Migration from OVH to Saplo: step by step

OVH is one of the largest hosting providers in Europe and a popular choice among Polish developers and agencies, mainly thanks to its VPS plans and robust shared hosting (mutualized) plans. The problem is that OVH is built for users who can handle a server themselves: the control panel (OVH Manager) is feature-rich, but technical and designed with telecommunications and cloud in mind, while Polish-language support is sometimes limited to basic subscription matters. If you are looking for an easier-to-use alternative that still gives you full SSH access and the ability to host multiple stacks under a single account, below is the complete process for moving to Saplo.

Why developers and agencies leave OVH

OVH works well for larger projects, where someone on the team has the time and knowledge to configure a server from scratch and then maintain it. In practice, the reasons clients most often give for switching are different:

• You have to configure the VPS yourself from scratch (web server, database, SSL, backup, firewall), which for a smaller agency is an ongoing time cost, not a one-time task,
• OVH's customer panel (Manager) handles domains, cloud, dedicated servers, and telecom services all at once, so even a simple task such as "add a subdomain" means navigating an interface built for a completely different scale of operations,
• Support works, but getting quick help in Polish with a specific application issue (for example, an incorrect PHP-FPM configuration or a crashing Node process) can be harder than getting help from a local provider,
• Every additional stack (Django alongside WordPress, n8n for automation, an admin panel in Next.js) means another instance or a separate VPS for you to set up and maintain yourself,
• Promotional prices in the first year can increase at renewal, and billing in euros adds exchange-rate uncertainty when planning a budget in dollars.

If you would rather have a ready-to-use, isolated container than an empty server to configure, migrating to Saplo makes sense.

What actually makes Saplo different

Every Box in Saplo is a separate, isolated container (LXC) on our hardware in a European data center, ready to work as soon as you order it, with no manual web server or database configuration. In other words, instead of setting up a VPS from scratch, you get an environment already tailored to your stack.

The second difference is scope. WordPress, Next.js, Django, n8n, or your own Docker setup, all on one account, without separate agreements or a separate VPS for each application. If you currently have WordPress on one OVH VPS and Django on another, you can move both to a single Box, using two different domains or subdomains.

The third is SSH access without losing simplicity: you get full technical access, just like with a VPS (on Box L and higher plans), but startup and basic configuration are ready from the start, and support is in Polish, with real response times rather than a ticket queue.

Comparison in numbers

What to prepare before submitting a migration request

We handle the entire migration ourselves, but to speed things up, make sure you have the following ready:

1. SSH access to your VPS (password or key), or your OVH Manager login details if you use shared hosting, along with your database credentials,
2. a list of domains and subdomains that should move with the site or application,
3. details about your mailboxes if you also use OVH email and want to migrate it along with the site,
4. access to your domain management panel so you can switch the nameservers or A records at the end (domains purchased through OVH can also be switched without transferring the registration itself to another registrar).

If you don't have something from this list, no worries. Mention it in your request and we'll help you work it out together before we start copying the data.

Migration step by step

1. Request. You fill out the form on the migration page (or write to us on chat), specify where you are migrating from and exactly what needs to be transferred.
2. Backup. We make a complete, verified backup of your site or application, including the database, files and configuration, regardless of whether it is WordPress, Django or custom code on a VPS.
3. Test. The site goes live at a temporary address on Saplo (subdomain *.saploapp.pl). You check whether everything works exactly as before: forms, admin panel and integrations, before we switch anything.
4. Domain switch. Once you confirm that the test looks good, we switch the domain to Saplo. DNS records update within a few minutes to a few hours (depending on the TTL previously set at OVH), and the entire process from request to switch takes 24 to 48 hours, with virtually no interruption to the site's operation.

What about email

If you have mailboxes with OVH, we migrate them from IMAP to IMAP, so all folders and messages remain intact, just on the other side, along with the correspondence history. We set up aliases and forwarding rules from scratch together with you, so nothing slips through the cracks during the switch from one server to another. The destination mailbox runs on our mail infrastructure with a storage limit based on the selected plan, while spam protection and webmail are included.

How much does it cost?

Migration itself is free, regardless of which Box you choose. You only pay for hosting on Saplo, starting at $29 per year for Box S. The starting price is not a first-year promotion, so you pay the same amount when you renew (if the price list changes, we announce it at least 30 days in advance). Before deciding on a plan, it is worth comparing what you actually pay today for VPS OVH plus the time you spend maintaining it (setup, updates, backup, responding to incidents), not just the server's listed price.

When does migrating from OVH make sense?

Migration makes the most sense when you recognize yourself in one of the following situations:

• you pay for an OVH VPS, but you only use it for one or two simple apps and do not want to spend time managing it,
• you have more than one project spread across different OVH VPSs and want to consolidate them under one account with a clear price list in dollars,
• you need Polish-language support with real response times, rather than ticket queues in another language,
• your team is growing, and someone other than you increasingly needs to access the server, while OVH's feature-rich control panel makes onboarding new team members harder.

However, if you have a large, stable project with its own DevOps team and a custom server configuration that already works well, migration may not be a priority unless you want to consolidate costs in dollars and manage everything under one roof. We explain more about when it is worth considering moving from a traditional VPS to a container-based model like Saplo in a separate article.

Frequently asked questions

Will the site stop working during the migration? No. The old hosting will continue to work normally until the domain is switched over. The switch itself is just a matter of DNS propagation, which typically takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

I'm migrating from an OVH VPS with a custom configuration. Is that a problem? No, we also migrate Next.js, Django, and custom applications from the VPS, together with the database and environment variables. As a developer, you get full SSH access to Saplo (Box L and higher), so you retain control over the environment.

Do I have to keep the domain with OVH? No. You can switch the nameservers or A records and move the domain registration later to a different registrar, or leave it where it is. It's your choice.

Do I need to do anything myself? Practically speaking, no. You provide access and approve the final test, while we take care of all the technical work, including the SSL and web server configuration on the destination side.

What about backups after the migration? It depends on the selected plan: Box L and higher include backups as part of the price (7 days of history for Box L, 14 days for Box XL, and 30 days plus an offsite copy for Box XXL). Daily backups are available as an add-on for Box S and Box M, so you no longer have to manage the backup schedule yourself as you had to with an OVH VPS.

After the migration, can I add another application alongside the existing one, for example n8n for automation? Yes. Every Box supports any number of applications from Saplo's App catalog on different domains or subdomains, without creating another Account or paying extra for the number of applications.

If you're ready, submitting a migration request takes two minutes, and we handle the rest.