Cofamedia Blog

Web Hosting Misconceptions

“Can’t you just move this site to my other account.”

I seem to get this question nearly every week from clients. It is just transferring files right? Well not necessarily. Sure some sites you can just copy the files from one server to another, but in this day and age of everyone wanting the latest technology and everybody having the new latest and greatest idea, those sites are few and far between. I’ve literally spent sleepless nights so called “just transferring files.” So why is it so difficult the client says? Well that really depends on multiple factors:

– What platform are you on, Windows or Linux?

– Is there a CMS or back end to your site?

– What type of hosting service are you on, dedicated or virtual?

– Who is your hosting provider?

– What version of PHP/ASP are you running?

I could seemingly go on for days but I’ll stop there. For a smooth transition from one host to another both servers must be similar in at least most of if not all of these otherwise you’ll end up running into major issues.

To prevent this from happening I strongly suggest doing a little research before you even build the site. Find out the answers to all of the above questions and TEST TEST TEST before you move the site over to the new platform. This allows for a much smoother transition or lead to that dreaded conversation with the client telling them why they should have chosen a Linux server over the Windows one they just purchased.