Namecheap uses cPanel on their Shared, Reseller, and EasyWP VPS hosting plans. Shared and Reseller migrate cleanly via cPanel-to-cPanel backup. EasyWP (their managed WordPress platform) requires a WordPress export because it doesn't provide cPanel.
Free migration included. Open a ticket with your Namecheap login and we'll handle the move — included with every new plan. This article is for clients who'd rather do it themselves.
Namecheap Shared / Reseller Hosting (cPanel)
Option A: We handle it
- Sign up for a CanSpace hosting plan.
- Open a support ticket with your Namecheap cPanel URL, username, and password.
- We restore the full account.
Option B: Self-serve
- Log in to Namecheap at ap.www.namecheap.com.
- Go to Hosting List, click Go to cPanel for the account you're migrating.
- Generate a full backup: in cPanel, search for backup, open Backup, click Download a Full Account Backup, set destination to Home Directory, click Generate Backup.
- Download the
.tar.gzwhen ready. - Send it to us (attach to a ticket, share a download link, or upload to your new cPanel). We restore.
- Update nameservers in Namecheap's domain management page to the CanSpace nameservers from your "New Account Information" email.
Namecheap EasyWP (managed WordPress)
EasyWP is Namecheap's managed WordPress platform. It doesn't expose cPanel, so migration is WordPress-to-WordPress via the All-in-One WP Migration plugin.
- Install All-in-One WP Migration on your EasyWP WordPress site. In WP admin: Plugins → Add New, search for it, install and activate.
- Export to File: All-in-One WP Migration → Export, click Export to → File. The plugin creates a
.wpressarchive. Download it. - Sign up for a CanSpace hosting plan and install a fresh WordPress via Softaculous (cPanel → Softaculous → WordPress).
- Install All-in-One WP Migration on the new WordPress site.
- Import: All-in-One WP Migration → Import → From → File, upload the
.wpressfile. - Update nameservers in Namecheap once you've verified the site on a temporary URL.
All-in-One WP Migration's free version caps uploads at 512 MB. If your .wpress file is larger, let us know — we can handle the upload server-side.
Moving the domain
Namecheap is primarily a domain registrar, so many clients have both domain and hosting there. You can either:
- Transfer the domain to CanSpace — everything under one roof. See How do I transfer a domain to CanSpace?. You'll need the EPP/authorization code from Namecheap.
- Keep the domain at Namecheap, just change nameservers — lots of clients do this. It works fine, the only downside is that you're managing domain and hosting in two places. Update nameservers under Domain List → Manage → Nameservers.
Namecheap has a few email options depending on what you set up:
- cPanel email (included with Shared Hosting) — this migrates with the cPanel backup.
- Private Email (Namecheap's separate paid email product) — lives on Namecheap's mail servers, independent of your hosting. If you want to move this to CanSpace, set up new mailboxes on our side and migrate messages via IMAP using Thunderbird or Outlook. See Email troubleshooting checklist.
- Third-party email (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365) — unaffected by the hosting migration. Keep the MX records pointed to that provider when DNS is updated.
Common issues
- "Upload exceeds the maximum allowed size" when importing to fresh WordPress. Either the All-in-One WP Migration free version limit (512 MB), or the host-level PHP upload limit. On our side, you can bump upload limits via MultiPHP INI Editor — see Change your PHP version and tune PHP settings.
- Namecheap BasicDNS caching old IPs. If you keep the domain at Namecheap with their DNS and just change A records (instead of nameservers), Namecheap's DNS has a longer TTL. Full propagation can take longer than expected. Using nameservers is more predictable.
Related articles
- What's included in our free website migration
- How to preview your site before updating DNS
- How do I transfer a domain to CanSpace?
Ready to switch? Open a migration ticket
