How to avoid downtime when we change the web hosting provider?

It is very obvious for any customer to change the service when they are not satisfied. It is applicable to web hosting business too when the customer service is not satisfying,or if any diskspace and bandwidth related issues exist. During this process, if we don’t have enough experience and skills, it might lead to downtime. This can be avoided if we follow certain steps. We will discuss about it here.

The very first step is to take a backup of all the files from the older server that has to be transferred to the new server. All the files such as images files, database files and text files have to be taken backup. Though it is hectic and a long process it is very important. For backing up DB files, the phpmyadmin in the control panel can be used and for transferring the other files, we can use FTP and transfer it to the local hard drive.

The next step is to upload the files into new server. During this upload process, making sure the path name is correct is very important. It is preferable to use database upload software for this process. When some error occurs in the file path, during the migration process, we will have to encounter the errors.

The third step is to add the email accounts to the new servers. After it is done, the 4^th step is to test the temporary mirror site on your new server. All aspects such as functionality, images everything has to be checked out. If any errors occur in the database connection etc in the mirror site we have to correct it immediately.

The last important step is to change the domain name. It means that we are instructing the registrars that we are changing the domain name. We can update the DNS servers. It is a common mistake to change the DNS beforehand. If this process carried out, then the site will be down during migration. After 48 hours the DNS will be updated after which we can access the site.