"Our site broke after we changed hosting"
Keep the old server alive, don't change more than one thing at a time, and find out what's different.
You moved to a new host or server, and something isn't right. A white screen, an error page, missing images, emails that don't arrive, jobs that stopped running. The application hasn't changed, so what has?
The environment. Legacy applications quietly depend on the exact server they grew up on, and a move exposes every one of those dependencies at once.
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First, decide: fix forward or roll back?
| Situation | Usually best |
|---|---|
| The old server is still running and unchanged, and the new site is badly broken | Roll back by pointing DNS back to the old server. Then fix calmly |
| Customers have placed orders or entered data on the new site since the move | Don't roll back blindly. New data may exist only on the new server, and going back could lose it. Get it checked first |
| Only part of the site is affected (images, emails, one feature) | Fix forward. Find the specific difference |
| The old server has been cancelled or wiped | Fix forward. Check whether the old host keeps a backup |
If the old hosting is still active, don't cancel it yet. It's your safety net.
What to check straight away
- Don't change several things at once. One change, then test, so you know what worked.
- Look at the error message and the error log. The answer is often there. A blank white page means the error is hidden, not absent. Ask your host for the logs.
- Which PHP version is the site running on now? A different version from the old server is the most common cause.
- Has the database moved and connected properly? "Database connection error" usually means wrong credentials, host name or permissions.
- Is the old server still working? Keep it. Don't change it.
- Write down what's broken and when it started, with examples. It saves hours.
Why things break after a move
| Symptom | Common cause |
|---|---|
| White screen or 500 error | Different PHP version, a missing PHP extension, wrong file permissions, or a configuration file that wasn't copied |
| "Database connection error" | Wrong database host, username, password or permissions on the new server |
| Missing images or uploads | Files stored outside the main folder weren't copied, or paths are hard-coded to the old server |
| Emails not arriving | Sending relied on the old server's address, or the DNS records that prove your email is genuine (SPF, DKIM) weren't updated |
| Scheduled tasks stopped | Cron jobs weren't recreated on the new server |
| Redirect loops or "not secure" | SSL certificate not installed or the web server rules differ |
| Links and pages return "not found" | URL-rewriting rules (such as .htaccess) weren't carried over, or the new web server uses different ones |
| Odd behaviour, missing data or garbled characters | A different database version, settings or character encoding |
| A third-party service stopped working | It only accepted connections from your old server's IP address |
| Some files "can't be found" | Case sensitivity: a Linux server treats Logo.png and logo.png as different files |
How I find the cause
- Compare the two environments side by side: PHP version, extensions and settings, database version and mode, file permissions, web server rules, scheduled jobs, environment variables and third-party allow-lists. AI-assisted analysis helps me spot what the code depends on, and every finding is checked on the real system. How I use AI
- Reproduce the fault and read the logs.
- Fix the actual cause, not the symptom, and test on a copy where I can.
- Document what the application needs, so the next move isn't a repeat.
- If needed, plan the rollback or re-cutover properly, with data protected.
Prevent it next time
A planned migration finds all of these before the switch, by building and testing the new environment while the old one carries on. Server and hosting migration
What it costs
If it's an emergency, urgent recovery work is from £1,300 per day, subject to availability. Once things are stable, any further work is quoted fixed-price where scope is clear, or at £950 per day. Pricing
Frequently asked questions
Our developer says the new host is the problem. Is that right?
Sometimes, but more often it's the difference between the two environments. A good host will run a legacy application fine if it's configured to match what the application needs. The fix is to find the difference.
Can I just move back?
If the old server is still there and no new data has been created since the move, usually yes. If customers have used the new site, check first, because data may exist only on the new server.
Is it safe to give you access to the new server?
Yes, with sensible precautions. I work least-privilege, with named accounts and read-only access wherever possible. Data protection and security
Could this be a hack, not a migration problem?
It can be. Spam pages, strange redirects or unknown files suggest a compromise. Hacked site cleanup
How long will it take to fix?
It depends on the cause. Many are found quickly. I'll tell you early whether it looks like a quick find or a longer one.
Tell me what you've inherited.
Tell me what changed, what's broken and whether the old server is still running. I'll tell you what I'd check first.