Posted by Jerry in The best thing to do when you are stuck with a bad hosting is to get rid of them. I used to think that moving to new web host is s complicated job and worry it might affect my search engine rankings. Truth is, switching web host is easy and it will not affect your web traffics if things are done right. The switch can be completed in just a few steps: move your web files to the new hosting, change your DNS, and wait for the DNS change to propagate thru the Internet – and you’re done.
A useful check list for web host switching
Well, a checklist is always useful to avoid miss-outs or mistakes. Here’s what you need to do, in particular order, when it comes to switching a web host. For convenience, you can have the list in .pdf version (click here to download).
- Select a good web host.
- Register new hosting account.
- Back up all files to the new web host.
- For static website, simply copy the old file structures to new web host.
- For blog/CMS website using MySQL, install the web apps at new web host as it is in old web host.
- In case your web application provide easy transfer (such as WP’s import/export function), transfer data files to new web host; else, you’ll need to tweak your MySQL and PHP config file accordingly.
- Recheck everything is working right on your new website (you can preview your newly hosted website using temporary URL in IP numbers).
- Switch DNS to the new web host’s nameservers.
- Wait for the DNS change to propagate through the net (it takes a few hours to a day for the process to complete).
- Create existing email address at new web host.
- Configure email agent (such as Outlook) accordingly.
- Inform old web host about the cancellation.
In case you’re unsure about DNS…
Domain Name Servers (DNS) is basically the “address” that ties up your domain name with your hosting. For example if you run your website at Bluehost, you’ll have your domain (www.example.com) on Bluehost’s name servers (NS##.bluehost.com); and if you switch that host to Hostgator, you will need to change your name servers to (NS##.hostgator.com). Basically all you need to do is just changing a few text lines with your domain registrant.
Figure below shows how DNS can be changed in GoDaddy.
Get it done by today!
Now that I had taken the guess work out of moving to a new web host; my final advice to those who’re unsure about switching: Just Do it. Seriously, it’s not worth it to stuck with blood-sucking hosting companies and you really should move your website to a good host as soon as possible. In case you need help picking up the right web host, read my extensive hosting reviews here.
