Migrating Email & WordPress Site from cPanel to InMotion Central

Migrating From cPanel to InMotion Central
Migrating From cPanel to InMotion Central

When you are migrating from a hosting account with cPanel to InMotion Central, there are multiple ways to move your site and email. In this guide, we will explain the different options to help you decide the best strategy.

    Note: If you want to migrate your email from a cPanel account, you need to Purchase & Configure Email Subscriptions with InMotion Central before continuing with this guide.

    Migrating Your Files and Database from cPanel

    If you have a backup of your WordPress site’s files and database and prefer to perform a manual migration, you can create a new project and unpack your backup. In step 2 below, we are using the Total Upkeep plugin, but you can use any backup/migration plugin that you prefer.

    1. Create a New WordPress Site Project
    2. Migrate a WordPress Site with Total Upkeep
    3. Migrate a WordPress Site Manually with SSH New Article icon

    Check out our Ultimate Guide to WordPress Migration for even more ways to migrate your WordPress files and databases.

    Want us to handle your migration? UltraStack ONE plans Tier 6 and above come with complimentary Launch Assist. Look for the Professional Services section in your project’s Overview section.

    Migrating Your Email from cPanel

    To migrate your cPanel email to your InMotion Central account, you must complete a three-step process. The steps will differ depending on your specific email client, such as Outlook, MacMail, or Thunderbird.

    1. Download your email from your old mail server
    2. Connect to your new email account with InMotion Central i using IMAP
    3. Copy the downloaded emails to your IMAP Inbox

    1. Download Your Email From Your Old Mail Server

    The first step is to get a copy of all your email from the old mail server you are using. This is often accomplished using the POP protocol, which downloads the email to your specific mail client (such as Outlook, MacMail, or Thunderbird). You will need your email settings to set up the mail client.

    Once you have your email settings, you can set up a client such as Outlook, Mac Mail, Windows Live Mail, or Thunderbird.

    2. Connect to Your New Email Account Using IMAP

    After downloading a backup of your email to your mail software, you will use the same client to connect to your new email account with InMotion Central. It is important to use the IMAP protocol since it stores the emails on the server and will allow you to upload them to your INBOX folder. For more information on using email, see the following guide:

    3. Copy the Downloaded Emails to Your IMAP INBOX

    After downloading a backup of your emails and connecting to your new account, the next step is moving them to an IMAP folder. This is typically the INBOX, but you can create an additional IMAP folder that will sync with the server. In most email clients, you can select all the emails from your backup folder and then “Copy To” the IMAP folder. The amount of time it takes to migrate the email messages will depend on their size.

    For more information, see our full guide on Using Thunderbird to transfer Emails between servers.


    Congratulations! You now know how to migrate your website and email from a cPanel account to InMotion Central. Check out our InMotion Central Product Guide for more helpful tutorials.

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