Online Business Q&A

QUESTION:

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but can you tell me how to change web hosts without my site going down? I don't make a lot of money and I need every sale that I can get.

ANSWER:

Hi there. Changing web hosts is actually pretty easy, and no, you don't need to have any downtime. Here's what you do:

1. Purchase a new hosting plan. Give yourself at least one week's grace, ie. if you're planning to change hosts when your account expires, make sure you get your new hosting account at least a week before your old account expires. This will give you a chance to get things set up and ready to go.

2. Your new web host should provide you with a temporary login ID and password that you can use to access your new server (usually done by IP address). Upload all of your files to your new server. Do not delete them from your old server quite yet.

3. Change the DNS settings for your domain, to match those your new web host provides you with. You do this through your domain registrar -- the company with which you purchased your domain name.

4. Consider making a small change to one of your web pages, then upload that page to the new server only. This will make it easy for you to see when your site is being displayed from your new server.

5. Wait. It normally takes 24-72 hours for the change in DNS to propagate. Once your domain has migrated to its new server, you can delete the files from your old server (or just wait for your old hosting account to expire).