WordPress to DigitalOcean Migration

Shared hosting puts your site on a server with hundreds or thousands of other websites, all competing for the same resources. Your performance is affected by their traffic, not just yours. Server-level configuration is managed by the hosting company and cannot be optimised specifically for WordPress.

A DigitalOcean Droplet gives your site dedicated CPU, memory, and storage. The server stack can be configured precisely for WordPress, with the right PHP-FPM settings, Nginx configuration, Redis object caching, and database tuning. The performance difference for most WordPress sites is significant and measurable.

We use a LEMP stack: Ubuntu Linux, Nginx as the web server, MySQL or MariaDB as the database, and PHP-FPM with the latest stable PHP version. We add Redis for object caching, configure Nginx with WordPress-specific rules, set up opcache, and apply server hardening and firewall rules.

For WooCommerce sites with higher traffic, we can also configure more advanced caching layers and database optimisation on top of this foundation.

It depends on your traffic and your WordPress setup. For most business sites and blogs with moderate traffic, a Basic Droplet with 1 or 2 vCPUs and 2 to 4GB RAM is sufficient and costs £5 to £20 per month. WooCommerce stores or sites with higher traffic typically need a Premium Droplet with 2 to 4 vCPUs and 4 to 8GB RAM.

We assess your current site and traffic before the migration and recommend the right Droplet size. You can always resize a Droplet upward if your needs grow.

With proper DNS management, downtime is minimal. We set up and configure the new server completely, migrate all files and database, and test the site fully before touching DNS. We then reduce the DNS TTL several days before cutover so the switchover happens quickly when it goes live. For most sites, the DNS propagation period means a window of a few minutes where some visitors may see the old site. We can discuss strategies to minimise this further for high-traffic sites.

Yes. WooCommerce migrations require additional care around order data, product data, payment gateway configuration, and any subscription or membership plugins. We handle all of this and test the complete checkout flow on the new server before any DNS changes are made.

You retain full ownership and control of your DigitalOcean account. We work within your account to provision and configure the Droplet, and you have access to everything throughout the process. We can also handle the initial DigitalOcean account setup if you are new to the platform.

Yes. We offer ongoing server management retainers covering security updates, PHP and Nginx updates, SSL certificate monitoring, database maintenance, and backup configuration. Server management is something most WordPress site owners do not want to handle themselves, and having it covered gives you the performance of a VPS with the peace of mind of managed hosting.

Cost depends on the complexity of your site, the number of sites being migrated, and whether ongoing server management is included. A single site migration covering Droplet setup, server configuration, migration, SSL, and DNS cutover typically falls in a straightforward range. WooCommerce stores or sites with complex plugin setups take longer.

We provide a fixed-price quote after understanding your current setup.