There are many reasons why you may need to switch hosting companies. This article will touch on the main areas to help you make the move easier and not affect your search engine rankings. This article touches on switching hosting companies on the same Platform.
What Platform is your site currently hosted on?
This a very important aspect to know because if you have asp/aspx pages, this will not work on an UNIX server but only on Windows IIS, so you need to make sure you are choosing the proper platform for the coding that your pages were made.
Switching IP Addresses
Generally, people purchase hosting plans on monthly packages. So, when you plan on moving it is advised that you have the complete site up on both hosting packages for that period. This basically has to do with the updating of the new and old IP addresses. The DNS servers need time to update the IP address associated with your website. The reason for having your site hosted as mentioned above is for the switchover phase with the DNS servers. During this phase, you will be assured that your site will be found and you will not lose any traffic to your site.
As always,
Have a full and current back-up of your site at all times
Keep your site on both hosting companies for a month so there’s time for the DNS servers to update.
Gerard Manning is the owner of Manning Search Marketing and has been working in the SEO industry since 2000. Originally started with Enquiro Search Solutions (now known as Mediative). Was previously a Research Assistant on Inside the Mind of the Searcher that was released in 2005.