How to Move a Website From WordPress to a New Hosting Provider
As a website owner or marketer, you’re undoubtedly aware that the world of online marketing is ever-changing. One of the significant changes that has occurred in recent years is the rise of SaaS (Software as a Service). What is SaaS you may ask? SaaS is simply a means of delivering software or website content (such as WordPress) as a service instead of owning the desktop or mobile applications required to use it. Forrester Research predicts that by 2022, 76% of all software purchased will be SaaS. So if you’re looking to reduce your software licensing costs and maintain a responsive, flexible website then WordPress SaaS may be the answer you’re looking for.
If you’re currently running a website on WordPress, you’ll want to consider each of the following points to ensure a smooth transition to a SaaS-based platform.
Dedicated IP
If you’re using dedicated IPs to host your website, you’ll want to migrate to a platform that supports IPv6, otherwise your IPs may become limited in scope and able to be reassigned at any time by your Internet service provider (ISP). IPv6 allows for an unlimited number of IPs to be used and assigned to a single device, providing you with greater flexibility and improved security. Some of the most popular platforms that support IPv6 include Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services.
Backups
The last thing anyone wants is a broken website. To prevent this, you must take regular backups of your site. The best way to do this is by uploading your website to a cloud-based storage system like Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services. Doing this automatically ensures that your content is backed up and available for restoration in case of a mishap. Your ISP may also provide you with a free backup utility that can be used to make regular online backups of your site.
Security
To prevent hackers from breaking into your website and stealing your content, you must take precautionary security measures. Hacks and malicious software can cause significant damage to your site, so it’s essential to keep it secure at all times. Forrester Research states that by 2022, 50% of all organizations will be experiencing cyberattacks every week. To combat this, you must implement strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and keep your software and systems up-to-date. As a starting point, you can use free software like Sucuri to protect your site from hacking threats. You can read more about their services here.
User Interface
When users access your website, they expect it to perform smoothly and be easy to use. One way to make your site more user-friendly is via a UI (User Interface) redesign. When creating your new website, you can use tools like Adobe Muse to make it easier for your users to navigate and engage with your content. Consider investing in a good UI framework like Bootstrap or Material UI to save time and to ensure that your website looks consistent across all devices.
Mobility
A large percentage of users now access the internet via mobile phones or tablets rather than desktop computers. For this reason, it’s essential that your website works smoothly and efficiently on smaller screens. To ensure this, you must make use of HTML5 technologies and also ensure that your site is responsive. Mobile phones and tablets are becoming an increasingly important method of marketing as 62% of US adults have used mobile phones to access the internet. So if you’re looking to grow your audience via mobile channels then take this into consideration.
Redundancy
When moving to a new host, you need to consider whether or not there is redundancy in terms of network connectivity and hardware. If you’re using dedicated servers, make sure that both your old and new servers are configured the same way and are using the same plugins and software.
To prevent any downtime during the transition, you can use tools like Cloudflare CDN or MaxCDN to cache and optimize your site’s content in case it’s requested. Using these utilities will speed up your site’s load time and improve its performance across all devices.
Efficiency
Efficiency is another important consideration when moving to a new hosting provider. You don’t want to move your site to a new server only to discover that it’s slower than your old one. To combat this, ensure that your new server is configured to the same specifications as your old one and that both servers are performing at their optimum capacity. Consider splitting your database into multiple databases to take advantage of the new server’s resources. This way, your database will not become overloaded and you’ll avoid any sluggish site performance.
Continuity
The final consideration when moving to a new hosting provider is continuity. When you migrate your site to a new host, you’re fundamentally changing both your URLs and CNAMEs (Domain Name). If you’ve used these identifiers to reference your site previously, you must ensure that these changes are reflected in all places that the URL and CNAME are used. One way to do this is through a short transition period where you manually change all references to your site.
The task of transitioning a WordPress-based website to a new host can seem daunting. However, by following these guidelines, you’ll be able to make the process simpler and more efficient. This way, you can focus on growing your business instead of worrying about the details related to hosting configurations and user accounts.