Transferring your Website without losing it – How-to
You may at one point in time, like to change or switch hosting providers for whatever reasons there is. And you want your website to be transferred without a hitch. Most web hosting companies will not offer to transfer your website to one of their competitors’. So how do you actually do that without losing your files and databases?
It is actually quite easy for you to do it. All you need is a little (no make it a lot of) patience and a little technical know how.
Here’s how you can do it:
Make a backup copy of all your files and databases and save it into your local storage. Use a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client to achieve that process. Once you are logged into the FTP account, all you need to do is to copy-and-paste the whole thing within the file directory into your local hard disk.
I will presume you have chosen your new web hosting company for the next task. And of course will have already opened an account with them. The next thing is to transfer all your backup files into the new hosting account.
There maybe a need for you to configure and fix a few minor coding in your files as there is a possibility that the new host doesn’t have the same directory settings as your previous host. So do just that.
After you do that, it is time for you to transfer your domain name NS server to the new host’s NS server. If you have a domain name management control panel, you can just transfer it directly from there by renaming the NS servers. If not, then you’ll have to contact your registrar and tell them about the changes.
Do remember that the DNS will only be updated around 72 hours’ time. It may take up less that than, but whose counting?
In the meantime you still have time to make final adjustments to your website. Test every page and make sure all the coding are correct and no errors shows up. If you have any extra software to be installed, now is also the time. You want your website to be ready once the DNS propagates. Test, test, test. That is the keyword.
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