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What You Need to Know Before You Switch Web Hosts

Published Thursday, August 28, 2008 by bloggerblognet4542 | E-mail this post

Moving to a new web hosting company can be as stressful as moving into a new house, and no matter how organized you try to be, it always seems to feel chaotic. However, when you move into a new house, you don't need to worry about losing sales, page ranking, or visitors. So here are some moving tips to help you make the transition smoothly.

First of all, before you move, let your customers know you are planning a move. Simply put a note on your home page, blog, and newsletter with the details. This has become common online courtesy, but it is still important to reduce customer confusion and downtime. You can also provide an alternate e-mail address and remind customers of your phone number in case they have a problem. If applicable, you may also wish to give updates or reminders to affected customers.

Next, be sure to back up your website files before the move. Plan for the worst case scenario. Meaning, two back-up copies are better than one. Your old web hosting company will no doubt have a copy of your site, but don't risk it. If you use a database, back that up. If your new web hosting company has a different style of control panel, back up too. Again, assume nothing will be the same at your new web hosting company. You may want to physically write down what your site map, directories, and file trees say. And, don't forget server logs. If they are important to you, back them up as well.

A few other things you will need to is check the IP range. If the range of your new web host is bad, your website's current position on the search engines will fall. Make sure you have a good File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program. Also, be sure to get the new web hosting company's Domain Server Name (DNS). If they have any kind of tip sheet or reference guide, read over it and familiarize yourself.

Like a house of cards, the whole moving process can be a disaster if the DNS is changed before you're ready. Ensure that your new web hosting company will wait for you to tell them when you're ready. The DNS change should take 24-48 hours to update.

Once your site is up on your new server, be sure to test the applications on your site. Everything might look good and link properly, but sometimes forms and the like do not function correctly.

Charlie Joon is a web hosting guru and the senior staff writer at Most Best Host Test. You can read more of his expert articles at http://www.most-best-host-test.com

Blogger BlogNet49964

What You Need to Know Before You Switch Web Hosts

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Blogger BlogNet49964: What You Need to Know Before You Switch Web Hosts

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