How to shift to a new web host

Contrary to complicated belief, moving your site to a new web host is easy. We will give you the steps you need to take to move your web site from one web host to another. Following these steps will ensure that your site is moved as quickly as possible, while also minimizing (or even eliminating) the need for any site downtime. Below are the details that you will be likely to know.

Front your existing web host,

I f you are using FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to move your site:

• Your existing site's IP address
• Your FTP user name
• Your FTP password

If you are using FrontPage to move your site:

• Your FrontPage user name
• Your FrontPage password

From your domain registrar

• Your domain log in details (if required by your registrar)

From your new web host

If you are using FTP to move your site:

• Your new site's IP address
• Your FTP user name
• Your FTP password

If you are using FrontPage to move your site:

• Your FrontPage user name
• Your FrontPage password

A list of the name servers your new site will use (usually two) email. If your previous web host allowed you to receive email addressed to a user at your domain (such as tom@my.domain or harry@my.domain) and your new web host also offers this service, you will need to create an email account on your new web host for each of the email accounts on your old web host.

The reason for doing this is because within a short period of time after you have transferred your domain, email will stop being directed to your old web host, and will instead get directed to your new web host. If your new web host is not configured to accept mail at the same addresses as your old web host, the email may not be able to be delivered, and will be returned to the sender. Configuring your new email accounts in advance of transferring your domain name allows you to avoid this situation, and ensures that no mail is lost.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is provided by web hosts nearly universally and you will almost certainly have FTP access to both your existing and new web hosts. FTP is perhaps the most desirable mechanism to use when moving your site because it allows you to avoid the need for any site downtime.

If you do not already have a copy of your web site on your home or office computer, the first step in moving your site is to download a copy from your existing web host. At the end of this process, you should have a folder on your computer containing your entire web site, and using your web browser to open any of the `html' files contained in this folder should display the page correctly.

Once you have verified that you have a working copy of your site on your home or office computer, you are ready to upload your site to your new web host. you now need to connect to the FTP server of your new web host, and log in using the user name and password details which they have provided.

If you have previously used Microsoft FrontPage to publish your web site, it is advisable that you continue to do so, as many of the FrontPage specific features will not work if you upload using FTP.

Before transferring your domain name, it is advisable to set up email accounts with your new web host which correspond to the email accounts on your old web host. Section 2 contains more information on this. If your site makes use of a database, it is also a good idea to transfer its contents across before transferring your domain name. Appendix A contains further information on databases.

Although "domain name" and "web site" are often used interchangeably, the domain name of your site is independent of the site itself. The real address of your web site which your computer sees will be a number of (at most) 12 digits, such as 192.168.1.1. Most of us have trouble remembering more than a few of these numbers, so for convenience, domain names are used when referencing web sites.

Transferring your domain name involves modifying your domain name record (controlled by your domain registrar) so that instead of pointing to the address of your web site on your old web host, it points to the address of your site on your new web host. This sounds daunting, but in reality is quite straight forward.

It is likely that you will be able to transfer your domain name by visiting your domain registrar's web site. If you are unsure of who your domain registrar is, you can find out by visiting a site such as http://www.icthus.net/CGI-City/demo/ccwhois and doing a whois lookup on your domain name. Once you have done this, you will be presented with a page of information about your domain name, including the name of your domain registrar. If the web site of your domain registrar is not listed here, you should be able to find it by searching for the name of the registrar with your favorite search engine.

Once you have found your domain registrar's web site, you will need to modify the settings for your domain. While the exact procedure for doing this will vary between different domain registrars, it would normally involve filling out a form containing your new domain settings. During this process, you will need to provide the name servers which were given to you by your new web host, and you may also be required to log in using the details which you would have been given by your domain registrar when you first registered your domain name.

If you have any problems transferring your domain name, your domain registrar should be your first point of contact. They will be able to provide you with specific information on how to transfer your domain to your new web host.