Safely Change Web Hosting Providers

There sometimes comes a situation where a webmaster might have to change web hosting providers due to issues. These issues can range from bandwidth issues, pricing or even lack of specific features. Regardless of the issue you must properly migrate your website between hosting providers without affecting your current search engine rankings. This article is designed to help you understand how to change web hosting providers without hurting your search engine ranking.

The Common Migrating Issue

One of the most common problems with changing web hosting providers is down time. If not done properly your website might not be accessible for hours or even days. This is because it takes time for name servers around the word to register the new name server settings for your domain name. If a search engine crawler comes to your website too many times and it’s not accessible it can drop you from the search engine results and even start de-indexing your website. You want to make sure to properly migrate your website and prevent any issues of down time.

Proper Web Hosting Migration

The actual process of a successful migration is quite simple. Even the most novice webmaster can understand the process and perform it properly. We’re going to take advantage of the fact that primary name servers worldwide take time to register the new domain name server information. The first step is to NOT make any changes to your domain name server settings; in fact that will be the last step during migration. You’ll first want to setup your new hosting account with the new provider. Don’t worry about transferring your domain name to their registrar; just keep your current one. Get the account setup and make sure it’s active and ready to display your web pages.

You’ll then want to start transferring over your web pages, database, and whatever else you need to display your website properly. Do physical checks with the website preview button or preview the URL provided by your new web hosting company. Once you’re satisfied that the new website is working properly then you can change the domain name server settings. Make sure to wait at least 72 hours before you remove the web pages from the old hosting provider. You want to make sure that any old primary name servers pointing to the old web hosting provider can still show the website. I personally wait one week before I delete my website and cancel the web hosting account.

Remember, even though you might see the new website within the first 72 hours other people might not due to using different primary name servers; this includes search engine crawlers. By follow these simple steps you’ll be able to prevent any downtime during your migration and prevent any negative effect on your search engine positioning. This is a simple and effective way to make sure you properly migrate your website.