Although many hosting providers can guarantee you the basic service of giving your business a presence on the Internet, you may find that you want to switch your Web site to another hosting provider that can give you a better deal or will accommodate your needs more. Whatever the reason, there are a few steps you can follow that will ensure that you have the smoothest move possible and hopefully with no downtime.
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After you purchase the new plan, let the new host know you'll be switching your site over from another company. At this point, you'll be dealing with two Web hosting providers. It's your choice whether you want to let your current hosting provider know about your planned switch, but it's not unheard of for some less professional hosts to prematurely terminate your account, so use your discretion if you're worried about downtime.
Using a basic FTP program download all the files used in your Web site, including graphics and html files and upload them to your new account. Since you haven't made your domain name change yet, upload your site files using an IP address from the new host or request that they create a subdomain for temporary use from their domain, like newcustomer.hostingcompany.com. Even though they won't work yet, you can also set up all of the email accounts on your domain. Don't forget to create a catchall address to that emails won't bounce.
Now that you have all your files on both hosting accounts, you can safely change your domain name's DNS information. You should ask your new Web host for its name server information and then contact your domain registrar and ask them to make the changes for you. If you're unsure about what you're looking for, a DNS looks like this:
ns1.webhostname.com ns2.webhostname.com
Once your DNS changes have been made, it takes approximately two days for your Web site to load off the new host. This period is called propagation and is simply the time it takes for all the DNS servers around the world to take note of your domain's new location. After this is complete, you can safely cancel your account with your old hosting provider.
If this seems to complicated, some Web hosts will switch over your files and domain name for you when you sign up for a new plan, so ask around about services regarding transferring Web sites while you're doing your research.
