SiteGround swapped out cPanel for their proprietary Site Tools panel in 2020, so this is not a one-click flip. Our team does a best-effort manual migration of files and databases in 24-48 hours, plus hands-on email recreation. Free with any annual plan.
Both platforms host websites; the day-to-day workflow is what changes when you switch. SiteGround dropped cPanel in 2020 in favor of their proprietary Site Tools, while Ultra Web Hosting runs the industry-standard cPanel that most developers, agencies, and migration tools already speak.
Pricing figures reflect commonly advertised entry tiers; SiteGround promotions vary, so check their pricing page for current numbers.
Plans start at $3.95/mo and your renewal price is the same price you signed up at. No prepay required for the headline rate.
Because SiteGround does not run cPanel, none of this is a one-click backup restore. Our migration team performs each step manually, with you in the loop on anything that needs a decision.
Manual translation of Site Tools settings (PHP version, domains, redirects, cron) into your new cPanel account.
Core, themes, plugins, wp-content/uploads, and the database. SG Optimizer swapped for our caching stack.
MySQL and MariaDB exported from Site Tools and imported on the new server. Connection strings rewired for you.
Mailboxes recreated in cPanel with matching addresses, then stored messages move via manual IMAP sync. No cPanel-to-cPanel shortcut.
Full document root pulled from Site Tools (or your backup), permissions normalized, ownership reset on the new account.
Custom zone records (subdomains, MX, TXT, SPF, DKIM, DMARC) copied over so external services keep working.
EPP code from Site Tools, registrar unlock, and a free year added to your registration. Search a new domain.
Auto-issued free Let's Encrypt SSL on arrival with AutoSSL renewal. Bring custom certs if you need to.
You pick a plan, give us your SiteGround login or a Site Tools backup, and we do the rest. Your old site stays live the whole time.
Pick the tier that matches your current SiteGround setup. Shared hosting from $3.95/mo replaces StartUp / GrowBig, WordPress hosting from $9.95/mo replaces SG Managed WordPress, and Managed VPS from $49.95/mo replaces GoGeek / Cloud.
After signing up, open a support ticket with your SiteGround login or a Site Tools backup file. The team exports your files and databases from SiteGround and stages them on your new cPanel server.
Each SiteGround mailbox is recreated in cPanel with the same address, and stored messages move via manual IMAP sync. This is the longest step; plan for it to run in the background while files and databases go live.
Preview your site on a temporary URL. When you confirm everything looks right, swap nameservers (or A records) to Ultra Web Hosting. The team provides exact values, and most DNS propagation finishes in hours.
Our in-house migration team has spent years moving accounts off Site Tools and onto standard cPanel. We know which SG Optimizer settings need a cPanel-side equivalent, where SiteGround's Nginx rules hide in Site Tools, and how to copy mailboxes without breaking active mail clients. You get a real engineer, not a wizard.
Start a free migrationHere is what you get after the move: the platform, the team, and the guarantees that make leaving SiteGround worth it.
Standard cPanel on every plan. The control panel most developers, agencies, and WHMCS users already know, with all the familiar workflows your team is used to.
Ultra Web Hosting's renewal price matches your signup price. Backed by our price guarantee, so the introductory rate is the long-term rate.
Dell PowerEdge servers in our own racks, not rented Google Cloud capacity. On-site technicians, RAID-protected storage, redundant UPS, Cisco backbone.
Live chat, phone, and tickets answered by the same engineers who run the platform. No tier-one script reader, no overseas call center, no upsell pressure.
CloudLinux account isolation without SiteGround's hard CPU-seconds caps. Bursty WooCommerce checkouts and traffic spikes do not trip a per-month throttle.
Every hosted domain gets a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate automatically with AutoSSL renewal. The padlock shows up from day one.
Your site stays live on SiteGround while we copy everything over. DNS only flips after you verify the new site works, so your visitors do not notice the move.
Every shared host runs JetBackup with 30 days of restorable snapshots. If anything goes sideways after you move in, we can roll the account back in minutes.
Not happy after switching? Full money-back guarantee within the first 45 days, longer than SiteGround's 30. There is zero risk in giving us a try.
If you are a SiteGround customer thinking about moving, you are in good company. Ultra Web Hosting has been hosting websites for over 20 years, and a meaningful share of new signups every year are people switching from large national hosts whose pricing, support, or platform no longer fits. The three reasons that come up most often: SiteGround's introductory rate jumps significantly at renewal, the Site Tools panel forces a learning curve for teams used to cPanel, and infrastructure on rented Google Cloud capacity is a different ownership model from running on our own Dell PowerEdge servers in our own datacenter.
