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Migrate from Free Host to AWS European Sovereign Cloud: A Practical Roadmap for European SMEs

UUnknown

2026-02-18

10 min read

Practical, step-by-step roadmap for EU SMEs migrating from free hosts to AWS European Sovereign Cloud—DNS, exports, legal checks, and downtime reduction.

Hook: Why European SMEs should stop tolerating free-host surprises

Free hosting looks great when you're testing ideas or launching a hobby site—but for EU small and medium-sized businesses it carries hidden costs: downtime, poor performance, unclear data residency, and legal risk. If you need reliable uptime, clear EU residency, and a migration path that minimizes downtime, the new AWS European Sovereign Cloud (launched in January 2026) gives an enterprise-grade target with built-in sovereign guarantees. This guide gives a practical, step-by-step roadmap to move from a free host to AWS European Sovereign Cloud while keeping DNS intact, exports safe, legal checks done, and downtime minimal.

The big picture (2026 context and trends)

Late 2025 and early 2026 marked a turning point for cloud sovereignty across Europe. Governments and large buyers pushed vendors for regionally isolated controls, and AWS responded with an independent European Sovereign Cloud offering technical, legal, and contractual assurances designed for EU compliance and data residency needs. For SMEs, that means access to the same cloud platforms previously available only to enterprises—but migration requires planning to avoid surprises.

What this roadmap focuses on

Practical steps to export site files and databases from typical free hosts.
DNS migration: lowering TTL, preparing records, and moving with minimal downtime.
Legal checks and documentation you must complete for EU data residency and processing.
Validation, rollback plans, and cost-control tips for SMEs.

Stage 0 — Pre-migration audit (1–3 days)

Before touching any server or DNS, run a short audit. This reduces surprises and shapes your migration timeline.

Checklist

Inventory the site: CMS (WordPress, static, Joomla), technologies (PHP, Node, databases), storage, uploads, cron jobs, scheduled tasks, and server-side scripts.
Data flows: Which forms, analytics, and third-party APIs store personal data? Identify PII and cross-border transfers — this ties into identity and verification flows and is similar to the checks in an identity verification review.
Domain and registrar: Note the registrar, current nameservers, EPP code availability, and whether you control the domain email accounts.
SSL/TLS: Where are certificates issued? Let’s Encrypt, host-managed, or custom?
Uptime dependency map: Which services (email, forms, payment gateways) rely on the free host’s infrastructure?
Backups: Check existing backup frequency and retention. If none exist, you must create full backups.

Stage 1 — Legal & compliance checks (concurrent, 2–7 days)

Data residency and legal compliance are the primary reasons EU SMEs choose a sovereign cloud. Do not skip this step.

Key legal checks

Data map and DPIA: Run a short Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for the move. Document categories of personal data, purpose, storage duration, and exposures.
Vendor scrutiny: Review the sovereign cloud's contractual terms: Data Processing Addendum (DPA), list of subprocessors, and sovereign assurances. Keep copies for records.
Encryption & KMS: Decide whether to use provider-managed keys or BYOK (bring-your-own-key). For sensitive data, plan customer-managed keys with AWS KMS/HSM where available.
Cross-border transfers: Even within the EU, verify where backups or logs might be processed. If your site processes EU data only, confirm that the sovereign cloud keeps data within specified EU boundaries.
Privacy policy and contracts: Update privacy notices, subprocessors list, and any customer-facing DPA clauses to reflect the migration.

Tip: Keep the DPIA short and focused—SMEs do not need reams of paperwork, but regulators expect evidence you assessed and mitigated risk.

Stage 2 — Export: files, DBs, and assets (1–5 days depending on size)

Exporting from free hosts is often the trickiest step because many restrict access. Below are patterns for common scenarios.

WordPress on free host

Export database: use phpMyAdmin or mysqldump. Example: mysqldump -u user -p database > site.sql.
Export wp-content: use FTP/SFTP if allowed, or host file manager. For large sites prefer rsync when SSH is available: rsync -avz user@oldhost:/path/wp-content/ ./wp-content/.
Export permalink structure and rewrite rules. Note any server-specific directives in .htaccess.
Export users, plugins list, and PHP version requirements.

