Changing web hosts is not simply a matter of stopping one service and starting a new one. The problem with switching providers is that you can often end up losing a lot of visitors unless you do it right. And if you are changing your domain name too, then it is even more probable that this will happen. There are a few things that you can do to make changing web hosts less damaging; we will examine these here.

 

- Before telling your current web host that you are planning to leave them, you should make a copy of your website. What quite often happens in cases like this is that as soon as you tell the web host that you are leaving, they will shut down your site straight away before you even have a chance to download any of your files.

 

- The best thing to do in these cases is to have the two websites running simultaneously while you are transferring from one host to the other so that you can be certain not to lose your visitors. This will give them a chance to get used to the idea and people can follow you over as they find out about the move. Once you are up and running with the new host, you should leave your old site up for a couple of weeks so that you can be sure to get as many of your old visitors as possible.

 

- Updating your DNS records is something you will have to do if you have a domain name. However it is better to wait until you can be positive that your website is up and running properly again before you do this.

 

- The internal links on your site will have to be changed so that they are no longer directing traffic to your old site. You should do this as you move the site across.

 

No matter how much effort you put into making sure your move from one host to another goes as smoothly as possible, you could still lose some of your visitors. This is why you should never make the move without good reason.

 

Anybody thinking about venturing into internet marketing should have cheap web hosting from pixelinternet.co.uk set up beforehand. Newbie’s can find, though, that the web hosting world can be rather confusing. For example, you may come across domain names from pixelinternet.co.uk when you are looking at different hosting options and plans.