Complete Guide On How To Switch Web Hosting Companies
One of the major things that you are able to do when you have a website is change hosts. That’s right, you can easily work with switching web hosts in a lot of different ways. Most people miss this however. Most people don’t realize that they can easily move forward with switching, and therefore they stay with a lackluster web host. If you have a web hosting account and you don’t like where you are, or perhaps you want to look into something else, you’ll find that you’ll want to consider switching web hosts. Doing so will help you gain the upper hand in regards to switching the hosts.
Switching Web Hosts and Moving Out
The analogy that is attributed to switching web hosts is often compared to moving from one home to another. Moving out of one place and into a new one is a part of life. That is something that you’re going to be doing when you decide to move along to a new web host. Switching web hosts is something important for those that are working in tech, even on a small scale. If you’re going to move, don’t take it lightly, and don’t try to speed through it. Instead, focus on the following tips to help you make the transition somewhat smoothly.
Purchase A New Hosting Account
The first thing that you need to do is isolate the web hosting company you want to work with. Before switching web hosts, make sure that you know where you’re going. Sometimes it’s tempting to let your hosting expire, then look for a new plan, but that’s not a good thing. Don’t wait, get a new hosting account and you’ll have a place to move your files.
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Back Up Your Existing Website
Make absolutely sure that you back up all your files. If you have a WordPress installation, then switching web hosts is going to be absolutely simple. Use a plugin to back everything up into a zip file, and that’s it. Other than that, you’ll want to make sure that you consolidate your files and save them. Once you have them all, you are ready to go forward. However, you have to make sure that you back everything up first. Back things up first, and then focus on switching web hosts. It’s good to have backups anyways, so make sure that you have your most up to date option first, or switching web hosts will become a serious nightmare.
DNS Issues
In order for you to focus on switching web hosts, make sure that you look into your DNS records if your domain name is not going to get transferred with your files. When you register a domain name, you will have a DNS record that points to a certain web hosting account and server name. If you do not work with switching web hosts and your domain name, then you will need to do this manually. You can do this by logging into the account you have with any name registration company. Renew your domain name and change the DNS pointers (nameservers) to go to your next web host. Otherwise, you will not see your website. The propagation process after you switch nameservers can take upwards of 48 hours, so be patient here.
Email Problems
When switching web hosts, you are going to have to look into email issues that could come up. If you actually used the email servers on your domain, you’re going to need to focus on shifting gears. There are two major ways to address this. The first is simple, and it’s to forward your email to a secondary option. You can still have your name at your dot com, but make sure that you change this up right away. This could be a bridge before you finalize the email element of your new hosting account. Once you figure this out, make sure that you switch all the IP address elements, and test the email servers before you finalize your move. Chances are, your new host is going to accept and push through the mail.
Moving Your Files
After you’ve worked through the above, you will literally need to put your files on the new hosting account you purchase. This is something that you can do through a plugin if you have WordPress. Focus on WordPress installations while switching web hosts and you’ll once again see why this content management software is so grand. They make this as simple as possible. Other than this, make sure that you simply upload your files into folders on your new directory. Done right, after the propagation of your DNS changes, you will see things work just as before, assuming you didn’t change any of the file’s code. Once you are finished, and the DNS is done, switching web hosts will prove to be a great, easy to do option for you.
Downtime Is Going To Happen
The one thing that you will notice about switching web hosts, or perhaps the one thing that your audience may see is going to be downtime. That’s right, your site will be down. This is normal. Do not panic. However, before you decide on switching, make sure that you focus on telling your audience that you are going to be moving servers and there will be some outages on your page. If you do not do this, people will panic, and you could lose traffic, etc. There is no way to avoid downtime, simple as that. It’s best to send out a newsletter to your subscribers so that you manage the time your site goes offline. Remember, this is only temporary.
Broken Links Could Still Be In Place
When you transfer your files, there are going to be pages that don’t connect at one hundred percent. This is something that is bound to happen. There are going to be URL elements within your page that are going to end up mixed up when you upload your files. In regards to switching web hosts, it’s important that you focus on fixing these. You will want to work with several 404 pages as a result. Customize your 404 pages by adding several options. One of the most common is the ErrorDocument 404 /moved.html option. The second is Redirect 301 /previous-page.html, and any options that redirect and rewrite your pages to new places. You need to make sure that the traffic hitting your page is aware that you’re updating, moving, and redirecting pages. This is crucial to switching web hosts.
The WordPress Database Problem
As you read through this, you may recall that it was stated that WordPress is great, and easy. Well, there is one issue that you are going to want to look at as being problematic. The problem with WordPress is in regards to the database file. You may try to upload your database, the backup, and realize that it’s corrupted. It’s not connecting, and you are not sure what to do. Don’t panic. You will need to go back and get another database dump. You can do this with a plugin if you’d like.
In the case, that you can’t get that done, don’t panic, yet again. Instead, look for WordPress auto database repair options. You can utilize the built in elements in WordPress, such as “wp-admin/maint/repair.php” and run that. It should help. In the rare case that you will not be able to use your old database, you may have to start from scratch. However, look at the simplest elements to repair your database, as they’ll most likely be the right solution. While some recommend to go with PHPMyAdmin, and code directories, it’s NOT as simple. It can get really tricky to do this, so don’t go for it unless you’re very familiar with PHP and MySQL.
Site Migration Options
When you are looking at switching web hosts, make sure that you look into site migration. You’ll find that some will do it for you. Some have teams of people that will take your files and move them, and others have applications that you can click on to ensure that this happens correctly. It’s a simple solution that you can work with, but not everyone has this. You’ll have to focus on companies that let you work with switching web hosts and allow you to migrate things with ease. These are not “fool proof”, however, so you need to be careful with these.
With the above tips and tricks, you’re going to be able to get moving forward with switching web hosts. There are going to be times when you will want to do this. Whether it’s because you have a bad hosting plan, or you just want to test the waters with something new, this is a great solution. Make sure that you take time to fix things up, monitor back up options, and do not just go about switching web hosts without taking your time. It’s easy to rush through, but it’s not good. Take your time, think about the issues you may face, and make sure that you switch competently.