Static sites or Git-based hosts

Clone the repository or download the build artifacts. If the free host is GitHub Pages or similar, clone the repo and preserve the build script (npm, Hugo, Jekyll).

Databases & large assets

For large databases, create compressed dumps: mysqldump | gzip -c > site.sql.gz.
Use multipart S3 uploads or SFTP to transfer large media archives into AWS S3 (in the sovereign region).
Keep checksums for critical files to verify integrity post-transfer.

Stage 3 — Provision in AWS European Sovereign Cloud (1–3 days)

Parallelize provisioning so the new environment is ready before DNS changes.

Infrastructure options (pick per technical need)

Static sites: Host on S3-like object storage + signed CloudFront-like CDN if available in sovereign cloud, or use an EU-compliant CDN.
WordPress/PHP: Use EC2 with an RDS-compatible DB or containerize with ECS/EKS. For small sites, a t4g/t3 small EC2 or serverless Fargate can be cost-effective.
Serverless: Consider Lambda-like functions for dynamic parts—check the sovereign cloud's serverless options and cold-start behavior for your language.

Security and keys

Enable encryption at rest and in transit. Use KMS keys located in the sovereign region.
Harden IAM roles: follow least privilege—grant the build server only S3 put/list and the web server the minimum network permissions.
Import or request TLS certificates via the cloud’s certificate manager. If using Let’s Encrypt, prefer DNS validation and automate renewals.

Stage 4 — DNS migration plan (critical to minimize downtime)

DNS drives the user experience. Plan a DNS cutover with TTL changes, pre-warming, and fallbacks.

Step-by-step DNS switch

Lower TTL 48–72 hours before migration: Set authoritative nameserver TTL to a low value like 300 seconds (5 minutes) so changes propagate quickly. Note: some registrars ignore low TTLs, so test beforehand.
Pre-create DNS records on your target DNS host: Whether you use the sovereign cloud’s DNS (Route 53 or equivalent) or a third-party EU DNS provider, create A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT (SPF/DKIM), and any SRV records ahead of time. Do not switch nameservers yet.
Health checks and test domain: If possible, use a staging subdomain (staging.example.com) pointing to the new infra and test end-to-end. Use hosts file overrides for full tests without DNS changes.
Switch nameservers at registrar: Perform the registrar nameserver update at a low-traffic time. Because TTL is low, the change will propagate within minutes for most clients.
Monitor and validate: Use DNS checkers and browser tests. Keep the old host live for a short overlap window of 24–72 hours in case of issue rollback. For post-cutover checks and incident comms, keep a postmortem and incident communications template ready.

MX and email considerations

Move MX records carefully—migrating email can take longer to stabilize. If your free host provided email accounts, consider moving to a managed email provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or an EU-based email provider) and update MX records during the cutover window. Preserve old mailboxes by exporting via IMAP tools (imapsync).

Stage 5 — Final sync and cutover (minutes of planned downtime)

For dynamic sites, final sync ensures no lost posts or order data.

Procedure

Put the old site in maintenance mode with a clear message (brief planned maintenance).
Take a final database dump (or use binlog replication to stream changes to new DB if supported).
Sync uploaded media and verify checksums.
Switch DNS as outlined in Stage 4.
Run smoke tests: homepage, login, form submission, payment sandbox. Check certificate validity and HSTS headers if used.
Remove maintenance mode once tests pass. Keep monitoring for 24–72 hours.

Stage 6 — Validation, monitoring, and rollback planning (1–7 days)

After cutover, validate performance and legal controls.

Validation checklist

Perform a GDPR-compliant data residency check: sample records, storage locations, and backup locations.
Run automated uptime and response-time monitoring (regionally distributed probes in the EU).
Check SEO signals: ensure canonical tags, robots.txt, and sitemap are intact. Use tools and processes like cache and CDN testing to catch common migration SEO mistakes. Verify search console property ownership (Google Search Console) and resubmit sitemap if URLs changed.
Monitor logs for errors, 404 spikes, or form failures.

Rollback plan

Keep the old hosting for at least 7 days. If you must rollback, use the low TTL to point nameservers back and restore the last-known-good database dump. Test rollback on staging first. For serious incidents, use the postmortem templates to speed communications.

