How To Move A Website To A New Host Without Losing Data

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You might decide to move to a new website host for a variety of different reasons. You may be suffering from low loading times, or the host often experiences crashes and downtimes. Whatever the case, the most important part of the entire transfer process is keeping your website intact. And to do that properly, you need to know how to move a website to a new host without losing data!

Do not rush to delete your old website

The first think you need to know about how to move a website to a new host without losing data is that you must not, under any circumstances, rush to delete your website until you are absolutely sure you have transferred all the data from it away. If you try and push through the process quickly, it is easy to end up missing something. And, of course, though there are, for example, ways to recover permanently deleted emails from icloud manually, the process is neither easy nor something you could do without the host’s help when applying such methods to a whole website.

Make backup data

Now, since the importance of keeping business data secure is well known, and safety is your main concern in such cases, it is obvious that you need to make doubly sure you would not lose anything. The first way to do that we have already mentioned: not deleting your old website. The second thing you need to do is make a backup of the data just in case. Sometimes, the old host will delete the website if you do not handle everything quickly enough after all. The way to do this is by navigating to your host’s inbuilt website control panel, also called cPanel. There, you should be able to locate a ‘Backup Wizard’ under the ‘File’ section. Interestingly, you need to backup each part of your website, such as MySQL databases, home directory, etc. separately. If you choose to backup the whole site in one file, it becomes unusable.

The matter of compatibility

Just as there are important things to look for in a gamer server host, and one of the most important being game client compatibility, comp ability is important for transferring websites too. When trying to transfer your data without any loss, the type of compatibility you want to pay attention to is the CMS compatibility. What Content Management Systems does the host support? If you can use WordPress on both your old and new website, then it will be possible to preserve all of your data and settings perfectly. If this is not the case, then you would have to go through the configuration manually in order to make up for the differences. This can be a very time consuming process, not to mention very challenging for beginners. Thankfully, most host providers feature similar selections of CRMs, so you just need to double check everything will be fine.

What to do with your database

The next part of how to move a website to a new host without losing data is handling the transfer of your database. This happens in two parts. First, you navigate to the ‘phpMyAdmin’ tool found in the host’s website control panel. From there, you should choose the quick export option with SQL as the file format. This creates a file which you should then proceed to upload to your new website by going to its MySQL Database Wizard tool. It is also found in the control panel section. But what is important to know is that you will be asked to create a database name, username and password once you hit the import button. The tech experts from moverstech.com advise that you should always use the same info you used on your old website. This will ensure everything is transferred properly without errors.

What to do with your files

While the database consists of the data that allows your site to run as intended, your website’s files are just as important. They make up all the DOC, JPEG, AVI, GIF and similar files which actually make up your website. It is obvious why you want to ensure none of them are missing in the transfer! Thankfully, the process itself is similar to what you had done for your database. You need to use an FTP, or ‘file transfer process’ program or plugin. It will actually handle all of the work, with you just needing to hit the import and export buttons. Good examples of such plugins are All-in-One WP Migration or Duplicator. Data corruption for such reliable and well-known programs is also very rarely an issue.

Finishing touches

The final part of your efforts to move a website to a new host without losing data is ensuring everything is there. You can actually use a trial version of the site by generating a temporary URL link leading to it. It can be typically found under the control panel options of your new host. Alternatively, such a link is prepared by your new host in advance and is included in the welcome email. If, for whatever reason, you cannot find the temporary link, you can always contact the host and ask them for it. Remember not to be impatient while checking your new site. If you run into any issues, take the time to learn about tech and software before going back to the task at hand. This is the only way to ensure everything goes well!

Final advice

With the knowledge of how to move a website to a new host without losing data, your website should be transferred smoothly. It might take you some time to figure everything out properly and thoroughly. However, it will ultimately be beneficial, since you will learn a lot about how to use and run your website. A thing to note is that some host’s do offer transfer services. So, if you are not certain you can reliably do it, it may be best to leave it to professionals.