Avoiding Downtime When Launching a Site

When a new WordPress site or a site migrated to Seravo is ready and tested on its temporary address, it is time to launch it under its actual domain (e.g., example.com).

With the right preparations, transition downtime can be minimized so that the site begins serving visitors from the new server as seamlessly as possible. In practice, launching means updating your domain's DNS records to point traffic to Seravo's servers.

This guide covers best practices for preparing your launch, switching DNS, and performing post-launch checks.

1. Preparations Before Launch

To avoid downtime and unexpected surprises, complete these steps a few days before your scheduled launch date:

Lower DNS TTL (Time-to-Live)

TTL determines how many seconds nameservers and web browsers cache your domain records.

Standard TTL is often 3600–86400 seconds (1–24 hours). If you make DNS changes with a high TTL, traffic can take up to a full day to redirect worldwide.
Lower the TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) in your current DNS management at least 1–2 days before launch.
This ensures that when records are updated on launch day, the new addresses propagates to visitors within minutes.

Test the Site on the Temporary Address

Verify on the temporary address provided by Seravo (example.fi-c.seravo.com) that all pages, forms, and features work as expected. Because Seravo's automation updates URLs across the database automatically during DNS transition (cutover), you do not need to manually modify the site's address before pointing DNS.

Securing Email Delivery (MX and SPF Records)

Launching a website only affects web traffic (HTTP/HTTPS) and should never interrupt email delivery:

If you manage DNS records in your own nameservers: Only update web traffic records (A, AAAA, and www CNAME). Do not modify or delete MX, SPF, or any other email-related records.
If you are moving nameserver management to Seravo: Send your current DNS records to Seravo customer support before changing nameservers. We will pre-configure all email routing on Seravo's nameservers before publishing.

2. Launch: Pointing Your Domain Traffic

Once the site is ready to go live, update your domain records. How you do this depends on where your domain is hosted:

Option 1: Domain and Nameservers Managed by Seravo

This is the most hands-off method:

Notify our customer support team ([email protected]) well in advance of your preferred launch time.
Seravo's experts will switch the DNS records at the agreed time, ensure the SSL certificate provisions properly, and verify site functionality.

Option 2: Managing the Domain in Your Own Nameserver

If you use a third-party DNS provider:

Open your provider's DNS management panel.
Update the records for your apex domain and www subdomain to point to the Seravo addresses specified in your delivery email:
- A records: Seravo IPv4 addresses
- AAAA records: Seravo IPv6 addresses
- www (CNAME): Point to the server cluster address provided in the message.
Verify that no conflicting legacy A records remain pointing to your old server.

3. Post-Launch Steps

SSL/TLS Certificate Activation

Seravo's automated systems automatically request and install a free Let’s Encrypt certificate as soon as DNS records begin pointing to Seravo's servers.

Certificate provisioning typically takes 10–30 minutes following DNS propagation.
During this period, browsers may briefly display an insecure connection warning until certificate validation completes.

Database URL Update in WordPress (Search-Replace)

Seravo's server automatically detects traffic arriving on the live domain and updates the temporary address (example.fi-c.seravo.com) to the live domain across the database.

If any legacy paths or links remain in the database, you can finalize the URL replacement via the Seravo Plugin (Tools > Database) or via the command line:

wp search-replace '//example.fi-c.seravo.com' '//example.com' --all-tables
wp-purge-cache

Restore DNS TTL to Normal

Once the launch is complete and the site runs stably on Seravo, increase your nameserver's TTL back to its standard value (e.g., 3600 or 86400 seconds).

Special Scenarios: Online Stores and Multisite

Online Stores (WooCommerce)

E-commerce stores receive transactions continuously. To ensure new orders are not split between old and new databases during DNS propagation:

Place the old site into maintenance mode immediately before launch.
Take a final database dump from the old host and import it to Seravo (wp db import).
Switch DNS records and disable maintenance mode on your new Seravo site.

Multisite Networks

In multisite installations, launching each new subsite under a custom domain or subdomain requires that the domain has been added to Seravo's server routing. See our dedicated guide: Multisite Domain Configuration.

Troubleshooting and Exceptions

Browser displays an SSL warning (insecure connection):
Allow a short grace period. Let's Encrypt can only validate and issue a certificate once DNS propagation is complete. If the warning persists after an hour, use a public tool (such as WhatsMyDNS.net) to verify that both example.com and www.example.com point to Seravo's addresses.
The site still loads from the old server or shows errors only for you:
This is usually caused by local DNS caching on your computer or local network router. Try opening the site on a mobile device over cellular data or in an incognito window. You can also flush your computer's local DNS cache (ipconfig /flushdns on Windows).
"Domain not found" or 502 Bad Gateway:
If you did not specify your target domain when placing your order, Seravo's edge routing will not recognize incoming requests for it. In this case, contact our support team so we can add the domain to your server configuration.
Domain registration has expired:
If the domain stops resolving unexpectedly, verify through your registrar or a Whois lookup that your domain renewal fee has been paid and the domain status is active.