Steps You Need to Make When Transferring to a New Web Hosting Provider
Change is inevitable. If your life, your needs, your company's needs stop growing, developing and becomes stagnant, be worried. Speaking about company's needs, the only way for your company to go, is always up. If you have worked hard to make it visible and if you have been doing the best marketing strategies to ensure a high customer visits rate, then most probably, thinking of moving to another web hosting provider to the one that you currently have, might be a good idea. Some companies, on the other hand, may experience a lot of negative support from their web hosting service, and a move would probably be best between both parties. Whatever the reason is for moving to a new web hosting provider, if it will make life easier for you, then start thinking of the options that you need to do, and the steps that you need to make.
Here are, basically, the steps that you need to make when you have decided to move.
First step is to find a web hosting provider that offers what you need. Take time to read the web hosting company's services and if you could take time to know which companies you could check with to see about this web hosting service's performance, which would include uptime, downtime and how their technical support department handles these kinds of issues. Once you are happy with what you find, sign up, and get ready for the transfer.
Second step is to make a back-up of your site and all the files that you have. As a standing site owner, you should constantly be backing up your files, regardless if you are planning to make the move in the long run, or as a precaution for any power failure, or hardware breakdown, doing a back up is a must.
Step three is to change your DNS to make sure that it points to your new web hosting provider.
The fourth step is to wait for your DNS change to be broadcasted through the net. This is imperative, and make sure that your previous web hosting provider is aware of the time allowance you need to have to make sure that your new DNS will be known to your customers, and prospective visitors. Just imagine how problematic it would be for you to immediately decide in a day or two, as your limit for DNS propagation. Should you have new visitors to your old site, and they would be re-directed to a dead link, think of the loss to the company. So ensure proper propagation, and ensure that your old, as well as new, web hosting provider would work together on this.
The last step is for you to shut down the old site. As soon as you are sure people are getting information from your new web hosting provider, or IP address, then you are sure that visitors are now using the new IP address. Another way to know that the propagation is complete is when you do not receive any emails coming from the old web hosting provider anymore as well.
These steps seem pretty easy, but we assure you, it is not. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of busy time making sure that the transition is complete. Coming from a static site, the transition might be easier, compared to having a dynamic web site, which is why backing up all your files is the ultimate step that would make the transition easier. Another item that would be considered the 'crux' of the transition is the changing of DNS. You can't keep advertising that your site has on going changes, so once a new DNS is in place, the proper broadcast and circulation is essential. Visitors need to be constantly informed that there will be changes to your site soon, so they have to bear with the changes.
Bottom line in all this: if there are changes, there should be proper dissemination of information.
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