0
0
If you are serious about switching web hosts and want to migrate your website over to a new one, it is important that you know how exactly to go about doing that step by step. There is definitely a process that you will want to follow when it comes to doing this, and you do not want to be negligent. Forgetting even one step in this process can mean serious consequences for your website. It is imperative that you take the time to read this article before making this switch.
Purchase a new Web Host
The first step that you will need to take when migrating your website to another host is to find a new one. There are a lot of different hosts out there for you to choose from, and it’s important that you take the time to see what your options are like before making a final decision. The more time you take to look into these options, the better your final decision is likely to be. Make sure that you select a package that will provide you with everything you need in terms of bandwidth, disk space, a control panel and everything else.
Back up your sites to the new web host
Next it will be necessary for you to back up all of your websites to your new host. It is crucial that you do this so you don’t end up losing any data or information. For a dynamic website runs on a database, you will want to install the web apps to the new web host as they are currently held in the existing site. One very easy way to most CMS sites is to zip and move everything in your “public_html” or “www” folder. Either way, this is definitely something that you will need to do.
Perform a final check
You should perform a final check before finally making the move to your new host. You will need to double check that everything is working properly on your website once you have loaded your files onto the new hosting configuration. You will be able to preview your newly-hosted website using a temporary URL in IP numbers. There are some hosting companies that will even provide their customers with a development staging platform that allows them to easily preview their websites before taking it live. This sort of staging environment can be extremely useful when it comes to making absolutely sure that your site is ready to go live.
Switch Website DNS Records
Make sure to switch the DNS record for your website to the new web host’s servers at your registrar. Your DNS record is basically a list of instructions that specifies where to send the user. By moving your DNS record to the new host, your visitors will be able to find your website as they intend instead of getting an error message. This is a crucial part of the website migration process.
Import your site’s database
Now that you have created/backed up a database for your website, you will need to import it into the new house. Go ahead and launch the admin function from the control panel with your new host. You should find an option on in there for importing your site’s database. This is something that you can do with just a few clicks, so you shouldn’t experience much trouble.
Linking to New URL & Defining New Domain
There is one issue that many people have when it comes to moving their site to another home, which is that they’ve added links to other posts on their site and discovered they have become broken when transferring over to the new domain. You will need to make certain that you are running the search and replace on the new domain you are transferring the site to instead of the old one. This is a very important part of migrating your website that you do not want to forget.
Important things to watch for
Once you have transferred your website to your new domain, it is important that you look for downtime. The last thing you want is for your website to go down whenever it is avoidable. A good host will provide you with consistent uptime for your website. If you happen to be running an online business of any kind, pretty much any amount of downtime is unacceptable and means losing customers.
As you transfer your site’s assets from the previous hosting environment, keep in mind that it is possible for assets like graphics to be misplaces or left behind. When you keep these things in mind, you will be able to ease the transition from one domain or host to another so that everything goes well and without any real complications.
