As noted earlier, you can move your website host whilst still retaining the same domain name provider. Many people prefer to keep things simple and use the same provider for both, but you don't have to.

If you want to change website host provider, then its best to have a copy of your website up and running with your new provider first. Many straightforward websites can be imported directly off the web and quickly duplicated and revised. You can take this opportunity

For updateable websites, these cannot usually be directly copied (especially if you want to be able to update it yourself again), unless the same technical system is being used to provide this service. Discuss what options are available with your new provider.

Community websites which are database driven cannot be directly copied because there is no direct access to the full content held in the database. Instead a full backup of the database and website files will be required. In order to minimise downtime and/or lose edits/updates, a co-ordinated approach with the current host will be required usually involving a few hours downtime or read-only access overnight.Â

We can advise on the options available and co-ordinate the transfer with your current website host.

The followin process could be used to move your website host yourself:

1. Before you start, ensure you have a copy of your website files. These may be on your own computer, or you may need to download them from your current website.
2. Buy or obtain access to your new website host.
3. Upload the website files to your new website server. This can be done either by using FTP (File Transfer Protocol), which is built into many website design programs. You will need to configure three parameters (the username, password and FTP host address) which are provided by your website provider. Alternatively, you may eb able to compress the files into a single Zip file, upload this through the control panel provided by your website hosting provider, then expand it into the correct directory. This is a much quicker option for larger sites with many files.
4. Ensure that your new website host is setup to receive requests for your website domain name and return the files from the correct directory.
5. Go to your domain name provider and change the nameserver (also called DNS) settings to point your domain name to the new website host.