Monday, March 25, 2024

How To Move A Domain From One Host To Another

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Update Your Domain Name To Point To Your New Host

How To Transfer a Domain from 1 Host to another Web Host

Once youve verified that the migrated version of your website is working properly, the final step in how to move a website to a new host is to update your domain name to point to that new host.

When you make the update, visitors will be taken to the new version of your site at your new host, with no downtime.

Typically, youll do this by changing your domains nameservers, which you can control from the service where you purchased your domain name.

First, youll need to locate the nameservers for your new web host. You can usually find these in your hosting dashboard or welcome email. Or, you can ask your new hosts support staff for help.

Your nameservers will look something like this :

  • ns1.yourhost.com
  • ns2.yourhost.com

Most hosts provide two nameservers, but some will give you three or four different nameservers.

Once you have your nameservers, here are some tutorials for editing nameservers at popular domain registrars:

For example, heres what it looks like to edit a domains nameservers with Namecheap:

Best Vps Host With A Free Transfer

As we move to the higher levels of web hosting, many providers will expect customers to know a lot more about server maintenance and management. Those with virtual private servers, root access, or other administrative roles, however, are likely facing higher stakes than those with personal shared hosting accounts or blogs. Because performance and security are critical to an online business, VPS customers may prefer to rely on the experts to move their site. Those types of managed services take the stress out of the move and guarantee any downtime will be minimal.

Youll likely need a VPS host that provides some form of managed services to move your site, as unmanaged plans sometimes tend to resemble the Wild West anything goes. Managed services and customer support are key to successful experiences with VPS or cloud hosting, in our opinion, and this host is one of the best at blending modern infrastructures with helpful service:

Transfer Your Files To The New Domain Name

So you have a bundled-up website and a new domain name how do you bring the two together? First off, make sure your new domain is all set up and ready to host your website. That entails checking the domain name system, or DNS, settings with your registrar. Your domain registrar may or may not be different from your web host DNS servers tell your registrar where the domains website files are located. Your DNS addresses will come from your web hosting provider, while you will need to add that information with your registrar . Changes to your DNS can take up to 24 hours to take effect, so be patient.

Once the new domain is set up, its time to set up the space where your files will reside. Use the MySQL Databases or MySQL Database Wizard components of your control panel to create a new database. WordPress users should be careful to write down their database name, user identification, and password next step for them will be updating the wp-config.php file in one of the backups with that new information.

Before you can upload the information in your database, you need to create a new, blank database in cPanel.

From here, youll have three options that look similar to what you encountered in the previous step. After all, once everything is packed, it must be unpacked, right? Anyway, your choices for uploading your database and static file backups in their new home:

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Create Your Site Backup For Migration Using Duplicator

Go to the admin area of the site you want to move, and install the Duplicator plugin. Its one of the best WordPress plugins for migrations and backups. If you dont know how to install a plugin, please refer to our step-by-step guide on installing a WordPress plugin.

Once youve installed the Duplicator plugin, go to Duplicator » Packages in your WordPress dashboard.

Then, click the Create New button in the right-hand corner of the page.

Next, youll see a page like the one pictured below. Click the Next button to start the package building process.

From there, itll take you to the second step in the package building process. Make sure that your scan is complete and all the results are Good. Then, click the Build button.

Wait until the process is complete. This may take a while, depending on how large your site is.

Once the process is complete, youll see download options for Installer, Archive, and One-Click Download. Youll need to click on One-Click Download because youll need both your Installer and Archive files.

The Archive file is a copy of your site, and the Installer file will help you automatically download the installation process.

Can You Transfer Your Domain Name To Another Host

How to transfer your domain to a new host

As we alluded to earlier, your domain name can reside somewhere different than your web hosting and site files. Say you took our advice in Step 1, opted to sign up for a new hosting plan, and have the companys support experts handle the move. Youve registered your new domain with the host but youd like to consolidate all your online properties into one account. What happens to your old domain name?

Just like your website, you can move domains from one host to another. Experts tend to prefer to keep domains separate from hosting accounts, but we favor the simplicity and convenience of having everything under one roof.

That being said, the highly regulated domain name industry means youre less likely to have a reason to move your domain name from one registrar to another. Web hosting providers can upset customers with new policies, pricing, and shoddy support, making it a much more volatile experience. Keeping your domains separate from your web hosting can protect your ownership in the event of a data breach or unexpected expiration.

Also just like your website, moving a domain to a new provider can be annoying, confusing, and complicated. The process can be further exacerbated if you also use the domain for hosting your email, but its still quite doable. This guide will show you the basic steps, or you can consider following the suggestions in Step 1, sign up with one of the best domain hosts, listed below, and have them transfer your domains for you:

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Decide On A Public Or Private Domain

Some providers allow you to obscure public WHOIS information for your website. When searched, your website will return contact information for your registrar rather than your personal details. This is useful if you’re running a business out of your home or don’t want your phone number displayed. However, private domains are more expensive than public domains.

Create A Mysql Database On Your New Web Host

Now, youre ready to run the installer.php file on your new host but you need to make sure a MySQL database is created before doing so.

In order to create a MySQL database, go to your cPanels dashboard and navigate to the Databases section. Then, youll need to click on the MySQL Databases section.

Now, youll see a field to create a new database. Type in your database name and click the Create Database button.

