Internet Marketing -- What to do BEFORE Changing Web Hosts
This is usually a massive pain in the neck if you have a complex web site and only a very large pain in the neck if you have a plain web site. You don't want to lose any of your files or functionality of your web site while making the move.
Why would you want
to move?
Well maybe the web host has old and slow server computers, or maybe they have a slow connection to the Internet. Maybe they can't handle FrontPage web sites, CGI scripts and streaming video. Maybe they are just jerks and never return your calls or emails. Whatever the reason, think long and hard before you make the move and plan for disaster.
Eight Steps to
Take BEFORE Moving to another Web Host:
1. Don't quit your old web host until the new site is up and running perfectly.
2. Before you do anything, make sure your new hosting service can do what you want it to do. If moving a complex site is a massive pain in the neck, then doing it twice would be considered massive, colossal and you're-a-big-dummy-for-not-checking-the-new-place-out pain in the neck.
3. You must make sure you have a copy of every single file that will be transferred to the new web host both on your hard drive and backed up to a floppy, zip drive, or CD. This list of files could include graphics, text files, web pages and whatever else you have cooked up that is included in your web site.
4. You must stay organized. Match all your directories and folders on your hard drive to the ones you have on your web site. Example: If you have a folder for images on your web site, then make a folder of the same on your hard drive and keep all your images in that folder.
5. Once you have your entire web site organized on your hard drive and backed up, then upload the files to the new host.
6. If you have forms, CGI scripts, secure servers, shopping carts and similar advanced functionality, someone (probably not you unless you are a techie) must make the appropriate coding changes to get everything working again.
7. Test everything thoroughly over a couple of days and have some of your friends test things too. Make sure everything is working perfectly before you actually make the switch.
8. After you're thoroughly satisfied that everything is working properly, go ahead and authorize the new web host to make the changes needed for the Internet world to find you at your new home. This step could be a pain in the neck too, so just fight along with it until it gets done and expect that you might not get cooperation from the host that you're leaving. Get the new host to advise you on the steps you need to take. For security purposes you might have to jump through a few hoops to get the change made. This is really a good thing because you don't want others to be able to gain access to your web site.