How to Switch Web Hosting Companies without any Downtime

The thought of moving to a new web hosting company can make a lot of people nervous, especially if you don’t have any technical knowledge of how web hosting works. The prospect of transferring web site files from your old host to your new host can strike fear and trepidation in even the most seasoned web professional. It is not a simple process but if you take the necessary precautions you can make sure the transition is as smooth as possible.

1. First, you need to research and find your new hosting provider. If you have already done this then you can skip to step 2. When looking around, make sure that they have the features that you require in order for your website to function properly. For example, if your site requires that the new server can handle .asp you need to make sure that your new host offers Windows web hosting. You should create a checklist of things that you MUST have. An example of this is:
   1. Web Server Platform
      1. Windows. This is required if your site was developed in .asp or asp.net.
      2. Linux/Unix. This is required if your site was developed in .php.
      3. Note: If your site was developed in straight forward static .html then the server platform is probably not that important to you. Server platforms are more important if your site is dynamic or it displays information taken from a database.
   2. Disk Space Requirements
      1. How much space does your current site use? This is usually measured in megabytes (mb). You can check your current host’s stats through your control panel.
         If you are unsure you should contact your host to find out the exact space that you are using. Make sure you take into account any space used for your database if you are using one on your site.
   3. Traffic Requirements
      1. Your website traffic is the measures in megabytes (mb) or gigabytes (1,000 megabytes or mb). Most hosts offer a generous amount of traffic, usually measured in multiple gigabytes. In order to find out how much traffic you current site uses you can login to your current host’s control panel and find out. If in doubt you should always contact your current host to find out the specific traffic used.
   4. Email Requirements
      1. You should count up your current email accounts that you are using and make sure your new host offers that many accounts with your web hosting package. Most of the large web hosting companies out there offer “unlimited email accounts”. This means exactly what it says. You get an unlimited quantity of email accounts at your disposal. Now, do you really need that many? More than likely you don’t, but you can never have too many, just in case you need them later.
   5. Database Requirements (if any)
      1. If your website serves any dynamic content it is more than likely driven by some sort of database. You should find out if your site uses any database from your current hosting company or your website developer. There are two main types of databases available:
         1. SQL Server. This is a Windows based database.
         2. MySQL. This is primarily found on Unix/Linux servers but is also available for Windows systems
   6. Any other Special Requirements
      1. 1. Does your site require anything else in order for it to function properly?  Some examples are:
            1. Web forms. Do the contact forms or other forms on your site require any components or special software installed on the web server?
            2. 3rd party components. Some sites need special software installed on the web server in order for it to work correctly. If you are unsure
               you should contact your website’s developer to see if there are any required.
            3. SSL. If you have an ecommerce site or collect private data you probably have a SSL Cert installed for your site. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and is used to protect sensitive data. You will either need to transfer your current SSL cert to the new host or get a new one installed. There
               is usually a 3rd party fee to purchase an SSL cert but sometimes they are included with some web hosting packages.
   7. Special note about overages: When researching for a new web hosting company you should always find out about overage charges. This is taken into account if your account ever uses more disk space or web traffic then you are allocated. More than likely your site won’t go over but you should find out just in case.
2. Once you have decided on your new web host you should download all of your website files off of your current web host. You will do this with your
   FTP program. You will need to make sure that your FTP program downloads everything that you need in order for your site to work correctly. You should verify that no files were missed when downloading them via FTP. There have been occasions where I have seen some FTP programs skip files and not tell you about them. This can
   sometimes happen when your internet connection is intermittingly down or slow. To verify that you have the correct files downloaded you can check the quantity of files and the total file size of your entire website. You then have your current host check and let you know as well. If you have access to the web server you can also check this yourself. Checking on your file size and quantity is only if you want to be VERY sure that you have everything downloaded properly. Many times you can verify if you have everything downloaded by performing the next step.
3. Download your database (if any). This can get fairly complex and you need to do this carefully. The technical aspects of this are beyond the scope of this article so it is best if you follow best practices from the database vendor.
