Moving a website, especially if it is a business site, is no easy task and should never be considered as one. Changing hosting providers can make your website run smoother, faster and be more likable by your visitors in general; but if you don’t do it right, you could rue the day the idea popped into your head.

So, we will see what care should be taken when changing hosting providers. We will cover what you should look into and ascertain before, during and after your move.

Here we go…

BEFORE

1. Make sure you have a good reason for moving – if not, you can stop reading further.
2. Keep the move a secret from your provider. Some people are simply bad losers and they could turn mean.
3. Look for hosting providers that are better than your current one. Don’t settle for the same exact replica of your current provider. If there are new features or technologies that you can adapt into your site or use to make running it a lot easier, it is an advantage to you, grab it. It is in fact a good thing to implement the new features during your move, when you can afford downtimes and errors while you test and tweak them.
4. If you own your domain name, well and good, but if it comes as part of your hosting deal it could be a bit tricky to ask your provider to have it transferred to your name. Start negotiations and try to weasel it out of them – if not, decide what you’re going to do. You actually have 4 options:
   1. Go out and buy a new domain that looks/spells and sounds like your old one. Or change the TLD to .info if it was .com, for example.
   2. Have your domain name redirect to your new address (if the provider will allow it).
   3. Get a totally new domain name and start from scratch. Or,
   4. Stay put.
5. Make sure you research your selection of hosting providers thoroughly. You wouldn’t want to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.
6. Once you have selected a couple of them, take them for a test ride. Most hosting providers offer free trials for a limited time. Upload sample pages and go crazy with it – test everything to the limit. In fact, try to break it.
7. Once you have the one you are sure you want to go with, start going through the paperwork and sort out all the legalese – if you can’t understand it, find someone who does. The fine print could really get you!
8. Pay and lock the deal. If you can afford it, get a multiple-years’ plan.

During

Now that you have your hosting provider of choice:

1. Make sure you have the latest back up of the data on your old server and keep it on your local machine. Make sure you do that before anything else. Test a copy of the backup by restoring it on your new host. If you succeed in getting the exact replica, well done; your work is over. But if not, you will still have a back up to restore in case something goes wrong while trying to manually move data and files from server to server.
2. Test and use various data uploading methods (FTP, import/export, uploading, etc.). The practice will help you familiarize yourself with how things are done and it will also let you know the options you have in case something goes wrong in the future.
3. Once all your data and files have safely crossed over, test, test, and test it all again. Again, go crazy checking to make sure everything is fine (first do it without sharing or publishing the site to the public – or with just a few users – and then test it again with it published).
4. Make sure all the required security has been put in place – both from within your site and database and from the hosting providers’ side.
5. Make sure you use all new usernames and passwords for administrative purposes. (This is critical if you and your old hosting provider part ways on unfriendly terms.)

After

So, everything has moved and it all went smoothly. You have tested it all and you are 100% there is no going back. So,

1. Point your domain name to the new DNS servers (there are usually two or more). If you have entered the correct addresses your domain name should be pointing to your new site within a matter of minutes.
2. If you have made any changes in your naming structure, find all the links to your site and resubmit them or create a redirect page that will accept all erroneous links and help visitors find the page they are looking for.
3. Finally, it’s time to say goodbye to your old host: delete (format) everything you have on their servers – files, folders and databases. Thank them for their service (if they deserve it) and bid them adieu!