Migrate from a cPanel Server

Why Migrate from cPanel?

cPanel license costs have increased significantly, with prices starting at $15/month for a single account. For many users, migrating to a free panel (HestiaCP, CloudPanel) or a bare server setup provides the same functionality at a fraction of the cost.

Export from cPanel

# Method 1: Full account backup via cPanel
# Login to cPanel > Backup > Download Full Website Backup

# Method 2: WHM command line (all accounts)
for user in $(ls /var/cpanel/users/); do
    /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/pkgacct "$user" /backup/
done

# Method 3: Manual selective export
# Website files:
tar czf /backup/sites.tar.gz /home/*/public_html/

# All MySQL databases:
mysqldump --all-databases --single-transaction \
    --routines --triggers > /backup/all-databases.sql

# Email (Maildir format):
tar czf /backup/email.tar.gz /home/*/mail/

# DNS zones:
tar czf /backup/dns.tar.gz /var/named/*.db

# SSL certificates:
tar czf /backup/ssl.tar.gz /etc/ssl/certs/ /etc/ssl/private/

# Cron jobs:
for user in $(ls /var/cpanel/users/); do
    crontab -u "$user" -l > "/backup/cron-$user.txt" 2>/dev/null
done

Import to HestiaCP

# HestiaCP has a built-in cPanel importer
v-import-cpanel /backup/cpmove-username.tar.gz

# This imports websites, databases, email, DNS, and cron jobs
# Verify each site after import

Import to Bare Server (No Panel)

# 1. Install web server stack
sudo apt install -y nginx mysql-server php8.3-fpm certbot

# 2. Create directory structure
mkdir -p /var/www/example.com/public_html

# 3. Extract website files
tar xzf /backup/sites.tar.gz
cp -r /home/username/public_html/* /var/www/example.com/public_html/
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/example.com

# 4. Import database
mysql -u root < /backup/all-databases.sql

# 5. Create Nginx virtual hosts for each site
# 6. Install SSL with certbot
# 7. Set up cron jobs manually
# 8. Migrate email to dedicated service or self-hosted solution

DNS Migration

# Export zone files from cPanel/WHM
# Import to Cloudflare or new DNS provider
# Critical records: A, MX, TXT (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), CNAME
# Lower TTL 24h before, update after verification

Email Migration

# Use imapsync for mailbox-to-mailbox migration
imapsync --host1 old-cpanel --user1 user@domain.com --password1 pass \
    --host2 new-server --user2 user@domain.com --password2 pass --ssl1 --ssl2

# Or migrate to external email (Google Workspace, Zoho, Migadu)

Post-Migration

• Verify all sites load correctly with HTTPS
• Test email sending and receiving
• Verify database connections in application configs
• Set up automated backups
• Cancel cPanel license after confirmation