before initiating the domain transfer. Your site will continue running normally on the new host regardless of where the domain is registered.
HostBible's free migration service moves your WordPress site off GoDaddy with zero downtime. We handle the backup, restore, and DNS guidance.
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