Do not cancel the old host before identifying the services it still supplies
The services still dependent on the old host are the ones your actual account, configuration and recovery records identify. Inventory mail sending and mailboxes separately, retained files, database and file backups, and any other services named in the account. Give each one a replacement owner, a preserved record location and a condition that authorizes retirement. The moved website loading successfully establishes neither independence of those services nor recoverability after the old account closes.
For: A research-only store owner deciding whether an old hosting account can be cancelled after a WordPress or WooCommerce website move.
Turn the cancellation decision into a service inventory
Start with the old hosting account’s service list, invoices and the configuration records held by the person who maintains the site. Mark each service as still used, replaced with evidence, intentionally retired with approval, or unresolved. A service being bundled into the hosting bill does not tell you whether the store still relies on it; the current setup has to answer that.
List only real dependencies. Mailboxes, outbound mail, retained downloads, backup storage or another service belong on the record when the account or configuration actually names them. A row with no evidence should be marked unconfirmed rather than filled with a guessed dependency. The useful output is a reason for retaining or retiring each actual service, not a generic migration checklist.
WooCommerce’s system status report can help identify site addresses, installed versions, active plugins and template overrides. Preserve its date and the installation it describes. It is a snapshot of the store, not a complete inventory of services purchased from the old host, and it does not certify that cancellation is safe.
Trace email to the service that actually sends it
WooCommerce’s email-authentication guidance connects SPF, DKIM and DMARC configuration to the host or mail service that sends the messages. Moving the website does not establish that the replacement sender is configured correctly. Record the actual sending service and the person responsible for its authentication, rather than assuming that the new website address answers the mail question.
Keep the sending service distinct from the inboxes the business uses. For each mailbox listed in the old account, establish who uses it, where its necessary history is retained and what approved replacement or retirement decision applies. For outgoing store mail, ask for the actual sending configuration and any genuine delivery evidence already available. A visible From address alone does not identify every service involved.
The retirement condition should name the evidence the mail owner needs: an established replacement sender and its configuration, retained mailbox records where required, or an authorized decision that a particular service is no longer needed. If nobody can identify the sender or mailbox owner, keep that dependency unresolved. Do not cancel first and treat a later missing-order-email report as the discovery process.
Separate copied files from a usable recovery set
WordPress’s backup documentation says a typical complete restore needs both the database and files. Downloading the WordPress directory ordinarily does not copy the database. Themes, plugins, uploads and configuration are among the file components; the database and files should form a consistent set. An old-host folder download therefore needs a scope check before anyone labels it a complete backup.
For the recovery copy being retained, record the database and file set, their dates, their storage locations and the authorized restore owner. Confirm that the business can retrieve the retained material without the account being cancelled. Keep genuine restoration evidence if it exists, and mark recoverability unverified if it does not. A host’s advertised backup offering does not establish the retention period, retrieval time or recoverability of this account.
Recovery is also a decision about what point in time the retained set represents. A preserved copy is not permission to overwrite newer orders or other live changes. This retirement record should identify who may assess a restoration and the coverage of the saved set; it should not turn host cancellation into an unreviewed store rollback.
Retire each dependency against an explicit condition
For retained files or other services actually named in the account, record the old location and the replacement destination or approved disposal decision. Identify who can verify that the required material remains reachable. A new homepage proves little about a document or service that was not part of that page load.
The account owner can authorize cancellation once every actual dependency has an evidenced replacement or an authorized retirement decision and the remaining contractual questions are resolved. If one row is blocked, name the service, owner and missing evidence. Do not infer that keeping one dependency requires keeping every old service indefinitely; ask the host what can be retained separately under the actual account terms.
Bring a public website URL, the research-only product context and a concise description of any checkout dependency to a Prism checkout-review consultation. Describe the hosting or handoff work you need so scope, responsibilities, fees and terms can be discussed before work. The public inquiry receives email follow-up; it does not book an appointment, purchase migration work or submit a processing application.
Old-host retirement dependencies
Use these checks to complete an inventory of services genuinely present in the old account. In the blank field record the actual service, dependency, replacement owner, preserved record location and retirement condition. Mark a service absent only after checking the account; unresolved rows prevent an informed cancellation decision.
Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.
Old-host retirement dependencies. The last column is for temporary notes.
Service to check
Evidence of actual dependency
Retirement condition to define
Your service record
Store email sending
Evidence of actual dependencyCurrent sender configuration and the host or mail service responsible for authentication.
Retirement condition to defineNamed mail owner confirms the replacement configuration and records the available genuine delivery evidence.
Mailboxes in the old account
Evidence of actual dependencyActual mailbox list, business owner and location of history that must be retained.
Retirement condition to defineMailbox owner confirms an accessible replacement or approves retirement after preserving necessary records.
Files and linked downloads
Evidence of actual dependencyActual old-host file locations still needed by the business or current site.
Retirement condition to defineFile owner confirms the required material is available at its intended destination or has an approved retirement decision.
WordPress database and files
Evidence of actual dependencyDatabase copy and matching file set, coverage dates and retained locations.
Retirement condition to defineRestore owner confirms the set’s scope and independent retrieval; record genuine recovery evidence or the remaining uncertainty.
Host-managed backup access
Evidence of actual dependencyAccount-specific retention and retrieval terms and the backups actually available.
Retirement condition to defineRequired copies are retrievable without the cancelled account; unresolved retention or recovery questions have an owner.
Other services named in the account
Evidence of actual dependencyService list and invoices compared with current configuration and dependency owners.
Retirement condition to defineEach actual service has an evidenced replacement or an authorized end condition.
Final cancellation authority
Evidence of actual dependencyCompleted dependency inventory, unresolved items and applicable account cancellation terms.
Retirement condition to defineAuthorized account owner records the decision only after dependent services and retained records are accounted for.
These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.
Limits
This worksheet decides old-host retirement after a move; it does not execute a migration, cancel a contract or authorize a live restoration.
Host terms and actual service configurations determine what survives cancellation. A system status report or backup advertisement is not proof of service independence.
Keep passwords, mail contents, database exports, card data and customer records out of the worksheet and the public inquiry.
Prism solutions — checked 2026-09-21. Prism offers storefront review, processing preparation and help with provider website questions, with scope, fees and terms discussed before work.
Prism contact — checked 2026-09-21. The public form asks for the website, products and question without sensitive records. Email follow-up is not an appointment, purchase or processing application.
WordPress backups — checked 2026-09-29. A typical complete WordPress restore needs a consistent database and files set; copying the directory ordinarily omits the database. A host backup offering does not establish account-specific retention, retrieval time or recoverability.
WooCommerce email authentication — checked 2026-09-21. WooCommerce sender authentication depends on the host or mail service that sends; SPF, DKIM and DMARC are not established by moving website files alone.
WooCommerce system status report — checked 2026-09-21. The system status report records site addresses, WordPress and WooCommerce versions, active plugins, theme and template overrides, and cart and checkout pages. It is an installation snapshot.