Switching to a new host can be a very smooth process, or it can be very complicated. Following these steps will ensure that your move is a painless one.
The first step is to find the new host you want to be with and join them. Make sure not to cancel with your old hosting provider, and do not tell them you will be cancelling. For the time being, your switching host needs to be kept a secret from them, or they could terminate your site early and cause downtime.
At this point, you should have to host accounts with two old and new hosting providers. You will now upload your entire site from the old host to the new one. This can be done by connecting to their FTP and downloading all your files. Then connect to the new host with FTP and upload all your files. If you choose to make us your new host, we will transfer your entire site free of charge! (providing the old host is a CPanel account).
After you have all your files on both hosting accounts, you will change your domain name DNS. Your new host should have provided their domain name servers (DNS). If they haven't, contact them to find out what DNS you should use for your domain name.
DNS usually looks like this:
ns1.thehostsnames.com
ns2.thehostsnames.com
Once you know what DNS to use on your domain name, you will go to wherever you purchased the domain name from to make the changes. If you purchased your domain name from your host, you would usually need to ask them to make the DNS changes. You will tell them this....
"Hello my domain with you is ____, my username is ___, and my password _____ please change my domain names DNS to ns1.thednsyoureceived.com and ns2.thednsyoureceived.com
If you have any questions, we would be happy to help you or even make the DNS changes.
Once your DNS changes have been made, you will need to wait two days before your site will load off the new host. During these two days, your DNS is prorogating worldwide, and your site will randomly bounce from the old host to the new host every other minute. Once the two days are up, your site will be fully loaded on the new host server.
Forty-eight (48) hours should have passed since you updated your DNS. If it has, you will now contact the host you were moving from and cancel your account with them.
If you completed all the above steps, you have successfully switched hosts with no downtime!
