Your website is the face of your business, and users want it to show up the moment they click on it. In fact, most users expect your site to load in no more than two seconds. Even a one-second delay can cause a huge drop in sales.
So, depending on what you need to do in transferring your site to a new host, your site’s downtime can eventually affect your site. This is because you have to restore all-important databases, transfer your files, and configure your subdomain. It is to ensure that everything’s in working order.
What is Website Downtime?
Combined with the need to transfer your site files, restore essential databases, and keep every software installation and subdomain configuration all in working order, it could take up at least a day before your site could fully function again.
This inactivity is called downtime, or the time that your site isn’t available for use to function.
Why Is It Important That You Avoid Website Downtime?
In a highly competitive industry where new competitors are entering the market each day, it’s incredibly challenging to retain clients.
Thus, optimizing your site to perform better is vital. Site downtime isn’t optimal for your business as well. High-scale organizations eventually suffer from reputational and financial loss when downtime happens because of technical problems.
Therefore, you have to eliminate its impact. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways that you can potentially avoid disaster when you transfer your site to a new hosting server.
Here are some tactics that you can do to minimize your downtime:
1. Move first, cancel later
One of the most common mistakes many people make with web hosting or transferring sites between servers is immediately getting in touch with their old host, letting them know their decision to move their services to a new server.
Yes, it would be best if you promptly informed your old host about these future changes. However, doing this before the transition can result in downtime and a loss of files or database information from when you request to cancel.
2. Download backup files
You can get your compressed backup of database information and site files as soon as you log in to cPanel. It’s also essential to ensure that both the new and old web hosting companies have the same technology to give you peace of mind.
It also ensures that you don’t need to adjust to a new hosting environment altogether. When you align this technology, restoring and backing up your files is much easier.
3. Upload compressed files
Similarly, you can also upload compressed files on your server much faster than if they’re decompressed.
As soon as you make your first payment to the new server, it’s highly likely that you’ll get an email that contains important information such as their IP address information and domain name server.
4. Ensure the database is working
Your data backup files don’t have information such as passwords, usernames, or MySQL-related information. Instead, you must check and input these details on your MySQL interface via your cPanel.
This allows your software to run smoothly, especially if you’ve moved the domain name, so it usually reflects the revised host files. To make the process of migrating your site a smooth one, it helps that you work with reputable web development services.
5. Change the domain nameservers
As soon as you’re done with the migration process using a host file, you have to change the DNS so you can access content from a new hosting account.
To accomplish this, you can either get in touch with your new hosting provider to transfer the domain or change the DNS manually by accessing your account on the domain registrar’s website.
6. Cancel hosting with the old host
So maybe after 48 hours, your updated DNS is already fully functional. The next thing you need to do is get in touch with your old host and cancel your hosting account with them.
If you bought your domain name from the old host, don’t cancel your domain registration with them.
7. Use new domain name servers
As soon as you set up everything, the final step that you need to do is to switch to new name servers. You also need to ensure that you’ve done with the propagation, or you might risk losing your data or content.
In the same way, you also need to refrain from making any changes before the process is complete.
Over to You
So there you have it. Hopefully, by reading this, you’ll be able to migrate your site smoothly without any issues. If you’re a bit reluctant about the entire process, you might consider web hosting providers that provide free migration services. Doing so will exempt you from doing the task of manually migrating your site. Good luck!
Thursday, September 1, 2022