Cost control and scaling advice for SMEs

Moving to AWS sovereign doesn’t mean runaway costs. Plan for predictable billing and autoscaling.

Start small: Use small instance types or serverless for low baseline traffic — the same conservative approach used when optimizing home-office and small-team hardware stacks in guides such as home office tech bundles.
Use S3/object storage for media: Offload large media to object storage with lifecycle rules to move old media to colder tiers.
Set budgets and alerts: Configure billing alarms and cost anomalies for monthly spend thresholds. Combine cost controls with the edge-oriented cost optimization mindset: push what you can to cheaper tiers and reserve compute for peak demand.
Auto scaling rules: Set conservative scaling to avoid overprovisioning and use spot capacity for non-critical batch jobs where supported.

Advanced strategies (2026 trends)

As sovereign cloud options mature in 2026, SMEs can adopt enterprise approaches once only available to larger firms.

Infrastructure as Code & GitOps

Use Terraform modules or the cloud provider’s IaC tools to codify the environment. This makes repeatable deployments, disaster recovery, and multi-environment testing straightforward. Pair IaC with a governance approach like versioning and model governance for predictable rollbacks and audited changes.

CI/CD and blue/green deployments

Implement CI/CD pipelines that automatically build and test changes. Use blue/green or canary deployments to gradually shift traffic, reducing risk of full-site outages. Small teams can borrow practices from hybrid production playbooks such as the hybrid micro-studio approach to staged releases and pre-warm checks.

Regional edge caching and privacy-preserving analytics

Combine sovereign-region edge caches with privacy-first analytics (server-side GA4 or self-hosted Matomo) to keep data in-region while preserving performance and measurement. For architecture-level choices and edge tradeoffs, see guidance on edge-oriented cost optimization and hybrid orchestration patterns like the hybrid edge orchestration.

Example: Bakery in Lyon — a 3-day migration plan

Small case study to make this concrete.

Day 1: Audit + exports

Export WordPress DB and media via phpMyAdmin and FTP.
Document plugins and PHP version; run a short DPIA focused on customer orders.

Day 2: Provision + test

Provision EC2 + RDS in AWS sovereign region; import DB; deploy files to the webroot.
Obtain TLS cert via the cloud certificate manager and point a staging subdomain for tests.

Day 3: DNS cutover + validation

Lower TTL 48 hours before. Final sync in morning; switch nameservers at low-traffic hour; smoke tests and reopen shop.
Monitor for 72 hours, keep old host active as fallback.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Hidden file permission differences: Test file uploads and image processing early—permissions and PHP settings can differ.
Email downtime: Move email to a managed provider or test MX changes separately to avoid lost communications.
Registrar locks: Don’t plan domain transfers in the same weekend as your migration. Transferring registrars can introduce unexpected locks or delays.
Search engine ranking changes: Preserve URL structure and canonical tags. Monitor Search Console for crawl errors after migration. Use targeted cache/SEO tests to catch propagation issues early.

Actionable takeaway checklist (quick)

Audit site and data flows (Day 0).
Run a short DPIA and secure DPA with AWS sovereign (Day 0–2).
Export database and files; keep compressed backups (Day 1).
Provision AWS sovereign infra, enable encryption and KMS (Day 1–2).
Lower DNS TTL and pre-create records (48 hours before cutover).
Final sync, maintenance mode, switch DNS, smoke tests (Cutover day).
Monitor 72 hours, keep old host for rollback (Post-cutover).

Closing — Why this matters in 2026

For EU SMEs, moving away from unreliable free hosts to a sovereign cloud is about more than performance: it’s about legal certainty, long-term business continuity, and scaling safely. The AWS European Sovereign Cloud (announced in January 2026) gives a robust target for EU-resident workloads, but success depends on the migration process—technical, legal, and operational. Follow this practical roadmap and you'll reduce downtime, keep customers happy, and meet EU residency expectations.

Next steps & call-to-action

If you want a hands-on migration checklist tailored to your site, download our free migration workbook or book a 30-minute consultation. We'll review your audit, help produce a short DPIA, and lay out a costed migration plan so your move to the AWS European Sovereign Cloud is safe, fast, and compliant.

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