How to Change Internet Servers

Switching your web host can take several hours or days.

Over time, you may find that your current web host doesn't meet your needs and decide to take your business elsewhere. While it may be tempting to cancel your service immediately, this is inadvisable as it will ultimately lead to your site being inaccessible to anyone who tries to visit. Instead, secure another host for your website and recreate your site on that host's servers before closing your original account. This will keep access to your website live with minimal interruption.

Instructions

1. Back up your data. Log in to your current web server and download a copy of your entire website. Save a copy of the website on your computer and in a second location, such as an external hard drive, in case of a disk failure.

2. Shop for a new web host. Create a list of your requirements. Consider how much you can afford to pay, how much space you need, FTP accounts and bandwidth your website requires. Review your current website usage. Are you currently under- or over-using the services you are paying for? Also think about what prompted you to make the host switch. Use these parameters to find a host that will suit your needs.

3. Upload the backup of your website to the new host. During the upload process folder permissions may change automatically so that only you have access. If this happens, you will need to reset the folder permissions to allow the website to be accessed by others. Also recreate areas such as email addresses, databases and FTP accounts on the new host.

4. Test your new website host. Until you point your domain name to the new host server, you will need to access the website using its IP address. Type the IP address in a web browser to access each type of page on your new host. Note that links with absolute links to your site (http://www.yoursite.com/about) are pointing to the original website and not the new host until the change is complete. Replace "www.yoursite.com" with the IP address to access the page on the new host server.

5. Change your name servers. Currently, your domain name points to a server of the original web host. You must change the domain name's settings so that it points to the servers of the new host. Using the name server information provided by your new host, make these changes to your domain. The change can take a few hours to a few days to propagate through the Internet. Depending on whether your new host offers a domain transfer service, you can opt to remove your domain name from the current registrar altogether. This process is called domain transfer. Once initiated, your new web host will take the necessary steps to remove your domain name from its original registrar to your new server space. Follow the instructions provided by your new web host to begin the domain transfer process.

6. Close the original web hosting account. Keep in mind that the domain name server process can take several days to complete. Do not close your account until this happens. Test whether browsers are finding your website on your new server by creating a test web page on the new server; then try to access the page through a browser. If you receive a "page not found" error, your new website is not yet visible on the web. Ensure that your website, email accounts and web databases are working as intended and then cancel the original hosting account.

References

• Host Shopper: How to Switch Web Hosts
• Switch Hosting: The Domains/DNS