Migrate a site from HostGator using SSH

This guide will show you how to securely share access to your site using SSH, so that you can migrate your site from HostGator to WordPress.com.

Secure Shell (SSH) is a secure way for us to connect to your current host and copy your site safely. We use it to transfer a copy of your site’s content, media, plugins, themes, and database over an encrypted connection. Your existing site will stay online and unchanged during the migration, so visitors won’t notice any disruption until you’re ready to update your domain name to the newly-migrated site.

On HostGator’s shared hosting, you will need to enable SSH access on your account following the steps below. On VPS and dedicated hosting, SSH access is enabled by default. You can skip to the next step.

If you have never used cPanel on your HostGator account, you will follow these steps to create a cPanel account and enable SSH access:

1. Log in to your HostGator Customer Portal.
2. If your account has multiple hosting packages, choose the hosting plan you need to manage, then click Manage; otherwise, continue to the next step.
3. Under the Quick Links section, click the WHM button.
4. In the left-hand menu, navigate to Account Functions → Create a New Account.
5. In the Package section, check the box next to “Select Options Manually”.
6. Scroll to “Shell Access” and check the box next to the option.
7. Click the Create button at the bottom of the page.
8. Once enabled, you can proceed to find your server address and generate SSH keys.

If you have used cPanel on your HostGator account, you will follow these steps to enable SSH access:

1. Log in to your HostGator Customer Portal.
2. If your account has multiple hosting packages, select the hosting plan you need to manage, then click Manage; otherwise, continue to the next step.
3. Under the Quick Links section, click the WHM button.
4. In the left-hand menu, navigate to Account Functions → Manage Shell Access.
5. Check the box for “Normal” shell access for your user and click the Apply button.
6. Once enabled, you can proceed to find your server address and generate SSH keys.

To find the SSH details for your site, take the steps below.

1. Log in to your HostGator Customer Portal.
2. Click the Hosting tab in the left-side menu.
3. If your account has multiple hosting packages, select the hosting plan you need to manage, then click Manage; otherwise, continue to the next step.
4. Scroll down to the Server Information section and click the view link under IP Address.
5. Copy the IP address and paste it as your server address on WordPress.com:

6. For HostGator shared hosting, use port 222. For VPS and dedicated hosting, use port 22.
7. Click the “Verify server address” button.

In a few moments, we’ll validate if the details are correct for what we need to migrate a copy of your site to WordPress.com. If the details cannot be validated, please double-check you have pasted the correct information or contact your host for support in obtaining the correct details.

Next, you’ll need to share your SSH details to grant WordPress.com secure access to your site to begin the migration.

1. In the Share SSH access section on WordPress.com, choose the SSH key authentication method.
2. Click the copy icon in the top right to copy the public key to your computer’s clipboard.
3. Return to the Server Information section in your HostGator Customer Portal.
4. Click the “Manage Keys” link.
5. Click the “Import Keys” button.
   • Key name: Leave as the default, usually ida_rsa.
   • Private Key: If prompted for a private key, leave this field empty.
   • Public Key: Paste the public key you copied from WordPress.com in step 2.
6. Back on WordPress.com, click the Continue button: