Things to Consider Before You Change Your Web Hosting Provider

By Ricardo d Argence

Your web hosting company may not be able to keep up with the speed your business is growing, or your website may not be up to par with meeting your needs. In any case, the best solution to this conundrum is to switch web hosting companies. Before you change your site provider, take the necessary steps prior to the change to ensure that it will be easy, seamless and worry free.

Switching to a new web hosting company will go smoother if you create and follow a detailed plan, just like with other sorts of renovation undertakings. In order to ensure a smooth and efficient transfer from one web hosting company to another make sure you give yourself plenty of time to understand, complete and then test each step of the process.

Generally this type of transition requires at least three to four weeks from the initial planning stage to the date your new site is up and running. Once you have completed your research and determined which site you will do business with, you can have your new site activated usually within 24-48 hours.

The first, and most important, step at this stage is to ensure you do a secure and complete backup of all the files on your current web hosting provider's site regardless of whether or not you have the files stored on a local computer. Backups are like insurance, you never appreciate having them until a catastrophe strikes. So, even though it may be tempting to eliminate this step, you may live to regret it.

Besides backing up the customary HTML files, it is a good idea to have copies of script, database and server log files. Creating a directory structure that mirrors the one on your web server makes downloading files easier and the transition a lot more efficient.

Once you receive confirmation from your new web hosting company that your account has been activated, you can upload your files to the new server.

It is easiest to upload information to a new site by saving files somewhere familiar.

Once you have finished the previous steps, the new web site can be tested to make sure every thing operates as it should.

Once everything is working flawlessly, you are ready to change your old Domain Name Server (DNS) to the new one which would have been provided by the new web hosting company. All that's left now is for you to sit back and wait for the hits to begin.

About the Author:

If you need a dedicated server, Alojate.com is the best web hosting company in Mexico, offering a lot of solutions for all business needs. Servidores dedicados, factura electronica, web hosting & domain registration.