Changing Web Hosts
By Richard Lowe2005-09-19
What do you need to do regularly?
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Backup your site - You should perform all edits to your pages on your own computer and upload them to your site. Never edit your site pages directly. This, by it's very nature, ensures that a copy of your site always exists on your own computer system.
However, you may also have databases stored on your web site which do not originate from your computer. These might include mailing lists, demographic data, links and other similar things. These items must all be copied to your own hard drive on a regular basis.
You can set up your favorite FTP program to do scheduled downloads of selected databases, or you can just manually copy them on a regular basis.
In addition, your web host should be backing your site up daily. In many instances, these backups are available to your as downloadable zip files. Be sure and copy these down to your system once in a while - perhaps once a week.
Don't forget about such things as autoresponders, CGI routines and anything else which you may enter at your site control panel. You must ensure that you have a backup of everything.
Keep a log - Be sure you know everything that you've done to your site. You should list all of your autoresponders and their names, track any subdomains which you have set up, and anything else which you may do. This way if you have to change you can recreate your site quickly and efficiently.
Only use a domain name - Always reference your site via a domain name which you have purchased and control. Never, ever use the URL provided by your web host, as tempting as this can be at times. I ran into a situation where my web host URL was somehow entered into a number of search engines, and I discovered I was getting tens of thousands of hits from these URLs. This forced me to keep paying for the old site after I switched hosts, just to be able to redirect the traffic to my new site.
Make sure you register your domain elsewhere - The first time I registered a domain name, it seemed so convenient to just use my web hosts domain registration service. What I didn't know is they became the registrar, and it was a nightmare getting the domain transferred to a different one. By registering the domain at a different company, you will most likely get a better price, and you will gain independence from your web host.
Scope out a few hosts in advance - Even if you are completely happy with your current web host, at least take a few minutes and have a few names ready just in case. This way if you are forced to move, you have a pretty good idea of where.
Article Pages:
» Changing Web Hosts
» Getting Ready to Move
» What do you need to do regularly?
» Moving To A Different Host
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» Points to Consider For Shifting to Dedicated Servers
» How to Get the Ultimate Web Hosting Deal
» Essential Ingredients of Every Linux Hosting Plan
» Backing up Your Website With Cpanel
» Make The Move To Multiple Domain Hosting
» How To Figure Out How Much Disk Space You Need For Your Website
» Web Hosting - Cheaper and Easier for Small Businesses
» Dedicated Server Hosting - The Features and Benefits of Using Dedicated Servers
» Checkouts & Security: Your Web Host is Key
» Web Hosting Control Panel Options