Migrating from Shared Hosting (cPanel / Plesk)

You’re on shared hosting — GoDaddy, Bluehost, Hostinger, SiteGround, or similar. You upload files via FTP or cPanel’s file manager. You click buttons to set up databases and email. It works, but you’re limited: no SSH, no custom PHP versions, slow servers, and your site shares resources with hundreds of others.

ePHPm lets you run your own server for less than most shared hosting plans cost — with better performance, full control, and no noisy neighbors.

What Changes

Step-by-Step Migration

1. Get a VPS

Sign up for a small VPS. Recommended:

Any of these is faster than shared hosting. You get dedicated resources instead of fighting for CPU with hundreds of other sites.

2. Install ePHPm on the VPS

SSH into your new server and download ePHPm:

ssh root@your-server-ip

# Download ePHPm
curl -fSL https://github.com/ephpm/ephpm/releases/latest/download/ephpm-linux-x86_64 -o /usr/local/bin/ephpm
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/ephpm

3. Copy Your Website Files

From your local machine (or download from cPanel first):

# Copy your website files to the server
scp -r /path/to/your/site/* root@your-server-ip:/var/www/html/

Or if you use git:

ssh root@your-server-ip
cd /var/www/html
git clone https://github.com/you/your-site.git .

4. Handle the Database

Option A: Use embedded SQLite (simplest)

If your site is WordPress or Laravel, ePHPm’s built-in SQLite works without any external database. Your PHP app connects via pdo_mysql — ePHPm translates to SQLite transparently.

[db.sqlite]
path = "/var/www/html/app.db"

You’ll need to export your data from the shared hosting MySQL and import it. For WordPress:

# On shared hosting: export via phpMyAdmin or WP-CLI
wp db export backup.sql

# On your VPS: import into SQLite
# (ePHPm's litewire translates MySQL SQL to SQLite automatically)

Option B: Use an external MySQL server

If you prefer MySQL, use a managed database ($5-15/mo from DigitalOcean, PlanetScale, etc.):

[db.mysql]
url = "mysql://user:pass@db-host:3306/mysite"

Option C: Run MySQL on the same VPS

sudo apt install mariadb-server
mysql < backup.sql

[db.mysql]
url = "mysql://root:password@127.0.0.1:3306/mysite"

5. Create the Config

# /etc/ephpm/ephpm.toml

[server]
listen = "0.0.0.0:8080"
document_root = "/var/www/html"

[php]
memory_limit = "256M"
max_execution_time = 120

[server.tls]
acme_domains = ["yourdomain.com", "www.yourdomain.com"]
acme_email = "you@yourdomain.com"

6. Point Your Domain

In your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.):

1. Find DNS settings
2. Change the A record to point to your VPS IP address
3. Remove any CNAME records the old host set up
4. Wait for DNS propagation (usually 5-30 minutes)

yourdomain.com      A    → your-vps-ip
www.yourdomain.com  A    → your-vps-ip

7. Start ePHPm

# Smoke-test in the foreground
ephpm serve --config /etc/ephpm/ephpm.toml &
curl http://localhost:8080
kill %1

# Install as a system service (registers + starts it)
sudo ephpm install

8. Verify

Visit https://yourdomain.com — your site should load. The first request will take a moment while ePHPm issues the TLS certificate via Let’s Encrypt.

Things Shared Hosting Gave You (That You Now Handle)

What You Gain

• Speed — dedicated resources instead of shared. Typical improvement: 2-5x faster page loads.
• Control — any PHP version, any config, any extension. No host restrictions.
• Price stability — VPS prices don’t increase after a promo period. $3.69/mo is $3.69/mo forever.
• No noisy neighbors — your site isn’t affected by other people’s traffic spikes.
• Git-based deployment — push code, site updates. No FTP uploading.
• Built-in monitoring — Prometheus metrics at /metrics without installing anything.
• Multiple sites — host all your sites on one VPS using virtual hosts. No per-site fees.

What You Lose

• Managed email — you need a separate email provider. This is actually better: shared hosting email often lands in spam anyway.
• One-click installs — no Softaculous. You install WordPress/Laravel yourself (it’s a git clone or unzip).
• cPanel GUI — you manage via SSH and config files. It’s simpler than it sounds.
• Support for “my site is broken” — you’re responsible for your own debugging. But you also have full access to fix things instead of waiting 48 hours for a support ticket response.