Migrations fail in predictable ways: paths that no longer exist, a database still holding the old domain, a PHP version that changed underneath, or DNS still pointing half your visitors at the old server. The symptoms look dramatic and the causes are usually mundane — but they are hard to spot because the site worked perfectly an hour ago.
Before you buy, one quick look
Read-only.
Open the site in a private window. Then check whether the old host is still serving — if you can still reach the site at the old server’s address, DNS may simply not have finished propagating.
Old host still serving, new one broken — you have breathing room. Nothing is lost.
Both broken, or the new site is live and failing — that is what this fix addresses.
Broken after host migration - restore to working state
The site moved hosts and is now erroring, half-loading, or serving the old version. We find what the migration left behind and repair it, without moving anything back.
- Full backup taken before we start
- If we can’t fix it, you get your money back
- We never ask for your own password
This or something else?
| Site broken immediately after a host move | This fix covers it |
| Some visitors see the old site | DNS propagation — usually resolves itself |
| Database connection error after the move | Error establishing a database connection |
| Broken because PHP version changed | PHP version compatibility fix |
| Images missing but pages load | This fix covers it |
What you are seeing
- Errors, blank pages, or missing assets since the migration
- The site may load but with broken images, styles or links
- The admin may work while the front end does not, or the reverse
- Some visitors report it working and others do not
Common causes
- File paths hardcoded to the old server’s directory structure
- The database still containing the old domain in serialised data
- A different PHP version on the new host, breaking plugins that worked before
- File permissions or ownership set wrongly during the transfer
- An incomplete database import, missing tables or truncated rows
What we do
- Take a full backup of the new environment before touching anything
- Compare the two environments and identify exactly what differs
- Repair paths and URLs safely, respecting serialised data
- Verify the database imported completely, table by table
- Correct permissions, PHP configuration and server settings
- Load-test every template, the admin, and checkout if you have one
What is included
- A site working correctly on the new host, verified across templates
- A note listing everything the migration got wrong
- Database integrity confirmed rather than assumed
- The pre-fix backup, kept for 30 days
Not included
- Migrating the site again, or moving it back — quoted separately
- Recovering data that was never transferred and no longer exists at the old host
- Resolving DNS delays, which only time and your registrar can fix
- Malware removal, design changes or content work
Questions about this fix
Should I just move it back?
Rarely, and it is often not possible once DNS has moved. Migration faults are usually a handful of specific, fixable differences rather than a fundamentally failed transfer. We would rather find them than undo the work.
Some people see the old site and some the new one. Is that broken?
No, that is DNS propagation and it resolves on its own, usually within hours. It is worth knowing about because it makes migration problems look worse than they are — you may be looking at the old server while someone else looks at the new one.
The old host has already deleted my account. Does that matter?
It matters if the migration was incomplete, because there is nowhere to re-fetch what was missed. We check the database and file set for completeness first and tell you straight away if something is genuinely gone.
Why did images break when the pages are fine?
Almost always paths. Images are referenced by URL inside content, and if those URLs were not rewritten during the move, or were rewritten carelessly inside serialised data, they point somewhere that no longer exists.
Do you need access to the old host as well as the new one?
Only if it's still reachable and something needs comparing against it. Most of the time everything we need is on the new host and in the database, so losing access to the old one rarely stops us.
Related fixes
If this is the second time this year
A bad update breaking the site is a symptom of updates not being tested first. Care plans run every update on a staging clone before it reaches your live site, which is the actual fix for this happening again.
Your access, your rules
Create a separate admin account for us and delete it when we are done. For anything else, we get in touch and agree a method — never a form field on this site, never by reply to an email.
We back up first, always
Before anything is touched we take a full backup and keep it for 30 days. If a fix goes wrong, we put the site back exactly as it was.
If it is not what you bought
If the problem turns out smaller than what you ordered, we refund the difference. If it is bigger, we stop and send a quote before doing any extra work.
If we cannot fix it
You get back what we received. Diagnosis is on us — you only pay when the problem is actually solved. The payment processor takes its fee before the money reaches us, so we never hold it and it is not ours to return. That is true here as everywhere else.
If it comes back
Reply within seven days of delivery and we put it back on the bench at no cost. The fix is not finished until it holds.
What we are responsible for
If something goes wrong with a fix, our responsibility is limited to what you paid for it. We take a full backup first so mistakes can be undone, and we tell you before doing anything outside what you bought.