change web hosting

Get the Most out of Your Host- Change Web Hosting in 8 Easy Steps

How much do you spend per month on web hosting services?

The cost of a website escalated in recent years, thanks to the demand for better designs and plugins. One aspect that also maintains a high upkeep for a website is web hosting.

You might spend up to $99 or more per month for these services! If it isn’t performing well or you’re not using it to its full potential, you might need to change web hosting providers.

Are you ready to know how to change website hosting services and get the most out of what you pay for? Read on and find out more.

1. Backup Your Website

There are a lot of business hacks out there but one you have to practice on a regular basis is backing up your site.

There are a lot of possible problems that might arise when transferring to a new web host company. In this situation, it’s always better to have some preparations. You need to give your business the safety net by making a backup of your website’s latest version.

The best way to do this is to go to your web development tool. Download all the current files your website uses to function. Some of these elements include:

  • Graphics
  • HTML files

Make sure to save more than one copy in multiple local computers. That way, the possibility of failure stays at the minimum level. It’s always better to over-prepare than suffering from lack of preparation.

2. Keep Important Information on Record

It’s not ideal to rely on memory when you change where to host a website. It’s always better to take time recording the important information necessary when making the transfer. You need to note down important details like your security settings.

Other information you need to note down is your software and configuration information. Do this and you’ll never regret anything you might miss. Human memory is more fallible than recorded data.

3. Research Before Choosing a New Provider

Do you want to ensure that you won’t ever need to make changes to your web provider again? Take the time and research on the different web hosting providers around. There are a lot of choices out there, but only a few of them can deliver their promises.

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Find the most reputable ones that can meet your requirements. Make sure they can do this in the future as well. Check for companies with uptime guarantees and can support the things you run within your website.

Once you find a new provider, make an account. Don’t delete your old one yet until you’re done with the transfer.

4. Alert Your Visitors

The move to a new web hosting provider affects your customers too. It applies to eCommerce websites since your customers might panic. They might get agitated when they can’t find the website they bought an item with.

You can ease the transition by giving your customers advanced warnings. You can go for the extra mile and give them an alternate means of contacting you. It’s also possible to give them vouchers and other means of compensation for the wait.

5. Load Your Website

Before you deal with changing your domain name, do some test runs. Load your website using your new web hosting company. That way, you won’t have to deal with possible issues you might run into after transitioning.

The best way to do this is to load your website’s files to the IP address given by your new provider.

6. Change Your Domain Name

As soon as you’re done testing, you can update your domain name information. Use the name server information of the new web hosting provider you chose. If you use the same company as your domain name registrar, you can make things simple.

When you use another company as a domain name registrar, you might need to do more. It also applies if you aren’t the registered administrative contact. This means you need to coordinate with other providers.

As soon as you start the name change, it might take a while to take effect. On an average, it takes about two days for the domain propagation to finish. In other words, DNS servers across the internet will know that your website now has a new web server.

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7. Cancel Your Old Account

Don’t cancel the account as soon as the domain name propagation period finishes. After all, you might want to test your website for possible issues once again. It’s always better to double-check everything to ensure that everything is in order.

Once you’re confident with the way your website runs, close your old account. You can do this by accessing your old web hosting provider’s website. Most reputable providers make the process simple and easy to do.

At this point, you should also delete all the files and databases stored within your old account. A good practice is to leave a local copy of the files and export your database. It’s great to have options in case you roll back the migration process.

8. Ask for Help

If you aren’t that tech-savvy, you can always ask for help. You don’t have to do this on your own when you don’t have the technical expertise. You have a lot of options when you don’t have an in-house IT department to handle it.

You can try outsourcing professionals to do the job for you. Some of the more reputable web host providers out there are more than happy to assist you with the entire migration process.

They can even answer specific questions like “what is a dedicated server?” and the like. Don’t hesitate since you might make some mistakes. It could cripple your website for longer periods of time if it happens.

Learn How to Change Web Hosting Today!

The entire process needs you to plan a lot. When you opt to change web hosting providers, it doesn’t need to become a stressful task. Following these steps can help you move to your new and improved web host and meet your increasing company demands.

Do you need to make your website look more professional?

You can always read this post and discover ways to make your website more pleasing to your intended customers. It has the design tips needed to accomplish it without problems.