How to Switch Your Website to a New Web Hosting Company
It could be that the growth of your business is quite fast that your web hosting company can no longer accommodate or could be that the site you have chosen does not have the right capacity for your particular needs. In any case, the best solution to this conundrum is to switch web hosting companies. There are a few steps to take to ensure the transition from one site provider to another is smooth.
As with any type of renovation project, embarking on a web hosting company change will go much easier if you develop a plan and then stick to it. In order to ensure a smooth and efficient transfer from one web hosting company to another, you should allow yourself enough time to complete each step and then run tests for accuracy and accessibility.
Generally this type of transition requires at least three to four weeks from the initial planning stage to the date your new site is up and running. Once you have completed your research and determined which site you will do business with, you can have your new site activated usually within 24-48 hours.
Before doing anything else get a complete backup of the files being hosted by your provider, even if you have copies of them already stored locally. Backups are like insurance, you never appreciate having them until a catastrophe strikes. So, even though it may be tempting to eliminate this step, you may live to regret it.
You should always back up all important files. These files include HTML files, script, and database and server log files. To increase transition efficiency and simplify file downloads, create a directory structure that mirrors your web server’s.
You are ready to upload your files to the new server after you receive confirmation from your new web hosing company that your file transfer protocol procedures are operational and your account has been activated.
Since you have already saved your files in a familiar directory structure, uploading your information to the new site should progress without a hitch.
Following completion of the above steps, you can now run some tests on the new web site in order to verify that all modules are working perfectly.
Once everything is working flawlessly, you are ready to change your old Domain Name Server (DNS) to the new one which would have been provided by the new web hosting company. All that’s left now is for you to sit back and wait for the hits to begin.