Moving Your Web Site to SimpleNet: 5 Easy Steps
Moving your web site can be a daunting task when considering the work that must be done regarding your site, email, and domain name. Let's face it though, no web site owner should put up with poor customer service, a less than reliable product, or an inability to scale a successful web presence. The best way to avoid possible downtime and lost data is to take the following steps.
STEP 1: Sign up with SimpleNet, but don't yet initiate a domain name server change
Basically, you should have all of your destinations ready for the transfer of information. This way, your directory structure and its contents are fresh in your mind. In a nutshell, you will download your site to your computer, then upload it to SimpleNet. The reason that you don't transfer the domain yet is because you must get two copies of your site running; one on your old host and one on SimpleNet.
STEP 2: Download an exact copy of your site to your computer
One of the easiest ways to do this is to use FTP to download all of your current files to your computer. Be very careful that you don't overwrite information, since you may have working files on your computer that have yet to be uploaded to your site servers. Be sure to grab ALL of your web site files so that you have a replica of your site on your computer. And, remember to maintain the directory structure that you have created with your live site.
STEP 3: Upload an exact copy to SimpleNet
Because you aren't ready to set up your domain name, you must use what SimpleNet has provided for uploading files, such as an IP address or temporary sub-domain. Your temporary domain name allows you to work on your new site before moving your domain. Once you have uploaded your site to SimpleNet, be sure to test it thoroughly. This includes clicking on every link and using every function of your site. If you make changes, be sure to download them to your computer to keep your backup copy updated. You can also set up your email accounts with SimpleNet. During your domain name propagation, you will have to check email at both your old and new host to make sure that you don't miss any incoming email.
STEP 4: Initiate a name server change for your domain
Once your mirror site is completely tested you can initiate the name server location change. You will need to contact your domain registrar, the organization with whom you registered your domain, and provide them with the names of your new name servers. From the time that you have initiated this process, leave your site running in both locations for about a week to make sure that the domain name has fully propagated. Traffic will be directed to your old host until all domain name servers in the world know that it has been moved. This is called propagation and can take up to 7 days. At the end of this period it will be safe to discontinue hosting with your old company.
STEP 5: Cancel account with your old host
Now that your site has fully propagated, your web site traffic and email should be arriving at SimpleNet, and hosted on our revolutionary architecture that provides the cleanest and most effective path to your web site. Couple that with our incredible products and you'll find that SimpleNet is the only choice for your web site's success.
We hope that this article has been beneficial for you. Please feel free to view our shared hosting plans or contact SimpleNet by calling toll-free, 1-888-243-3225.
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