Migrate a site to Avaloi

Migrations are free. You give Avaloi a backup of your current site, and Avaloi moves it into a new site on your account. You only pay if you want your request to jump to the front of the queue.

What you need

A backup of the site as one file, in one of these formats:

• .zip
• .tar.gz or .tgz

The file must hold your wp-content folder and one .sql export of the database. Most backup plugins make a file like this. Other formats, such as .wpress, 7z, and rar, go to a person at Avaloi instead.

Put the file where Avaloi can download it:

• Google Drive. Open the file's sharing settings and choose Anyone with the link. Paste the link.
• A direct https link. Any address that starts with https:// and downloads the file when you open it.

The link must be public until the checks finish. You can set the file back to private afterwards. Avaloi keeps its own copy for a short time and then deletes it.

The file can be up to 10 GB, and the database export up to 1 GB. You can have 5 open migrations at once.

Never send a password. Avaloi never asks for one in the migration form. If a person at Avaloi needs access to your old host, they ask in a support ticket.

Start a migration

1. Choose Add site, then Migrate an existing site, then Continue.
2. On Site options, name the new site and pick its location, PHP version, and plan. This step is the same as for any site. If you have no free plan slot, Avaloi offers to start a plan first.
3. On Your backup, paste the backup link. Below the field, a short note says what to provide: one zip of the site files and the database export, from Duplicator, UpdraftPlus, Jetpack Backup, or a manual export. The How to prepare a backup link opens this article.
4. Enter the Current site address, such as https://example.com. Avaloi replaces it with the new address in your content. If you leave it blank, Avaloi reads it from your database.
5. Add Notes if there is anything Avaloi should know, such as plugins that must keep working or a deadline.
6. Leave Launch automatically when it looks safe on, or turn it off so a person at Avaloi approves the import first.
7. Tick Jump the queue if you want to pay for priority (see below). Then choose Start migration.

The new site uses a plan slot like any other site. It starts on staging, so nothing changes for your visitors until you launch it live. A test site can start a test migration. It is free and has no queue.

If you would rather have a person do the move, change How do you want to provide the site? to Ask Avaloi to move it. Enter the address of your site, and the name of your current host if you want. This option has no backup link and no automatic import.

Watch your migration

Open the new site. Its Info page starts with a Migration card. The card shows:

• A status chip and one sentence about where things stand.
• A progress bar with six steps: Received, Checking, Queued, Importing, Ready for review, and Done.
• Your place in the queue while the request waits, such as "Number 3 in the queue".
• Jump the queue while the request waits, if you have billing access.
• Messages, where you and Avaloi support write to each other, and a box to add a note.
• Cancel migration until the work starts.

Once you have a migration, Migrations also appears in the left menu. It lists every migration on your account with its status. The bell and the Notifications page tell you when something changes, and each notice opens the site.

What happens next

Status	What it means
Requested	Avaloi saved your request.
Checking your backup	Avaloi is downloading the file and looking inside it. Nothing in it runs.
In the queue	The checks are done. Requests run in the order they arrive.
In progress	Your site is being moved.
Ready for review	Your site is on its staging address. Look it over, then accept the result.
Needs your input	Avaloi needs something from you. Read the message and answer it, or send a new link.
Complete	Done.
Cancelled	You cancelled it.
Failed	The import did not finish. Avaloi support has been told.

The check

Avaloi looks at the file's contents without running any of it. It counts files, reads the folder names of your plugins and themes, and finds your database tables. Then it decides one of three things:

• Automatic. The backup is simple and clean. If you left the automatic import on, the import starts when its turn comes.
• Automatic, with a review. The import can run, but a person at Avaloi looks first.
• A person must do it. Something needs a human, for example a Multisite network, a custom database table prefix, a file that is too large, or PHP code hidden in your uploads folder.

An AI model helps with the decision. It sees only counts, sizes, and plugin and theme names, never your pages, your database rows, or your link. It can make the decision stricter, and never looser.

Review the result

When the status is Ready for review, choose Review staging on the Migration card to open the staging site. Check the pages, the menus, your forms, and any shop or login you have. Your site is set to ask search engines not to index it while it is on staging.

If it looks right, choose Accept, then launch the site live and connect your domain. If something is wrong, add a note on the migration. A person at Avaloi sees it.

If Avaloi needs something from you

When the status is Needs your input, the card shows the message from Avaloi. Type your answer in the box and choose Send answer. Your request goes back to the queue and keeps its place. If the message is about the backup link, paste a new link in New backup link and choose Send new link. The checks run again.

If the migration fails

The card shows the reason in plain words, and Avaloi support has been told. You do not need to do anything. If you know what went wrong, add a note on the card and support will read it.

Jump the queue

A paid request goes ahead of every free one. Paid requests run in the order they paid.

• The fee is a one-time $50. It is charged to your saved card when you confirm.
• You can pay when you create the migration (tick Jump the queue on the Your backup step) or later (choose Jump the queue on the Migration card). Avaloi asks you to confirm and shows the fee first.
• If you pay while you create the migration and your card is declined, the migration is still created in the free queue. A line tells you why, and you can try again from the Migration card.
• If you cancel before the work starts, or the migration fails before the work starts, the fee goes back to your card.
• Paying needs billing access. If you do not have it, ask the person who manages billing for your account.
• A test site cannot buy priority.

Priority only changes your place in the line. It does not change what Avaloi can import, and it does not skip the checks.

Cancel

Choose Cancel migration on the Migration card. You can cancel until the work starts. The new site stays on your account, empty. Delete it if you do not want it. A priority fee goes back to your card.

If the link does not work

• Check that the file is shared with Anyone with the link.
• Check that the link points to the file and not to a folder.
• Check that the file is a .zip, .tar.gz, or .tgz.
• Send a new link from the Migration card when it says Needs your input. The checks run again.

Limits and not yet

• Archives come from a public link. Uploading a file from your computer is not available yet.
• A site with a database table prefix other than wp_ goes to a person.
• WordPress Multisite networks go to a person.
• A real import on a live server is new. Until it has run for a while, expect a person at Avaloi to look at most migrations.

API and AI agents

• POST /v1/migrations creates the migration and the new site. Add "priority": true to pay for priority; this needs billing access and a confirm.
• GET /v1/migrations and GET /v1/migrations/{id} show status and place in the queue.
• PUT /v1/migrations/{id}/source sends a new link.
• POST /v1/migrations/{id}/priority buys priority later.
• POST /v1/migrations/{id}/accept accepts a result that is ready for review.
• POST /v1/migrations/{id}/cancel cancels, with ?confirm=true.
• The MCP tools are create_migration, get_migration, list_migrations, cancel_migration, and buy_migration_priority. The last two need your approval first.

Related

• Create a site
• Environments
• Connect a domain
• Billing and plans