How to Change Web Hosts
So, you have decided to switch web hosts. It is recommended you
start the process at least a few days before the time runs out
on the account with your present host. This will keep your
website from experiencing any downtime between the move.
The first thing to do, after you have searched and
found a new web host, is create a backup of your website.
Make a new folder somewhere on your computer. Using your
favorite FTP program, such as WS_FTP or Cute FTP (these and
other FTP programs can be obtained at download.com), download
all the files and folders on your website to the new folder you
just made on your computer while maintaining the same folder and
file structure (this will be important when uploading your files
and folders onto your new host's server later). Make a note of
any special chmod permissions you have set on any file or folder
(look in your FTP program's help documents for information on
checking a folder or file's chmod permissions). You will need to
reset the permissions after you upload your files and folders to
your new web host's server.
If you have any scripts or programs that you made a database
for, make a backup of each database. If you have a
database other than MySQL, check with your present web host for
instructions on backing up your database. If you don't have any
databases, you can skip these instructions.
If your web host offers phpMyAdmin, log in to your control panel
and go to the database section. Look for a link to phpMyAdmin
and click on it. If required, log in using the username and
password you gave for your database. If you assigned a different
username and password for each database, you will have to repeat
this process for each database. After you log in, click on
"databases" and then click on the database you want to
backup/export. Click "Export" on the top menu.
If you are using phpMyAdmin 2.4.0, highlight all the tables
under "View dump (schema) of database." Make sure the "Structure
and data" radio button is selected. Check "Save as file" and
select either "zipped" or "gzipped." Click "Go" and save the
file (it would be a good idea to create a new folder in which to
save all your databases).
If you are using phpMyAdmin 2.6.0-pl1, highlight all the tables
under "Export." Check the "Structure" and "Data" boxes and
select "SQL" under the tables you highlighted. Check "Save as
file" and under "Compression" select either "zipped" or
"gzipped." Click "Go" and save the file. (it would be a good
idea to create a new folder in which to save all your
databases). If you don't have phpMyAdmin, you can backup your
database using mysqldump
.
Next, setup your databases.
If you have MySQL databases, log in to your control panel. Go to
the database section and create databases. Also, assign
usernames and passwords for the databases (if you have a
database other than MySQL, check with your new web host for
instructions on creating and importing databases). Now, find the link to
phpMyAdmin. If required, log in using the usernames and
passwords you just created. If you assigned a different username
and password for each database, you will have to repeat this
process for each database. After logging in, click on
"databases" and select a database by clicking on it. From the
top menu, click "SQL."
Go to the folder you saved your databases in and select the
database that corresponds to the one you have open in
phpMyAdmin. Open the file and copy and paste the database in the
large text area in phpMyAdmin. Click "Go" under the text area
field. You can also use the browse button to find the file on
your computer and click "Go" below the browse field. If you
don't see any errors, with whichever method you chose, you have
just successfully imported the database. If you have more than
one database, go back and
repeat this process for each one, starting with logging in with
your database username and password. If you don't have
phpMyAdmin, you can use this m
ethod to create your databases.
You may need to edit some files before uploading them in the
next step, by changing MySQL database name, username and
password settings within the files, if any information has
changed. If you don't remember which files contain MySQL
settings, check the installation instructions for each
script/program.
Next, upload the
files from the folder in which you saved your website
content onto the new web host's server, maintaining the same
folder and file structure, using your FTP program. The only
difference in structure may be the location of the cgi-bin. Some
web hosts have your cgi-bin inside the www or public_html
directory and some have it placed outside. If you had any
programs or scripts on your website, you may need to edit some
files by changing paths within them. If you don't remember which
files contain paths that may need to be changed, check the
installation instructions for each script/program. Also, change
any file or folder permissions as needed (look in your FTP
program's help documents for information on changing a folder or
file's chmod permissions).
The final step is to point your domain name to your new
web host's name servers. This information probably came in an
email from your new web host soon after you registered with
them. If not, send them an email asking them what the name
servers are for your domain. Once you have this information, go
to the website where you have your domain name registered. Log
in to your account and set the name servers for your domain.
Please note that changes to name servers may take as much as a
couple of days to take effect. If you still have a few days left
on your old account, your website shouldn't experience any
downtime. Once the name servers change has taken effect, cancel
the account with your old host (this is so you don't get charged
for another term). That's it. You have successfully switched web
hosts.