   1. Once you have transferred over your database to your new host and it is operating properly you should update the database connection string on your old host to your new hosting provider’s database. That way the data is always updated between the two hosts and you won’t have to synchronize them after you have made you domain’s DNS change. The synchronizing of the two databases is possibly the only amount of downtime your site will see during your web hosting switch. You should make sure that no data is lost while performing this synchronization. This can happen on very active sites where changes are made to the site’s database constantly. If your site is that active then the best solution is to take down the database portion of your site while you are synchronizing. The amount of downtime that your site experiences depends on several factors such as the size of the database, how quickly you can set it up at the new host and if there are any data issues
      while synching up. If you are unsure how to do any of this you should contact a web developer.
4. Upload your downloaded files to your new web host.
   Once again you will need to do this using FTP. By now you should have received the FTP login information from your new host. Make sure you follow their directions on where to upload your new files. There are a few things to consider when uploading your website’s files:
   1. Is there any sensitive data that you don’t want others to view online? If your site has password-protected directories or files you need to make sure that you set these up at your new host as well.
   2. Do you need to have special read/write/delete permissions set on directories or files on your site? If you have a dynamic website that allows images or other files to be uploaded by you or your website’s visitors then you might need to have read/write or delete permissions set on your new host.
   3. Any other special settings that you had at your old host that you will need at your new host? If in doubt you can ask your current host or web developer if you used one.
5. Upload your database (if any). This is where you will need to setup your existing database onto your new host’s database server. You should follow the directions provided by your new host and/or database provider.
6. Test your site at the new host. Some hosting providers supply testing or temporary urls so that you can view your site online before you switch your domain’s DNS (domain name server) settings. By viewing your site on a temp URL you can effectively test your site at your new host before you make it “live” with the DNS change. There is nothing worse than making your site live and then discovering issues with it after. It is much better to test everything thoroughly before your final switchover.
7. Setup your email accounts at your new host.
   You should get together a list of email addresses that you have from your current host and then add them at your new host. If you don’t have a list of your email addresses you can login to your control panel and access them or contact your current hosting provider for a list of your email addresses. You should try to keep the same passwords if possible. That way you don’t have to change too many of them on your email programs (ie: Outlook). You will also have to update your email program’s incoming or outgoing mail server settings if they are different with your new host. You should have received your email settings from your welcome email from your new hosting provider.
8. Change your domain’s DNS settings. Once you have made 100% sure that your website is operating properly at your new host and that all of your email addresses are setup you can then make the necessary DNS changes on your domain name. You should have received the DNS names from your new host in the welcome email they sent to you. DNS entries are entered at your domain’s registrar. This is where you most likely purchased your domain name. DNS changes can either take effect instantly or take 24-72 hours to fully propagate across the internet.
   1. We suggest that you make the DNS change on a Friday night. That way when you get to work on Monday the DNS changes will have propagated by then and you can avoid checking your email at your old host and your new host. The only effective way to check for your email at your old host AFTER the DNS change has been made is to check it through your old host’s webmail. This is because some ISP’s DNS settings might not have been updated yet and they are still looking at your old DNS settings, thus sending your site traffic and emails to your old host.
   2. NOTE:If you have more than one domain pointing to your site make sure you update those as well. For example, many .com sites also have .net or .org domain names pointing to the main .com site. Make sure their dns settings or forwarding rules are going to the new host as well.
9. Cancel your old hosting account. Once you have made your domain’s DNS settings and you are 100% sure that your site is working properly at your new host you shouldn’t cancel your old hosting account yet. You should wait around a week before you cancel. This is to make sure that your domain name has fully propagated across the entire internet. Once you are confident that this has been completed you can then cancel your account at your old host. That way you don’t get billed on your renewal date.
   1. ALWAYS make backup copies of your site before deleting anything. You should also keep archives of your site at different times just in case you need to return to old settings.
   2. It is always a good idea to delete your site’s files off your old host. Most hosts delete this information once you have cancelled but some do not.

If you follow the above steps carefully you should virtually eliminate as much downtime as possible with your switch to your new web hosting company.

Note: If you are at all uncomfortable with switching web hosts you should have someone else perform this task. If not done properly you can cause your site to be down or
damaged. You should contact your new host to see if they can assist you with your site’s transfer or hire a web developer to assist you in this process. Some web hosts will perform this service free of charge or some will charge a fee depending on the complexity and time requirements for the transfer.