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How to Migrate your website to a new hosting provider.
Last updated: 06/30/2009
So, you've had enough of your website hosting provider. Or perhaps you're moving your site from in-house to an outside host, or vice versa. In any case, you've got the unenviable task of migrating your company's website. While the prospect may seem daunting, the process is manageable when broken down into steps:
Preliminary Research
Here are Several questions must be answered before performing the migration:
Are the platforms compatible? This is sometimes (often?) overlooked by decision makers. All providers will support basic html, javascript, etc. However, if you site uses any applications (web forms, databases, calendars, etc.), you must check to make sure the old platform and the new are compatible. A short list of common languages used to code web applications includes: perl, php
, coldfusion, asp, jsp, C, java, etc. The basic rule of thumb is to check with your technical people on staff. If you don't have any technical people on staff, check with your "potential" provider. If all else fails, hire a consultant to help.
Do we own (and control) our domain? This is a technical issue of who is actually authorized to make changes to your DNS records. Usually, there is no problem here, but it's worth checking early on - an unscrupulous provider could temporarily hold your domain hostage, thus delaying the process. Make sure to verify those listed as "Contacts" on the domain, since the registrar will require any change requests to come from them. It's very important to also verify the response time for changes to domain records, since this will affect the migration of the site detailed later.
Is our email tied to our hosting provider? Email services are often bundled with web hosting. If this is true in your case, it's an added complexity to your move. Besides additional DNS changes, any mailboxes you have must be setup with the new provider - and there are potential configuration changes in the mail software used on your desktop (and all those in your company).
Are there any other services that might be impacted? This includes any other services hosted with your current or any other provider. For instance, does a third party serve web advertising banners to your site? Do you get news, weather, or other content for your site from another provider? Is some / all of your web content served from a database? Essentially, this is a "who might need to know that we are changing providers" list.
Making the move
Once you are confident with the above issues, it's time to plan the move. After you find a good hosting provider, moving a website consists of several basic steps: server configuation, moving files, testing / debugging, re-copying/freezing the site, and finally, changing the DNS pointer. Each of these steps is detailed below:
Server Configuration: This includes setting up the configuration files on the server to handle the site in the necessary manner. For example, turning on server side includes, setting up redirects, cgi capability, modules, etc. Generally, your new provider can answer any questions you have, and tune the configuration according to your needs. If your site is fairly simple, this shouldn't be a bit problem.
Moving Files: This is simply copying the files from one server to another, via ftp or some other copying protocol. Once the files are copied, some changes to the "Server configuration" may be necessary.
Testing / Debugging: This stage is the most important. A good test plan should be followed, making sure all aspects of the site are verified. The point of this step is to find and correct bugs before your customers do. Again, this step may point out the need for more configuration tweaks.
Re-copying / Freezing the site: Of course, while testing occurs, the live site continues to get visitors, and content changes. During the "cutover" period, changes to the live site should be frozen (as much as possible) and the files "re-copied" to the new site. You might consider a late night or early morning time to do the migration. A quick round of "testing" should occur, paying particular attention to trouble spots found previously.
DNS changes: Once the new site has been deemed "go" for launch, DNS changes must occur (Point www.domain.com to the IP address of the new server). Keep in mind that for a period of up to 24 hours, some people could still hit the "old copy" of the site. Dynamic content (eg. bulletin boards) should be disabled on the old site, to avoid missed posts. At this point, the site is effectively moved to the new server.
After the site move is completed, watch for any cleanup items that might have been missed during the move. After a few days with the new provider, call your old provider and cancel the service (do not call them before you have moved the site!).
Wrap up
The above steps provide a solid roadmap for performing a site migration. However, there is no substitute for proper planning and the right skills. If your in house staff is not technically able to handle the project, seek help from the new hosting provider, or from a third party firm. Follow these guidelines, and a smooth website migration is achievable.