After youve created a database, scroll down the page to the MySQL Users section. From there, provide a username and password for your new user and then click the Create User button.

Please take note of the database username and password you just created because youll need it in later step.

Now, you have to add your user to the database. In order to do this, scroll down to the Add User To Database section and choose the MySQL database and user you just created. Then, click the Add button.

Now, your database is all set to use in your WordPress site.

Read Also: How Much To Purchase A Domain Name

S To Move A Website To A New Domain Name

Moving a website to a new domain name is just like all those aggravating moves in your 20s before you settle down. No matter how much stuff you own, its always a pain. Youve got to get everything in boxes, hoping its all perfectly protected and safe. Schlepping everything over to your new residence is only part of the struggle next comes unpacking and setting up your new home. Things inevitably get lost, broken, or shoved into a closet and forgotten until the next move.

When you want to relocate a website to a new domain, unfortunately, the digital move can frequently contain many of the same headaches. But at least you can skip the manual labor in favor of a few careful steps that will minimize the disruption to users and your bottom line.

From database backups to DNS records, weve laid out five simple steps complete with a handy shortcut to move your site without harming your SEO. Keep reading to learn more, or skip ahead to learn more about the process.

How Exactly Does A Domain Transfer Work

How To Move / Transfer A Domain Name To A New Host / Owner / Person / Or Account

In principle, transferring a domain from one provider to another works the same way with every web hosting provider. Nevertheless, you should always be aware in advance of the details of each individual transfer, which can vary from site to site. The fundamental procedure of a domain transfer is as follows:

  • Backup data: before approaching the new providers database, you should first save backups of all data that is saved on the old providers server. Whether its saved on your computer or an external hard drive, you should back up all your files . You wont be able to access the files on your old domain provider once youve changed, which means you risk losing the entire structure of your website.
  • Auth code: you need an authentication code, or auth code, in order to authorise a domain transfer. This authentication code works to verify that your domain is registered under your name. The code can be obtained from your previous hosting provider or registrar. You can also inform your current provider that you will take your domain to another host and cancel your contract.
  • Import the database: once your domain has been registered and activated by the new provider, you can transfer your websites data to the new server.

Read Also: What Is The Io Domain Used For

Best Cheap Host With A Free Transfer

Beginners and first-time site owners are particularly vulnerable to complications when transferring a website. Coupling inexperience with a small budget can be dangerous for do-it-yourselfers who want to save a few dollars and migrate to a new host or domain name on their own.

Although some cheap web hosting services scrimp on all-important customer support features, thats not always the case. By doing some careful shopping, you can find trustworthy hosting providers that will hold your hand through the moving process and not break your budget in the process. Our favorite host for value, listed below, excels at this:

See other top affordable hosts »

How To Move Your Email Accounts From One Hosting Provider To Another Without Losing Any Mails

You purchased a hosting account from a service provider and over a period of use have accumulated good number of emails in your Inbox on the hosting/mail server. You may also have lot of emails in your Sent box. You might have even created custom folders to organize your emails and thus have mails in each of those folders. Now, you are not happy with the current service and want to move to another provider. Read on to understand how you can move all your emails to the new provider’s server.

I will explain a very simple method of moving all emails from your old hosting server to the new one. It does not matter whether the source and destination servers are run on the same platform or on different platforms. For instance, your source server may be on a Windows and your destination server may be on Windows , or source may be on Windows Plesk and destination server may be on Linux – it does not matter.

Using the method explained in this article, you will be able to move emails from an email account on any type of source server to another email account on any destination server.

It is exactly this concept that we will utilize, to download all mails from old server and push them on to the new server .

Recommended Reading: What Is The Io Domain Used For

What Happens To E

Not only will your domain change provider, so too will your e-mail address. However, this does not apply to your inbox and previously received emails. If you keep the old host, you have the option of managing your e-mails just as before and register its mail server in the MX record of the domain.

However, you can also transfer your entire e-mail inbox onto the new server, which you should be sure to do if you are cancelling your old contract. You can either do this manually, which could mean a certain degree of effort if your inbox is full, or you can use your providers e-mail transfer service, which is offered by many hosts.

Why Should You Avoid Downtime

How to transfer a domain name from one registrar to ...

Beginners with small WordPress sites that have little or no traffic tend to ask why theyd need to worry about a little downtime. On the other hand, its more obvious why large websites with more traffic and great search engine rankings would need to be careful when changing hosts. Larger websites cant risk any downtime as it can affect their status. However, small websites need to be aware of issues as well.

Website downtime isnt good for either small or big websites. Lets talk about a few ways downtime can affect your WordPress site:

  • Users Will Think Youve Shut Down When users visit your website, they want to see it working. If your website is facing downtime, then new visitors may believe it doesnt exist and the old users may think youve shut down.
  • Damaged Reputation Downtime can occur due to many reasons. A technical user may understand it, but not all your users are developers. Itll create a bad impression of your brand or business with the average visitor.
  • Loss of SEO Rankings Your website may rank well in search engines. When your website is down and search engines send their bots to crawl your site, itll damage your rankings.

After reading the above, hopefully, you have an idea of why its important to have a 24/7/365 website uptime. When moving your website to a new host, you can follow the steps below to avoid downtime and successfully migrate your WordPress website.

Ready to get started? Lets go!

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