Hosting migration is a free service on Hostjaer.com for all clients. It does not require you to open a ticket or contact customer service. We do it professionally and in the shortest time possible.
Moving your website hosting may look like a complicated exercise for customers who do not understand. However, it is simple as long as you know the process and follow it to the latter. This article will guide you on what to do to move your website from your previous hosting to the other. All this will happen without downtime on your website.
Before you begin, do not cancel your website hosting account before you complete the process. You might not be happy with their services, but you have to wait until the last part is done. The process must go uninterrupted until you confirm your last file has been successfully moved to the new hosting service provider. If possible, test it to see if everything works on the new web hosting before moving on.
Follow the following process to effect the movement to the new hosting service provider without downtime.
Sign Up on the New Hosting
Once you settle on the new web hosting service provider, create an account. Settle on a package you want based on your website needs and move to the next phase.
Create a Back-up for the Files in Your Old Hosting Account
Depending on the amount of data from the website, it can take as low as 2 minutes to 2 hours. Internet and processing speed also influence the speed of data back-up. On the old web hosting account, download all the files through FTP and back up all data. Even with the back-up, you cannot cancel the old web host account.
Upload the Files on the New Web Host
Move all the files to the new web host using FTP. Be patient until all the data is successfully uploaded to the new web host.
Create Email Accounts You Used on the Old We Host
Emails are important as they contain all important information passing through the domain. Create the same email addresses on the new web host to avoid losing data while moving servers. Once successfully done, all the emails from the older server automatically match with the new ones. Ensure that the emails are a replica of the ones on the old account for a better match.
Counter-Check all the Files and Web Links
You must confirm if all the web links are working after the migration. Moving files might alter the link, or some pages might not move properly. To ensure that all the links are working, create a temporal subdomain to mirror the real website. If they have moved and propagated well, all links will work effectively, after which you can move them to the actual website. Good web hosts easily facilitate the creation of a temporal URL which you can use to test the site.
Change Your Domain Name Server (DNS)
Before you proceed to this phase, ensure that all your files from the old web host are properly and correctly uploaded. They should be working, including all the links. If confirmed, you can now change the DNS. The new web host will give you the unique DNS setting for this exercise. They come in an easy-to-cram format, i.e., ns1.domainname.com, ns2.domaine.com. However, check with the new web host for the DNS codes since each has a unique DNS.
DNS are the address pointers to the new web hosting servers. You have to get them right to make the transfer seamless. You should also change the DNS for the domain name by login into the registrar’s cPanel to change it from the servers. If the old web host doubled up as your domain name registrar, go back to their cPanel and change the DNS entries.
Wait Until the DNS Fully Propagates
Once you have changed the DNS, wait for the domain to propagate. Depending on the server speed, the process takes 10 minutes and 48 hours. When all this is happening, your website is still live and uses the old web host as the anchor host. Once the propagation completes, the new web host takes over the hosting. All online requests move to the new web host automatically. The transfer between the two hosts is seamless, and you will never witness any downtime.
Cancel Your Old Web Host
The end in propagation halts the usage of the old web host. Even with the confirmation, ensure you give it 48 hours before you move to cancel the account. More importantly, ensure the domain name is resolving from the new web host before terminating your activities on the old web host.
Summary
If you follow these steps, you can transfer your website and all its files from one web host to another. However, if you need help and want to move your website to hostjaer.com, contact us, and we will help you move it for free.
Check out our web hosting packages and select one that fits your profile.