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Web Hosting Migration Services
It happens. Sometimes your website just outgrows your web hosting service provider’s capabilities and you’ll want to move to one that can meet your needs. The thing is, moving from one hosting provider to another isn’t as simple as moving files from one drive to another. Proper technical diagnostics, planning and execution are essential to minimize disruptions in your website’s operations.
SearchWorks provides comprehensive web domain hosting migration services to guarantee a smooth transition from one provider to another. We have highly experienced web developers on our team who’ll listen to your needs, assess your technical situation and present you with an action plan to get your website to its new home. Of course, we also have the technical expertise to make it all happen while you sit back and focus on what’s most important: growing your enterprise.
What is Web Hosting Migration?
Web hosting migration is the process of moving a website from one service provider to another. This is different from a simple hosting plan upgrade or downgrade as a website will need to be moved from one service provider’s servers to another.
Hosting migrations require an intermediate level of web development expertise. When done correctly, a hosting migration will cause minimal disruptions in a website’s uptime and will barely be noticeable to its users. A poorly executed web hosting migration, on the other hand, can result in lengthy downtimes to the website as well as significant traffic and revenue loss.
Reasons to Switch Hosting Providers
There are several possible reasons why a webmaster might want to switch from one hosting service provider to another. Here are the most common ones:
- Insufficient Resources Offered. CPU resources, memory, storage space or bandwidth are all essential specifications that need to meet a website’s needs. More often than not, a hosting plan can accommodate a website’s requirements at the beginning of its life cycle. However, as the number of its pages grow and the volume of traffic that it attracts swells, the hosting plan may need to be upgraded. Sometimes, however, hosting services may not have the right service plan for a website. In a scenario like this, the webmaster may opt to take his show on the road.
- Heavy Traffic Volumes. As a website gets more popular and it starts receiving tens of thousands of visits per day, regular hosting plans may no longer suffice. At this stage, virtual private servers (VPS) or cloud hosting solutions may be the way to go.
- Technical Issues. If your hosting service slows down your page load speeds, exposes your website to cyber-attacks or has frequent downtimes, you’ll definitely want to move to a service provider that offers you a safe and stable environment to house your website in.
- Poor Customer Service. If your hosting provider is unhelpful, unresponsive or generally unreliable during times of need, that’s a red flag. Start planning your exit and look for a service provider that will value your business more.
- Pricing. Pricing should definitely be a basic consideration when you’re pondering a possible move. If you’re getting a better deal for similar or better services elsewhere, don’t pay more for your current plan.
What to Look for in Web Hosting Services
If you’ve decided to move your website to another hosting provider, there are a few essential areas that you should check before you commit. Here are the things to consider prior to your hosting migration:
- A Strong Track Record. Read reviews and forum discussions about your shortlisted hosting service providers. Most will have information on the pros and cons of each brand. Most of the popular and well-established players should get a ton of feedback, though you might discover hidden gems as well.
- Appropriate Service Plans. Most web hosting solution providers will have diverse service plans to accommodate specific needs. Small websites like blogs can be accommodated by simple shared hosting plans, while bigger websites like online stores might need a little more oomph in the form of virtual private servers (VPS) or cloud-based hosting plans.
- Good Customer Service. A good web hosting solution will go out of its way to be reachable to its subscribers whenever they need assistance. When looking at different hosting options, find ones that offer email, phone and chat support so you can get an immediate response for every concern.
- Data Centers Near You. Web hosting technology has come a long way in the past couple of decades, but one performance factor that hasn’t been fully overcome yet is latency due to geography. To this day, data can be transmitted more quickly from servers to user devices if the two are geographically close to each other. In other words, it makes more sense to host a Philippine-targeted website in Singapore than it does to host the same website in servers located in a US data center.
- Helpful Features. In this day and age, the hosting provider you choose should have servers that run on SSDs and other up-to-date technologies. If the service provider throws in cool freebies such as cPanel use, free SSL certificates and domain names for a limited amount of time, all the better for you.
- Fair Pricing. With web hosting, it’s counter-productive to penny pinch since this is a crucial service for running your business. That said, you shouldn’t let yourself get ripped off either. Consult your web developer on what your website’s exact needs are and go for an option that covers your requirements with the least amount of fees involved.
The Web Hosting Migration Process
A web hosting migration operation can be made straightforward by following the process below:
- Technical Assessment. An analysis of the website’s technical makeup and configuration to ensure it can be properly decoupled from the current web host and transferred safely to a new one.
- Hosting Provider Selection. Once the website is deemed safe to move, the search for an appropriate new host will begin.
- Website Backup. At the beginning of the web hosting migration process, the website will be backed up so it can be restored in the event that something unexpected happens.
- Website Transfer. Our web developers will now be transferred in earnest to its new host and tested in a staging environment to make sure it looks exactly the way it did in its old host.
- Deployment and Post-Launch. After previewing the website in its staging environment and securing client approval to move it to the live URL of the website, the launch will be scheduled. The website will then be closely monitored for the next five days for any unforeseen glitches or hiccups.
If you need help in moving your website to a new host and you don’t have the in-house resources to execute it, call SearchWorks right away.
