Tips to Control Visitor Loss when Changing Web Host

If you are planning to move your website to a new web hosting services provider, you should be ready for loss of visitors to your website. However, by being aware of how to handle your site, you can at least control that loss and even minimize it.

Online businesses have to often take the bold and crucial decision of moving their website to a new web hosting server. If you are doing it for the first time, you may think it is something very trivial; all you need to do is copy all your files over to the new server and you are done! But, you are actually far from the reality. There are a lot of important aspects that you might end up ignoring if you are not careful. If you don’t want to minimize the loss of visitors on your website because of the shift, you ought to keep the following points in mind.

Most website owners usually make the grave mistake of maintaining just one copy of their website – the one on the web server. This can lead to problems in case the server encounters any problem or you decide to shift web hosting providers. Therefore, it is always advisable to make a copy of your website on your computer. This has to be done even before you decide to terminate your existing contract. To copy your files, just use the method that you normally take to upload your files, and download them instead. You can also copy your files using FTP.

If you own your domain name and are shifting it with your website, you should make it a point to update your DNS records with your web host. You should do this only when you are content with the functioning of your new site. DNS records can be easily updated by contacting your DNS registrar or the web hosting company. If you have a new domain name, all you need to do is point the domain name to the new host. Make sure you do not point the domain to your old host for testing purposes; why complicate things! Also, remember that updating of DNS records can take up to a week’s time. There is a possibility that a section of your users continues to access your old site till the time all name servers across the world catch up with the new location.

During this time, you can avoid losing visitors by ensuring your old site and its files are not deleted. All you need to do is maintain two copies of your site with your website hosting providers; even though it might be inconvenient, it’s just for a small period of time.

If you do not understand the process of moving a website, it is better to seek expert advice from a website hosting company. Aussie Web Host, a premium web hosting services provider in Australia, offers reliable solutions to help clients move their website without negatively impacting their online business.