Since web hosting is the foundation of any online presence, its importance in terms of the success of any business is immeasurable. Therefore, it goes without saying that the web hosting company that is chosen by a business needs to be capable of adequately providing the means necessary in order to provide a secure, technically sound web space. While business owners may take every conceivable measure to research and assess which web host will best support their online company before committing to a host, circumstances can arise that make it necessary to look into changing web hosting companies.

There are many reasons why someone may want to switch web hosts. It could be that they are not satisfied with the quality of service they are getting and want to explore another host with a reputation for better quality of service. Another issue could be that they have outgrown the resources their host can offer and want to upgrade to a more powerful hosting package that may not be offered by their existing hosting company.

Even though the need to switch hosts may be different, there is one thing common in all of the cases – if the transition is not planned and executed properly, it can turn into a very unpleasant experience. In this article we will take a look at a way to switch web hosts for a smooth transition.

Step 1: Choose a New Host
Before you start the process of migrating from your existing web host, you need to finalize the decision on which new web host to do business with. It is important to research the new host properly before starting the transition to ensure that they will be in a position to accommodate your requirements now and in the future.
Some of the things that one must consider when deciding on a new web host may include:

a. Compatible Infrastructure. Ensure that the web host has all of the software and hardware required to operate the scripts running the back-end of your site. If your site simply consists of HTML pages and flash files, then it should not be an issue. However, if you are using some script like PHP or ASP for your Content Management System, you must ensure that the host has the required modules and databases required to run the script.

Another consideration is that a lot of hosts put restrictions on the amount of resources that you can use. For example, certain hosts restrict the maximum size that your database can be, whereas some hosts choose to restrict the daily amount of bandwidth that you may use. It is important that you fully understand any restrictions that the host may impose on you to ensure the smoothest running of your web site.

b. Ability to Scale. While the web host may be able to accommodate your existing requirements, it is important to determine that they will be able to keep the site up and running as it continues to grow. This can be accomplished by researching the host’s ability to scale, which is important in order to prevent having to switch hosts once again.

Quite often, web hosts will offer various plans including shared, virtual server and dedicated server hosting. As the website gets more popular, it will be necessary to have more server resources, since different resource requirements require different hosting plans. You should aim to have a web host that offers a choice of different hosting packages so that you are able to easily upgrade services as the resource requirements grow.

c. Customer Support. It is imperative that your new host offers good customer support. When you are moving hosts, you may need to communicate with your new host at multiple instances. This is when a host with an excellent customer support system will come in very handy.

One point to remember is that, for most web hosts, sales questions and customer service are different and are staffed by separate departments. Therefore, it is always a good idea to research the reputation of a web host on various independent forums and by talking to their existing customers to form an opinion about the quality of customer service that they usually offer.

d. Industry Reputation. The importance of researching the reputation of the hosting service provider can’t be stressed enough. A lot of service providers are able to hire highly skilled designers and marketers to create a very favorable and professional impression. However, when it comes to hosting, the look of the website and sales copy are not as essential as the quality of service itself.

A good way to start your research on a company is by searching for its name in search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN, specialized blog search engines like technorati.com and icerocket.com and independent hosting discussion forums like webhostingtalk.com. Reading through blog posts, forum threads, and reviews should give you a fairly good idea about the reputation that the hosting service provider has in the industry.

After you have done your research and finalized on a web host, sign-up for a hosting plan with the host and get the technical information like account details, name servers, FTP details, and server IP address. All of this should be done well before terminating the old hosting company account, at least 30 days before is highly recommended. Many web hosting companies have a minimum notification time before an account can be terminated, so be sure to check on the current web host’s termination policy ahead of time.

Step 2: Backup Files and Databases
While certain hosting control panels allow for the transfer of websites by automatically copying files, it is not a fool proof method and things may go wrong in any case. For this reason, it is often best to manually transfer your website. Even if you choose the automatic transfer of files option, it is always a good idea to have a fresh full backup of files locally so that nothing is lost if anything happens to go wrong.

Here are the basic steps to backup your files and databases:

Step A) Log-in to your existing (old) hosting company’s FTP server with your username and password.
Step B) Create a local backup folder and download all the public files from your server to your local hard-drive.
Step C) Log-in to your server’s control panel or to SSH and take a backup of your existing databases.

Step 3: Transfer Files to New Server
Once you have downloaded the files to your local hard disk, the next step is to upload them to your new server. When you create a new account with hosting companies, you also get a way to access the FTP server using an IP address. You should use this information to access your server at your new hosting account and upload the files downloaded in the previous step.

If your site is a simple static site made with HTML or Flash, you can simply upload the files to your new server using FTP software while maintaining the same directory structure as the old server. However, if your site consists of dynamic server-side scripting like PHP or ASP, then you may need to look into the script configuration and make any required changes to it.

Once you upload the files to your new server, you would usually be able to access the data using your IP address to ensure that everything is working as expected. If you don’t already have information about how to access your new server using an IP address, contact customer service at your new host.

Step 4: Inform Your Visitors
Once you have done the above steps, it is usually a good idea to post information for the visitors of your website informing of the impending web host switch. The reason for this is that if for some reason your website is inaccessible, visitors will have a reasonable explanation as to why it is happening, thus being more likely to return later. Otherwise, you run the risk of disappointing visitors such that they choose to abandon doing business with you.

One of the ways which people usually inform visitors of the impending host change is by updating the pages on the old server without having such notice on the files on the new server. This way, if people are seeing the old site, they will know that a change may be coming soon. If instead they are seeing the pages on the new server, then it doesn’t really matter as the change has been successful for them.

Step 5: Make Changes to DNS
The next step is to log-in to your domain management control panel and make changes to the name-server of your domain. This step is usually done at your domain registrar’s website.

When you created the account at your new web host you would have received information regarding what the new nameservers for your domain. If you don’t already have it, you need to contact your new host’s customer service department and ask them for this information.

Once you have information about the nameservers, the next step is to visit the website of your domain registrar, i.e. the company where you registered your domain name. You need to login there with your account information and visit the link that leads to the editor for your domain’s DNS information. On this page you will typically have a section to modify the nameservers associated with your domain name. Simply input the nameserver information that you received from your new host.

Step 6: Wait for Propagation
Once you have made the changes to the nameserver listing, the next step is to wait for the propagation of changes to the DNS system across the Internet. While the changes may take up to 96 hours to propagate, in many cases the changes are instantaneous depending on the configuration of the Internet server provider.
One way to ensure that your domain is resolving properly to your new server is to have a unique file on your new server which you don’t have on your old server. For example, you may create a new HTML file with a random name and then upload it to your new server. If you are able to access this new file, then this means that the name server change has successfully propagated for you.

Once you find that the domain has resolved for you, it is a good idea to ensure that everything on your website is working as it should be and that the link structure is working properly.

Step 7: Cancel Existing Hosting Plan
Once you have finished all of the above steps, your domain should be resolving to your new server. After you ensure that everything is working fine, it is time to contact your old web host and cancel your plan.

While most hosts make it easy to cancel your subscription, there are some hosts which have a reputation of making it really hard to cancel subscriptions. Some hosts may even go to greater extents to use delay tactics and try to charge you for an additional month. When possible, be sure to check the current hosts policy well ahead of when you plan to move. It is always advisable to thoroughly read the cancellation instructions and follow them exactly. By keeping a paper trail of your communication with the webhost, you will be prepared in case a need arises to dispute charges with a credit card company or report the experience to the BBB and other consumer advocate authorities.

Conclusion:
Once you have followed all of the above steps, you should have successfully switched webhosting companies with as little hassle as possible.

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