This guide covers migrating your CubeCart store between hosting providers. The exact steps may vary depending on your host, so refer to their documentation alongside this guide.

Not confident doing it yourself? Our team will handle the entire migration for you as part of our Technical Support service.

Stage 1: Back Up Your Existing Store

CubeCart has two components that both need backing up:

1a. Database

  1. Log in to phpMyAdmin (via your hosting control panel).
  2. Select your CubeCart database.
  3. Click Export > choose SQL format > click Go.
  4. Save the .sql file.

Alternatively, via SSH:

mysqldump -u username -p database_name > backup.sql

1b. Files

Download your entire CubeCart directory via FTP or your hosting file manager. This includes all PHP files, uploaded images, custom skins, and plugins.

Stage 2: Set Up the New Hosting

  1. Create a new MySQL database and database user on your new host.
  2. Note the database name, username, password, and host (usually localhost).

Stage 3: Upload Files to New Host

  1. Upload all CubeCart files to your new hosting account via FTP.
  2. Edit includes/global.inc.php and update the database credentials:
    • $glob['dbhost'] — database host
    • $glob['dbusername'] — database username
    • $glob['dbpassword'] — database password
    • $glob['dbdatabase'] — database name

Stage 4: Import the Database

  1. Open phpMyAdmin on your new host.
  2. Select the new empty database.
  3. Click Import > choose your .sql backup file > click Go.

Via SSH:

mysql -u username -p database_name < backup.sql

Stage 5: Update DNS

Point your domain name to the new hosting server by updating the DNS A record or nameservers with your domain registrar.

Stage 6: Verify

  • Visit your store and check that pages, products, and images load correctly.
  • Place a test order to verify checkout works.
  • Check the admin panel is accessible.
  • Clear the CubeCart cache from Admin > Maintenance.

Common Issues

  • Blank screen: Database credentials in global.inc.php may be incorrect.
  • Missing images: Ensure all files were uploaded, especially the images/ directory.
  • Permissions: Set directories to 755 and files to 644.