Upgrading Your Website from a Free to a Paid Hosting Plan

This guide will walk you through moving your website from a free hosting package to a paid one. The process involves backing up your existing site, deleting the free site, and then re-creating it using your new paid plan.

Important Considerations Before You Begin

• Website Backup: This process requires you to delete your free website. It is critical that you first download a complete backup of your website files. You can do this using the "File manager" for your free site.
• Database Migration (Recommended): While deleting your website does not delete your MS SQL database, free-tier services can have limitations or be subject to removal due to inactivity. For the best performance and reliability, we strongly recommend you also migrate your database to a paid plan.
• Downtime: Because your site is being moved to new servers, there will be a period of DNS propagation. Your website may be inaccessible for 30 minutes to a few hours after the upgrade.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Backup Your Website Files
   • In the control panel, navigate to the Websites section.
   • Click on your free website's name (e.g., website.somee.com).
   • Go to the File manager tab select all folders and files and click on "Download archive".
2. Delete Your Free Website
   • While managing your free website, click on the Delete tab in the top navigation.
   • Click the Delete website button and confirm the action when prompted.
3. Create the New Website on Your Paid Plan
   • Navigate back to the main Websites section from the left-hand menu.
   • Under the "Available website packages" heading, locate your new paid hosting plan.
   • Click the "Create website" (+) icon for that package.
   • On the "Create website" form, enter the exact same Site name (Subdomain) that your free site used. This is crucial for keeping your URL the same.
   • Select your desired "Operating system" and "ASP.Net version".
   • Click the Create website button at the bottom of the form.
4. Upload Your Website Backup
   • Navigate to your newly created website's control panel.
   • Select the File manager tab.
   • Upload the website files you backed up in the first step.

Once the DNS propagation is complete, your website will be live on the new paid hosting plan.