By Paul Lang, Editor, Sell It!
[July 17th, 1999]

See Also   How to Build a Web Store for FREE   How to choose mailing list management software   How to Grow Your Web Business   How to Accept Credit Cards without a Merchant Account   How To Develop Online Products That Sell   How to Change Your Web Hosting Service (ISP)   How to Deal with Disgruntled Customers   How to Get Top Search Engine Positioning   How to Beat Credit Card Fraud   How to Design an Affiliate Program   How to Accept Credit Card Payments   How to Choose a Shopping Cart

[This is the second part of a two part article. The first part can be read here].

The next major hurdle is the transfer of data to your new store. If you are going to be using the same scripts or software package then their vendor should be able to advise you what files and data you need to transfer to your new Web site. If you are changing packages, then the best you can probably hope for is that your existing program will allow you to export your data as a CSV database file, which you can then edit and import into your new package.

Obviously to be able to do all this you need to have access to your current data and scripts. Normally you will be able to download these from your existing Web host, but sometimes (for example if the host goes out of business) you may not able to access these so you should always keep a local copy of all data, scripts etc. Many Web merchants are complacent about this, failing to realise that as a Web-based business their most valuable asset is their customer, sales and product data.

The final piece of the jigsaw -- moving your domain name -- should in theory be the easiest piece of all. Your new Web hosting service provider should give you the new nameserver information, which you should pass to the authority responsible for your domain name (e.g. Network Solutions for .com domains) once your new site is ready. The naming authority will then amend the nameserver information for your domain and after a period of about 72 hours (to allow for DNS propagation) all traffic will be directed to your new site.

However, many people run into problems here. The reason is that the naming authority will only accept change requests from the source listed as the domain's "Administrative Contact" in their records. Unfortunately, what sometimes happens is that when an ISP or Web site designer registers a domain on behalf of their client they list themselves as the "Administrative Contact" and therefore the merchant finds that they are unable to move their domain name to a new host.

Obviously it is vital to make sure that you are listed as "Administrative Contact" for all your domain names. You should contact your naming authority to check this: this can usually be done online, for example domains administered by Network Solutions can be checked here.

Hopefully the above has shown you that changing Web hosting services is a major undertaking. You can make things easier for yourself, however, by making some contingency plans.

As a bare minimum you should always be able to answer YES to these three questions:

1. If you had to change Web hosts tomorrow do you know which hosting service you would move to?
2. Do you have a local copy of all your data and scripts?
3. Are you listed as "Administrative Contact" for all your domain names?

The important thing is to be prepared. Remember that your Web hosting service provider is key to your online business – a critical supplier -- and you need to choose carefully and continually monitor their performance. For although some Web hosts do go out of business overnight, most problems arise through a gradual deterioration of service that can be difficult to spot. Real-world businesses regularly review the performance of their key vendors and you should do the same with your Web hosting service provider.