How to change the web host:
Changing from one web hosting service to another is a very important decision that you have to make as it can actually affect your online business both in a positive as well as in a negative way. You should think about changing your web host only if it is extremely necessary. There may be lots of reasons for changing the current web hosting service and selecting a new one.
For example, you may not be getting the same customer service from your web host that you were getting in the past. Or, the server might go down very frequently causing a lot of problems for you as well as for your online business.
So, once you have made the decision of changing your web host and choosing someone better than the current one, then there are lots of things you should know before you actually move your content from one web hosting server to the other. For example, the disk space, the monthly bandwidth, the uptime guarantee, the control panel, web applications, softwares, plugins and add-ons, web tools, and more importantly, the quality of the customer and technical service that they provide.
Once you have searched the nearly perfect host for your website, you will have to move the entire data present on the old website to the new website along with changing the DNS details. You will have to take the entire backup of your old website including the databases and the content present on it before you begin moving this content to your new web hosting server.
Take care that the data is not lost while transferring. You can even redesign your website if necessary during this phase to make it suit the new web hosting server’s capabilities. The redesigning job may include redesigning of a few web pages or may even involve the redesigning the entire website.
Also, there are some very important things that you need to know before you start moving your web host in order to make sure that you do not lose the web traffic that you were successful in attracting to your old website. Losing this traffic will certainly cause the downfall of your website as well as the online business.
For this, you can put up a new web page on your website where you inform your website’s visitors, including your customers, about the proposed changes, and how it would help them use your website better than before. Some of these steps are mentioned below.
First of all, make sure that you check the disk space and the bandwidth that you are going to get from your web host. Make sure that the disk space and the bandwidth is equal to or higher than the bandwidth and the disk space that your old web hosting server had.
If you do not get sufficient bandwidth and the disk space from your web host, if may actually affect your website and your online business. You will not only lose the customers and the business, but you will even have to pay a lot of additional fees to your web host for exceeding the amount of bandwidth and the disk space that is being allotted to your web hosting account.
Make sure that you use a re-direct page on your old website at least for some days, until it is properly propagated, so that the online visitors who visit your old website, will be automatically diverted to your new website and do not come across a website which is empty. If you do not follow this step, you may lose a lot of web traffic and thus lose the business. This is the most important step that you need to follow while changing your web host.
The next important thing to consider is the customer and the technical support that you are going to get from your web host. Make sure that the web hosting service that you are choosing has a top quality and round the clock customer and technical service available. There should be enough number of ways in which you can contact your web host or his technical department during the time of crisis. For example, you should always have the phone numbers, option of live chat, and email addresses available through which you can contact the customer support of your web host.
Even, the technical department of the web host should be able to solve your difficulties as soon as possible and in a professionally manner. Before choosing the service you can even test the customer support department by asking them certain questions and then finding out the quality of the service that is offered. This is a very good idea of finding out how good is the customer support department of that particular web host.
Also, it is extremely important that you check the compatibility of your website with the new web hosting server that you are going to choose. Make sure that the operating system that is being used on the new web hosting server is same as the one which is compatible with your website and the content present in it. Or else, you may have to redesign the entire website in order to make it compatible with your new web hosting service.
If you are changing your web hosting provider, then take care to choose the same types of the operating system, the control panel, and the database management system as your earlier web hosting package. Also, see if you need more disk space and bandwidth, and also find how competent your new web hosting customer and technical services are. Checking the connectivity speed and the uptime guarantee should also be looking into at this stage as these checks will help you in getting better hosting package for your important website.
See that all the softwares, applications, web tools, add-ons and other features are the latest and are updated frequently by your web host. Make sure that all the applications are running efficiently and, more importantly, are compatible with the web script, structures, and the content that is present on your website. Also, check the security measures that are being adopted by your web host in order to protect your website.
It is advisable that you check the online reviews, comments about your new web host by visiting the web hosting related forums and blogs for the customer reports about your new host before choosing its web hosting service. It is better to research before signing for any kind of web hosting service.
These are some of the important thing that you should know and do while changing your web host. Lastly, make sure that once you have moved the content and databases from the old website to the new website, you must test your new website, many times if required, to make sure that everything is proper, and all the links are working. There are still many other aspects to look for, but the above will most certainly help you in getting a better web hosting service that your existing one.
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