Should Your Host Migrate Your Website?

Moving from host to host can be time-consuming and problematic, even if you’re relatively comfortable with hosting.

At the same time, relying on migration services feels risky.

After all, your data is valuable, and you can’t oversee the process once it’s started: you’re putting your trust in a new company that you haven’t much experience of yet.

Is it wise to allow your host to migrate your website for you?

How Site Migration Works

Most major website control panels, including both Plesk and cPanel, have backup and migration tools built in. This makes it easier to transfer the data from host to host, providing you’re using the same brand of control panel on both hosts.

During a typical hosting migration, your new host connects to your old server directly, effectively creating a backup. They grab everything at once; you don’t have to lift a finger.

Hosting Migration Worries

Security is an issue when handing over passwords, and some people feel uncomfortable entrusting a third party with their data.

But remember:

• The new site will not be live until you change the nameservers. Nothing will go wrong if you check thoroughly before you do this. Edit your hosts file to see the new site.
• Everything’s still there on your old server until you decide to cancel.
• Hosts do this kind of migration daily; they’re used to ironing out problems.
• It’s really safe; both control panels have the process pinned down pretty well.

Protecting Yourself

First, choose a host with a money-back guarantee. That way, if the migration’s problematic, you can cancel and choose someone else without having lost any money.

Also, make sure your new host’s migration services are free.

Finally, triple check that you’re migrating like-for-like; your new host will tell you what brand of control panel you’ll be given.

Free migration is efficient, reliable and – generally – makes perfect sense.Keep up with posts like this by subscribing to our RSS feed, or following @WhoIsHosting on Twitter.