How to Change Web Hosts

You have reviewed Web hosting companies and found those that offer the bandwidth, guaranteed service and space you need. Now you want to avoid excessive downtime, unnecessary expense and lost business when you move your website over to your new Web hosting provider. To minimize problems when changing your website's home, there are some basic, but important, procedures to follow.

Instructions

Prepare For Your Move

1. Confirm that your website files are correctly backed up. It's a good idea to have current site files archived in one location and "webserver ready" versions available locally when needed for uploading. Document any relevant information, such as security codes, login information and configuration settings. Store this with your website file backups

2. Scrutinize your list of Web hosting companies and choose one that: ensures technical support staff are always available; supplies bandwidth to accommodate increasing website traffic; meets your security criteria; guarantees uptime and server redundancy; gives you needed features, such as scripting, site analysis, database capability, sufficient email accounts, ecommerce and site certificates; and offers additional services, such as domain management, email list capability, or online advertising and search marketing campaigns.

3. Give notice to your current website visitors by providing them with an alert of the impending change, an estimate of expected interruption time frame and alternate contact information. Additionally, reassure any ecommerce customers as to the availability and security of their account information.

Make Your Move

1. Upload your website files, scripts, database information and related data to your new Web hosting servers. Record new usernames, passwords and all related security and configuration information and archive this in secure locations.

2. Verify that your uploaded website files are functional and related information is correct. View your webpages on the new server to find any glitches or missing files before changing your domain name servers (DNS) to point to the new hosting servers and closing your old hosting account. Place a marker on your index page, such as a special word in bold, so you can tell that you're viewing your website on the new hosting server. You can remove this after your verification is complete.

3. Update Internet domain name servers to point to your new Web hosting servers. Allow up to 48 hours for your new hosting address information to propagate among the various name servers throughout the Internet. Monitor the progress of this update during the transition by browsing to your domain URL and looking for the marker on your index page. This will indicate that you are viewing your website from the new hosting servers.

4. Take the time to check your live website pages for correct content, graphics, any markup or coding errors, script operation, media display, page download time and other related functionality, such as product downloads, ecommerce or password-protected client areas. Use this transition time to correct any problems uncovered in your website analysis.

5. Give yourself an additional two weeks for any unforeseen errors, then delete the files from your previous Web hosting servers and after verifying their removal, close the account.

Tips & Warnings

• Review your dynamic content management system (CMS) application's documentation and support website for specific guidelines in moving its database and other files to new hosting servers. The developers of these programs usually give detailed instructions for this process.

• Maintain an ongoing backup schedule for your website files. Even the most reputable Web hosting companies can experience unforeseen server issues

References

• WebHostGear: Changing Web Hosts? Step-By-Step Guide
• Network Solutions: Changing Your Business Web Hosting Company
• PCWorld Business Center: Need a Web Hosting Provider? Try the 3 a.m. Test

Resources

• CNET Reviews: Web Hosting