From my experience, everything the author said is scaremongering.

I have never experienced downtime - load the site to the new host and redirect the DNS and it's done.

SE have trouble following? They follow the DNS. If a path leads somewhere thatrs where they go. They have no memory to traipse off cross country to where the site used to be.

Ditto data loss - you upload everything to your new site - it is ALL there.

Yes, check the shopping cart stuff, naturally this needs to be instally and tested using the ip on the new site befoire doing the DNS redirect.

I have transitioned a dozen of my own sites over the years, and several more for clients with no problems.

The article is ill founded and deverves a rating of 0

I have never experienced downtime - load the site to the new host and redirect the DNS and it's done.

for those of us who use dynamic pages its often not that simple

extra server settings maybe. But still a logical and planned approach should see it done ok I would think

well that is basically what the article is advocating isn't it ?

I think he is making it seem more scarey than it is.

For the vast majority of sites it is a simnple process with no risk.

I actually worked with the author on this article - I have had experience in moving some rather large sites.  I would say that the SE stuff is largely unfounded, unless you are changing URLs.  Moving databases can be extremely tricky.  Imagine this scenario:

You have a website, let's assume a web forum, where comments are stored in a database.  You move your files over to the new server and the basic database to the new server, but what do you do while the DNS transitions?  DNS transitions at different rates across the world, so while one user might be seeing the site in its new location, another user is seeing the site in a different location.  Meanwhile, each user is working on a different database.

I do agree with Matte that for the small site, transitioning hosts is rather easy.  But if you move hosts and have a larger site, a dynamic site, or a site that updates frequently, moving hosts is quite a task.

well the vast majority of sites don't make any money or don't have anything to risk over a bit of downtime

try telling your boss "Don't worry - we'll move the finance portal to a new host.  No we haven't done any feasability study and we don't have a contingency plan - but its not a problem - download - upload - piece of cake !!"

I understand where you're coming from, but I see the point of the article too.  And besides if your pages are anything other than static pages there is likely to be a lot more too it than you think

But sure - like for the majority of the sites we review here for example - 5 maybe six pages made with front page - sure basically no risk - a trained monkey could move them to a new host.  Add a database or two, maybe a few thousand rewrite rules, a dozen scripts that you've all but forgotten that you're using, heck yeah it can get complicated.

To start with, I actually only registered to get in on this conversation. So hello!

Now, I will agree un-equivocally that this is somewhat lacking in proper research. While most of the information is useful, it is also a little skewed.

Other than an Internet Business Development and Marketing firm, I also own a Web Development AND a Hosting Company. I am intimately familiar with site moves. We have many clients that move to our hosting from another and come to us for advice.

Lost by SEs; sure if you did things wrong and your site is spidered a few times a day. Really though, isn’t this more of ‘if you screwed it up’? We can go on ad-nausea about what ‘could’ happen if you screw up your site. So it may be true, but vague.

Down Time; There shouldn’t be any. Plain and simple. The site is transferred to the new account and tested prior to any DNS switch. This can all be done easily with the exception of the SSL for ecommerce sites.

Loss of Data; Once again, there is ALWAYS the potential for lost data, but this occurs via human error, not the servers. So it can ALWAYS happen. Each time they use the FTP or PhpMyAdmin or something, so a blanket statement really.  Done right (page and DB transfers) this shouldn’t be an issue.

DNS Change; A DNS change DOES NOT have to take 24-72 hours. Get in touch with your registrar and ask for a timed change. They can switch it with a click of a button. The only ‘processing time’ is when they get off of their FAT ASSES.
I give you an example; I can go set up an account for my new domain, set up the site and purchase a domain (instant activation service) from my provider. I change DNS setting, and POOF that’s it. No 24-72 hrs. It’s ready to go live in 1/2hr from the time I registered the domain/transferred.
The ‘wait’ time is just internal processing for your Domain management and hosting companies. Completely a ‘urban myth’.

In the end, I applaud the article for creating awareness and discussion (look, I’m here). I don’t think a great deal of research went into it and as is usually true, ‘a little information can be dangerous’.  It is great for a ‘guide’  but is by no means a comprehensive advisory. Some links to more detailed studies and advice would have been a good idea. I assume they researched it right? So there should be some relevant documentation/URLs that should accompany it.

I could really go on for hours, but then I’d be re-writing the article. In short, I would suggest that non-technical people just hire a reputable web development company to handle it. It won’t cost much and you can sleep at night and concentrate on what YOU do best. Why risk it?

Welcome to the forums!  I'm glad this conversation brought you in - hopefully there are a few more that you get involved in.

Your comments are fair, although I think if you have a large enough database the transfer is not always so straightforward.  Large database's are not easily transferred and cannot use PHPMyAdmin - I know because I've tried.  I had to move one of my larger websites (well over a million records) and PHPMyAdmin simply choked on it.  Now getting around that isn't too difficult, but it was still an issue. 

Also, I can't reiterate enough that data loss is complicated when changing servers if you have a database that is being frequently updated by users.  Its not so simple as just copying the data over...

Thanks for the warm welcome...

Yup, my Web Development company staff have done some EXTREMELY large sites ith 3000+ products and 25GB in data... so I understand certainly. This just brings me back to the point that if you're serious about your site and there is a lot riding on it, hire a professional.

At which point the advice is null and void. If YOU were advising a clients as to moving a large dynamic site, would you say "Read this article"? Or possibly advise to seek professional help?

So, I once again applaud the artcle for creating awareness, but it is short on realistic/practical advice. I just don't see a med/large dynamic, income realted web site doing it. Just not a smart business move. If you or your current programmers DON"T know how to do it, get some one who does.
The reputation and income of a legitimate business site should not be at the whims of a DIY model.

I think that's what I am really trying to say. Append the article with advice such as that. And, while knowledgable in all aspects (from marketing to development and hositng) I originally was intersted in the SEO aspects. Done right, there really shouldn't be any.

Anyhoo... back to work. I shall drop in with a beer later.. (look out!)

Like thegypsy, I joined just to join in. I would like to add to the comment regarding DNS relationships etc, that before switching I have found it advantageous to lower zone TTL to a very short period before making the IP switch. It may seem an obvious thing to do but I have come across teams that have neglected to carry out this step in preparation of a change, lose out.

Yeah, I chatted with the gang at my web development company and it was a concesus here that anything beyond a simple transfer is just not an option if you're running a serious internet business.

Considering you can get some offshore help from India to do the work for next to nothing, why even consider the risk?

Mr. Murphy, of Murphy's Law fame, is a full time resident of the web...

Hi, nice discussion!

I also had a big doubt about this.
Now I am getting things.

One thing I want to ask,

Does moving your web site from one
host to another affects the loading
time of the web site?

As I have heard, visitors in the web
host's country can access a web site
in that host faster than the visitors
in other countries. I think this is
because of router processing delays.

webgaya.

Sorry I missed this Gaya...

Really, it's a matter of the phsycal location of the servers. For example, we have a client that by our metrics was getting 73% of his visitors from North America (US and Canada). The server was slow. The hosting company had a big CANADIAN flag on there site, but when I pinged them, it turns out the servers were in Germany.
This is what was causing the lag. On this side of the pond at least. I am sure European surfers had no problems, unfortunately they only made up 20% of the traffic. That's the approach we take. None of our clients are big enough to warrant seperate DC (data centers) for locality sake.

We moved them to servers in the US and things have been happy since.