Transferring Web Hosts

If you are not computer literate moving your files to another host will most likely be a challenge for you. This is just one of the hurdles you must jump, as you may find that your hosting provider will not want to let you go as a customer. It is a good idea to follow these guidelines to assure that your move is as stress-free as possible.

It would be wise before you choose to transfer files to a new web host to do your proper research. One thing to make sure your new host includes enough space / bandwidth, 24/7 technical support, you can easily upgrade, and most importantly backups all of your files automatically.

Downloading all your files to your computer is your next step. All you have to do is login to your current host and FTP your files on the server and transfer them to a location on your computer. If your site uses WordPress or another database platform then before canceling your account with the current host make sure that you create a copy of that database.

Your third step is to change the nameservers. To do this log in to you domain register account and locate the DNS settings and change them to your new host's nameservers. It should take anywhere between 24-48 hours before your site is public with the new server settings.

Uploading your files to the new web host is your next step after changing the nameservers. With the help of an FTP program simply locate the files you downloaded and copy them to the root folder of your new server. Type your domain name in any browser to check if the transfer was successful.

After transferring your files to your new web host, your last step is to cancel your old web host account. Before you do this however, make absolutely sure that you have copied all of your files or you will lose them permanently.