Switch Linux to Windows Hosting

There is no switch button on a Linux plan

You cannot convert a Linux plan into a Windows plan. You buy a Windows plan, migrate the files, and convert the MySQL database to MS SQL where the application needs it. PHP or WordPress rarely justifies the move, and the old account stays live until the new one is verified.

A WebJi® Windows account runs Plesk, IIS 10 as the web server, .NET 8 beside .NET Framework 4.8, MS SQL, and the URL Rewrite module. That is a different stack from cPanel on Linux, not a setting inside it, which is why the panel has no "switch to Windows" option.

• What moves: HTML, CSS, images, uploads, static PDFs, and DNS records.
• What needs work: PHP applications, .htaccess rules, cron jobs, mail forwarders.
• What must be rebuilt: the database schema when the target is MS SQL, and any code that queries it.

Decide first: does the site need Windows at all

Windows hosting is required by a short list of technologies and by nothing else. If your site is not on that list, the migration buys you a smaller ecosystem and a larger bill.

If the last two rows describe you, stop here. A Linux hosting plan is the cheaper answer, and the migration would only add work.

What the Windows plan costs

Three annual plans, priced in INR before 18% GST and read on 30 October 2026. All three include Plesk, IIS, MS SQL and a free Let's Encrypt certificate.

The plan is the small cost. A MySQL to MS SQL rewrite is developer work and is quoted separately, so budget for it before you commit to the move. Migration help from WebJi® is free subject to terms and approval, and covers files and data, not application rewrites.

Migrate in this order

Order matters. Each step leaves the old site untouched until the next one succeeds.

1. Write down the stack: language and version, database engine and size, cron jobs, mail accounts, and every rewrite rule in .htaccess.
2. Take a full backup of files and database from the Linux account and download both archives.
3. Order the Windows plan and open Plesk. Add the domain, then create the MS SQL database and user before uploading anything.
4. Upload the files through Plesk File Manager or FTP into the document root, keeping the folder structure.
5. Import the data. If the schema was converted, import the converted dump; if not, convert first (next section).
6. Recreate cron jobs in Plesk's Scheduled Tasks, and mail accounts under Mail.
7. Set the connection string in the application's config file to the new database, and test on the new account.

Free migration from WebJi® follows the same order for cPanel to Plesk moves, subject to terms and approval. It is not a rewrite service, so the application still has to run on IIS.

The MySQL to MSSQL gap, honestly

A MySQL dump does not import cleanly into MS SQL. Four differences break most first attempts, and all four are fixable in the schema file before the import.

• Auto-increment: MySQL's AUTO_INCREMENT becomes an IDENTITY(1,1) column in MS SQL.
• ENUM: no MS SQL type matches it. Use a short varchar with a CHECK constraint.
• Backticks and LIMIT: MS SQL uses brackets and TOP or OFFSET ... FETCH, so every query in the application needs a pass.
• Dates and booleans: MySQL's TINYINT(1) and zero dates have no direct equivalent; map them to bit and datetime2.

Convert the schema, then the data, then the queries, in that order, and test each on a copy. A conversion tool gets you most of the way; the queries are where the remaining errors live.

web.config replaces .htaccess

IIS does not read .htaccess. Rewrite rules live in web.config under system.webServer, using the URL Rewrite module that ships enabled on the Windows plans. Leave the .htaccess file in place for a week as reference, but it does nothing on IIS.

• A single redirect becomes one <rule> with a <match url="..." /> and an action of type Redirect.
• Rules run in order, so put the specific ones above the catch-all.
• A 404 handler becomes a custom error in web.config, not an ErrorDocument line.

Copy each rule across and test it in a private window. A rule that silently fails usually has the wrong pattern syntax, not the wrong order.

Verify on the new account before DNS moves

Test the new site by IP before you touch DNS. On Windows or macOS, add one line to the hosts file pointing the domain at the new server, then browse normally.

1. Open the site through the hosts entry and click every menu item, including one that uses the database.
2. Submit the contact form and confirm the email arrives.
3. Send and receive a test mail from a mailbox on the new account, and check SPF and DKIM in DNS.
4. Check the certificate covers the domain, and that http redirects to https once.
5. Compare a page's source on old and new for missing includes or broken image paths.

From a terminal, curl -I http://SERVER-IP -H "Host: yourdomain.com" shows the status and headers without editing hosts at all. A 200 with the right certificate is the signal to continue.

Roll back in one DNS change

Rollback is the reason the old account stays open. Lower the domain's TTL to 300 seconds a day before the switch, so a revert propagates in minutes rather than hours.

1. Before the switch, confirm the Linux account is paid and the site still loads from it.
2. Change the A record or nameservers to the Windows server.
3. If anything fails in the first days, point the record back. The old files and database are unchanged.
4. Keep the old account for at least a month after the move, then cancel it once mail and forms have been stable.

Keep the old database dump as well. It is the only copy of the data in its original schema, and it is what you would restore if the conversion turns out wrong.

When to email support

Email support@webji.services with the domain, the application and framework version, and the exact error from Plesk or the browser. Support is 24/7 by email in Hindi and English, and the average first reply is under 60 minutes.

The Windows hosting page lists what the plans include, and the website migration service covers moves that need more than a file copy. Neither includes a rewrite of your application.