Web development: tech side
Moving to another web host or server? Some
tips.
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Taming the Beast.net recently needed to move to
another server with our current host due to an increase in traffic. While moving
to another web host or server can be a straightforward task for smaller sites,
it's more of a challenge for larger ones. Even if you only have to move a small
site, there's still a few things to bear in mind.
While we knew a few months in advance we would
need to make the move, when it actually occurred it all happened pretty quickly
- of course, a number of things I was "gunnadoo" never did happen before the
move - something that I regretted during the transition.
The following is a series of tips that may make
your move a little smoother and will minimize any downtime you may experience.
Check with your hosting service.
Whether you are moving to a new server under your
current host or moving to a new web host altogether; it's worthwhile to enquire
with your hosting service provider as to whether they will move your files for
you. Remember to ask nicely and they may do it for free  .
If you are moving to a new hosting company, this
is a service that can be used as a bargaining chip for you to open an account
with them. If your new/current host agrees to do this for you, remember that
script paths may be different (see below).
Draw up a plan - in writing
One of the mistakes I made was not to draw up a
solid plan - there's so many side-streets and alleyways on Taming the Beast.net
now that I had totally forgotten about some of our sections - the plan was all
in my mind - not the best strategy ;0).
Your written plan should contain milestones -
solid dates for tasks to be completed. If you are a Microsoft Outlook user, put
these dates and tasks into your calendar - it's so easy to forget things when
running an online business.
Clean up your web site
As with moving house, moving your web site to
another server or service is an excellent opportunity to clean things up a bit.
Why take a stack of garbage with you?
Carefully go through your site folder by folder
to check for what you don't need any more and liberally apply the use of the
delete button. Moving servers is a fresh start, so you may as well start it out
right.
Check and fix current problems
Broken links, scripts not functioning properly?
Here's the perfect opportunity to set things straight. One of the problems of
running a largish site is that little glitches slowly build up over time; the
"I'll attend to that tomorrow" kind of stuff. After a couple of years, the list
of little glitches can be a mile long! Now's the time to fix those things before
you occupy your new home.
If you're looking for a good link verification
service, the W3C provides one free of charge:
http://validator.w3.org/checklink
Notify your members/subscribers.
If your site offers membership services or you
have a list of subscribers for an ezine etc. it's worthwhile to start notifying
these people *weeks* in advance - not the day before.
People tend to skim over ezines and email updates
- so the message needs to be repeated over and over as you get closer to the big
day. This way you can spend the time during transition on transition and not
bogged down responding to email from angry visitors.
Script/database paths
Very important - different hosts may have
different paths for CGI scripts and MySQL databases. Well before you make the
move, draw up a list of every script on your site so you'll know what you'll
need to change.
Make a copy
After you've cleaned up your site, make a copy of
it on your hard drive. Call the original web something like - mysite-old. That
way you'll always have a proper backup should you have to back out of the move.
Use your "new" copy to make changes to script paths etc to suit the new service.
Changing file names/folders?
If you need to rename folders or file-names, bear
in mind that this could have a negative effect on your traffic as many search
engines take a long time to update their listings (see below). Also, your link
partners may be linking to specific pages on your site. By changing file and
folder names/locations - visitors from these sources may be greeted with the
dreaded "404-File not Found" error.
If you do need to make changes, it's wise to use
a search engine friendly 301 redirect. That way, your old listings will redirect
automatically to the new pages. For more information on implementing a 301
redirect, view:
http://www.tamingthebeast.net/ articles3/spiders-301-redirect.htm
Email addresses
Make a list of all your current email addresses
used in conjuction with your site and ensure that you mirror these addresses on
your new server. In your email software, add the new accounts to your lists, but
*don't* delete the old accounts just yet. During the DNS update, you'll may
still receive email via the old domain - for a couple of days, you'll be getting
mail from both.
Expect things to go wrong
"The Best-Laid Plans Of Mice And Webmasters" -
while Shakespeare would probably have a mild fit for such a misquotation, it
fits a web site move very well. No matter how much you plan, or how careful you
are - things are bound to go wrong. If you've put aside a day for your move,
double it - just to be sure. This is especially important if you utilize a
substantial number of scripts on your site.
Search engine issues
You've worked long and hard to gain decent search
engine rankings - to lose them could mean a serious dent in your traffic and
profits. If you're not changing file names or folders, moving shouldn't be a
problem then should it? Not necessarily the case.
Some search engines don't cache web site
information by domain name, but by IP address. When you change your server or
service, no doubt your IP will change and some search engine robots may "lose"
you - for months.
For this reason, if you can afford it, it's wise
to leave your old web site files up for a month on your old server space after
you have made the move to the new server. During that time, check your server
logs for spider activity to ensure that your most important search engine
sources have found you. For more info on search engine spider identification,
view:
http://www.tamingthebeast.net/
articles2/search-engine-spiders.htm
Files on server before DNS update
Ensure that you have moved *everything* onto the
new server before updating your DNS records for your domain name - don't wait
until afterwards.
DNS records can take up to 72 hours to update
around the world and during that time, your name may "bounce" between the old
and new server.
If you wait until DNS has updated properly, you
may lose traffic through links appearing to be dead and worse, your search
engine rankings may disappear altogether. Also, if you are publishing your new
site (with updated script paths etc.) via your domain name, you may end up with
the new files on the old server - this could be disastrous if you have perform a
rollback and continue utilizing the old server for some reason - *especially* if
you haven't kept a clean copy of the old site.
Microsoft FrontPage Issues
This can be a challenge for FrontPage users, as
FrontPage publishes via the domain name. Before making the move, ask your new
hosting service if you can publish to an IP number, rather than name. If this
isn't possible, you'll need to publish your site using FrontPage's FTP
function.
This will mean that components of your site that
require FrontPage extensions being installed won't work initially. Hopefully,
this will only be for a few hours until your nameserver changes are live in DNS
and you can just publish to your site via the domain name, overwriting all the
files. In this scenario, the important thing is to make sure all your files are
at least on the new server.
Don't forget to enable FrontPage extensions on
your new server, or to check with your new hosting service whether they have
been installed.
Monitor DNS changes.
During the time of transition, especially in the
FrontPage scenario outlined above, it's important to monitor the progress of the
DNS update. This can be done very easily using a free tool such as HyperTrace.
HyperTrace can be downloaded here:
http://www.analogx.com/ contents/download/network/htrace.htm
HyperTrace shows you the route that information
travels from your machine to another machine on the internet. It will show you
the Name Server of your current hosting service and once the update starts
occurring, the new hosting service. Bear in mind that this may "bounce" from old
to new during 72 hour transition window and it may be a day or two before you
see the new nameserver details at all.
Check, recheck and then check again.
Once your new site is live in DNS and stable,
start checking things out - again, and again and again. You could also send out
a note to your subscriber list explaining that the site is now live on the new
server and you would appreciate any bug reports. This can save you a lot of work
and gets your visitors more involved with your site - it's a good PR exercise.
Good luck - I hope your move is smooth!
Michael Bloch
Taming the Beast
http://www.tamingthebeast.net
Tutorials, web content, tools and software.
Web Marketing, Internet Development & Ecommerce Resources
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