What happens if your website loads slowly, or your customers visit your site only to spend ages waiting for a page to load? Or when they go to place an order, they have to sit and watch a spinning screen for so long that they change their mind and order from another website instead?
It has been said that getting married, moving house, and changing jobs are the three most stressful things in life. But if you happen to be a Web Developer, there is one more thing that is arguably just as much of a headache: migrating your Web Hosting. Today, Relevant Audience is going to share methods and techniques, holding nothing back, that will let you switch to new Hosting easily in just 7 steps. We guarantee that once you finish reading this, you will be able to follow along right away.
Step 1: Choose a New Host You Can Trust
If the basic troubleshooting on your website has not improved your page speed, the best option we would recommend is switching to new Web Hosting. Choosing a Hosting provider should involve careful research and consideration. This step can be considered the most important one, because changing your Web Hosting frequently is hardly a happy prospect for your website. Currently, the available Hosting providers are as follows:
Our advice for choosing Hosting is to study and understand the nature of the website you are building, and whether you plan to do more with it in the future. For example, if you want your website to be an eCommerce site, meaning there will be buying and selling of products through the website, you may want to start with Private Hosting right from the outset, so you do not have to waste time redundantly migrating your Hosting later on.
Step 2: Install the Duplicator Plugin
After you have chosen a new host to migrate to, this step involves installing a plugin that helps move the data on your website to the new host. In this example, we will use the Duplicator plugin because it is free and easy to use.
Once you have installed the Duplicator plugin, go to Duplicator >> Packages in the WordPress Admin Area, then click the Create New button.
Then click the Next button to create a new Package.
Check that every field shows a Good status, then click the Build button (this step will take a little while).
When it is finished, click the 'One Click Download' button and you will get the Archive Files from the data on your website along with the Installer.php file.
Step 3: Import the Database
This step involves uploading the files obtained in the previous step to your new host. This can be done via FTP to connect to the new host. In this step, you will need the Server Hostname or IP Address of your old website's domain. After that, upload the Installer and Archive files into the website's Root Directory, which is usually the folder /username/public_html/folder. Before uploading, please make sure that this folder is always empty.
Step 4: Change the Host File to Prevent Downtime
After uploading both files, when you open the Installer.php file, the URL that pops up will normally show a 404 Error page, because it still uses the domain name of the website on the old host. Normally, you would need to change to the new domain name, but in this article we have a not-so-secret technique that lets you continue using the domain on your old host.
First, you need to find the IP Address of your new Web Hosting server. Log in to cPanel, and on the Dashboard, click the Expand Stats Link on the left-hand side of the Sidebar to reveal the Shared IP Address. Alternatively, with some hosts you can find the IP Address from the Account Information page.
Next, open the Notepad program by going to Programs >> All Programs >> Accessories, right-click on Notepad, and select Run as Administrator. In Notepad, go to File >> Open, select the folder "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc", choose the Host file, and click the Open button. Then enter the IP Address you found from the new web host along with the domain name from your old web host, and click the Save Your Changes button.
Step 5: Create a MySQL Database on the New Web Host
Before you run the Installer file, do not forget to create a MySQL Database on the new web host. This can be done through cPanel as follows:
Go to the cPanel Dashboard on your new web host and click MySQL Databases.
Then name the Database folder and click the Create Database button.
On the MySQL Users page, fill in the Username and Password, then click the Create a User button.
Then add the User to the Database by going to the Add User to a Database page.
With just this, you will be able to use this User to handle migrating the data to the website on the new host.
Step 6: Migrate the Data
When you are ready to migrate web hosts, start by opening a Browser and entering the domain like this: https://www.example.com/installer.php, replacing the "example" part with your own domain name. The Installer file will then begin working by testing the various files. After that, click the Next button.
Next will be the MySQL Host login page, where you enter the Database Name, Username, and Password obtained in the previous step. Then click the Test Database button to verify that the information you entered is correct, and click the Next button to have the Duplicator plugin move the Database from the Archive file you downloaded in Step 2 into your new Database.
Then a window will appear asking you to update the website's URL. However, if you have not changed to a new domain name thanks to the trick we taught you, there is no need to pay attention to it. Just click the Continue button to let the Duplicator plugin finish migrating the data. When you reach the login page, it means your WordPress Website data has been successfully migrated to the new web host.
Step 7: Update the Domain Name Servers (DNS)
Once you have successfully copied the WordPress Database to the new web host, do not forget to update the new domain. If you use a Hosting Provider such as Domain.com, GoDaddy, or Network Solutions, you will need to update the DNS nameservers.
For example, if you use GoDaddy, click on the Domains page and you will see a Manage button.
Once you enter the Additional Settings page, click the Manage DNS button.
On the Nameservers page, click the Change button.
Do not forget to set the Nameserver Type to Custom, then enter the Nameservers you want and click the Save button. With just this, the users on your website will be able to access the same content as on your original host smoothly.
At this point, you can see that the process of migrating data from your original web hosting to a new web hosting is not as much of a headache as you might think. So there is no need to put up with a host that makes your site slow or unresponsive to the point that your customers change their minds and go to another website. But if you still have questions about Web Hosting and WordPress Hosting, you can consult with us to find the best Solution for your business at Relevant Audience.
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Relevant Audience is a company that provides Digital Performance Marketing Agency services, with the main goal of delivering digital marketing services that help businesses reach the target audiences who are looking for their products or services at the right time, place, and device, through various online channels. Our services cover everything from Search Marketing, Social Media Ads, Search Ads, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to Influencer Marketing, and we are also part of the Google Partners program.
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