Migrating off SiteGround is an honest hands-on flow, not a one-click flip. Because SiteGround replaced cPanel with their proprietary Site Tools in 2020, there is no cPanel-to-cPanel backup we can restore. Our migration team exports files and databases from Site Tools, imports them into your new cPanel account, recreates email addresses one by one with the same passwords, then runs a manual IMAP sync to copy stored messages over. Plan for the email part to be the longest step. Files and databases usually move on day one; email IMAP sync runs in the background and can take longer for mailboxes with years of stored messages.
Migration is free with any annual or longer hosting plan for accounts under 1GB with fewer than 5 databases. Larger sites may have a small fee based on account size; the team lets you know before starting work. Either way, your SiteGround site keeps serving traffic the entire time we are working on the new server, so there is no rush from a downtime standpoint. If you want a second opinion before signing up, start a live chat and an agent will walk through your specific SiteGround setup.
Yes, but be aware that SiteGround dropped cPanel in 2020 in favor of their proprietary Site Tools panel, so this is not a cPanel-to-cPanel transfer. Our migration team performs a best-effort manual move: we export files and databases from Site Tools (either directly with your login or from a Site Tools backup you provide) and import them into your new cPanel account. Most SiteGround migrations complete within 24 to 48 hours.
No, but email is the most manual part of any SiteGround move. Because Site Tools is not cPanel, there is no one-click mailbox export. Our team recreates each of your email addresses on the new cPanel server, sets the same passwords, then runs a manual IMAP sync to copy stored messages from SiteGround to Ultra. Plan for some extra time on the email part of the move. We will guide you through reconfiguring your mail clients once the new mailboxes are ready.
Most SiteGround migrations complete within 24 to 48 hours of submitting your account details. Files and databases usually move on the first business day. Email IMAP sync runs in the background and can take longer for mailboxes with years of stored messages. Larger sites or complex configurations (heavy databases, custom server settings, many email accounts) can take longer, and the migration team will give you a timeline when the work begins.
No. Ultra Web Hosting performs the migration to a separate environment first, gives you a temporary URL to test, and only switches DNS when you confirm everything moved correctly. Your SiteGround site keeps serving traffic the entire time. Once DNS propagates, visitors land on the new server with no interruption.
SG Optimizer is a SiteGround-specific plugin that only works on SiteGround infrastructure. After migration, our team deactivates it and configures replacement caching and optimization that works on standard cPanel: server-level caching, free Cloudflare CDN integration, and our own WordPress performance tuning. Your site keeps loading fast, just on a different mechanism.
The migration team handles these regularly. WooCommerce stores migrate intact with products, orders, customers, and Stripe or other payment integrations. Custom code, cron jobs, .htaccess rules, and PHP version settings transfer as part of the move. If your SiteGround setup includes anything unusual (custom Nginx rules in Site Tools, server-level redirects, weird PHP extension requirements), mention it in the migration request and the team will plan around it.
Yes. Once the migration is complete and you have tested the site on the temporary URL, you point your domain's nameservers (or A records, if you keep DNS at your registrar) at Ultra Web Hosting. The migration team provides exact values. Most DNS propagation finishes within a few hours, though it can take up to 48 hours in rare cases.
Yes. Unlock your domain inside SiteGround Site Tools, grab the EPP authorization code, and include it with your migration request. A domain transfer adds a full year to your existing registration. This lets you manage hosting and domain registration from a single Ultra Web Hosting account instead of splitting them between providers.
Migration is included at no cost with any annual or longer hosting plan for accounts under 1GB with fewer than 5 databases. Larger sites may have a small fee based on account size, and the team will let you know before starting work. Monthly billing plans have a one-time migration fee. The plan you sign up for is what you pay, and Ultra Web Hosting renewal pricing matches your signup price, so the introductory rate is the long-term rate.
SiteGround offers a 30-day money-back guarantee that applies to your initial term. If you are within that window, you can request a refund after migration. If you are past it, you can still move at any time and run out the remainder of your SiteGround term in parallel; your site keeps serving traffic from SiteGround the entire time we are working on the new server, so there is no rush from a downtime standpoint. The migration team can advise on timing if you want to minimize overlap.
Pick a hosting plan, hand off your Site Tools login, and we will move your files, databases, and email to cPanel on Ultra. Free with any annual plan, typically in 24-48 hours.
