Moving Your Business Website: How to Avoid Email and Hosting Disruption

Website migration from one host to another is more than copying a few files to another server. A website might depend on databases, e-mail accounts, DNS records, SSL certificates, sub-domains, and other external applications that should continue to function after migration.

Proper planning ensures the safety of the information and eliminates any risk of losing access to emails or having people visit a partially transferred website. This can be achieved by preparing the new hosting in advance.

Map Your Existing Hosting Setup First

Take inventory of everything that is currently connected to the domain before making changes.

One Look at the website first of all. Find out which content management system is used by the website: either WordPress or some other CMS. Record the PHP version and databases, storage, and tasks performed by the website.

Do not forget to pay attention to email addresses as well. Generally, companies have the following email addresses: sales@, accounts@, and support@; although, at times, it may happen that email addresses belong to certain employees. Some email addresses may be found on the server of the company whose website is being investigated, while some others will be found on the server of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.

It is very important to know all the information mentioned above in order to understand which DNS records should be modified and which records can remain untouched.

Create Complete Backups Before the Migration

Don’t depend solely on the initial hosting account when making a transfer.

Copy all the files of the website and export all databases belonging to it. Depending on the specific website’s structure, the list of items that need to be backed up may also include various configuration files, redirects, SSL and other customized scripts.

For instance, a WordPress website typically consists of both its files and database, which means copying just files will mean losing blog entries, pages, user data and lots of other things that are stored in a database.

Backups are best stored in some location separate from both old and new hosting accounts, thus giving the business an additional option to recover in case something goes wrong with the transfer process.

Don’t immediately shut down the old account once the website is backed up. It serves as an excellent safety net in case anything happens with the new site.

Treat Business Email as a Separate Migration Task

Problems with email migration are among the easiest-to-miss aspects of website migration.

If the emails will also migrate to a new server, set up all necessary mailboxes on the new server before making any changes to DNS. Document all forwarding, aliasing and other necessary account configuration details that need to be recreated.

Do not forget about the current state of your existing messages as well. Having a new mailbox created on a new server does not mean that years of emails hosted by the previous hosting provider will somehow magically move there.

When it comes to the same hosting provider for emails such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, the migration process might become easier, but your existing email DNS records need to stay untouched.

The most essential ones to preserve are your MX records, as they specify the location to which the email will be delivered.

Your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records might also become crucial, as they enable email recipients to check that the email was really sent by the official domain of your company.

Prepare the New Hosting Account Before Changing DNS

The new hosting environment should be ready before visitors are sent to it.

Businesses comparing providers may want to consider factors such as storage, email requirements, control-panel access, backup options and the availability of migration assistance. For organisations specifically looking for UK web hosting, oXnames is one option to review, particularly for businesses that want to discuss moving an existing website as part of the hosting process.

Irrespective of the host chosen, upload the files of the website and also import the database while the website is still active at its current location.

Modify the configuration files as necessary. Server names and log-in information such as user names, passwords for the databases are different for each host.

Test the Website Before the DNS Switch

One of the most helpful steps that can be performed during migration is the testing of the site on the new server without modifying the live DNS settings of the domain.

Hosting services might provide a temporary IP or any other means to view the site. Alternatively, technical personnel could perform the process using the hosts file entry for a particular computer to point to the new server while all other traffic goes to the existing server.

Testing should include more than just visiting the main page.

Visit pages related to products/services, submit the contact form, and try account logins and navigation. On the eCommerce site, test basket and checkout without performing any unnecessary transactions. Additionally, make sure to check images, downloadable files, and the behavior of the HTTPS certificate.

Plan DNS Changes Carefully

DNS is the mechanism that eventually makes sure that visitors or services go to the right server.

Before making any changes, make an export or copy of your current DNS zone file. In this way, you will have information about the A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, and TXT records.

If you manage the DNS TTL configuration yourself, lowering TTL settings before a planned migration can be beneficial because record changes can be recognized faster later on. Still, it will not make the change happen immediately. Information from the DNS can stay cached at various networks and devices for different periods of time.

Finally, when it is the time to migrate, make changes only to those records that have to be changed. If your website migrates, but you do not want to move your emails, there is no need to change the current routing records for email.

Monitor Both Website and Email Afterwards

Even a successful first test doesn’t guarantee that the migration process is complete.

In case of DNS modification, you need to observe the behavior of the website using different devices and network connections. You also have to verify the contact form and any other function that sends emails from your website.

Make sure to test sending and receiving emails using important business email accounts.

Also, it would be a good idea to check the old hosting account. Due to DNS caching, some visitors may still access the old server; therefore, the activity will help find out whether any users are accessing your website.

Keep the Old Hosting Until the Move Is Confirmed

Canceling the previous service too soon deprives you of a crucial safety net.

Allow for the old service to continue until the website is working correctly from the new environment, essential emails are confirmed, DNS has settled down and all the data is synchronized if necessary.

No two websites are alike. The simple five-page brochure website might be easy to migrate while the complex online store or membership website might take more planning.

The idea is not to think about a perfect migration process but to plan the process so that all dependencies are known and you can fall back when required and limit the problems that you can avoid by testing properly.

With proper backup, email list documented, the new server confirmed and changes to DNS planned, the migration process will be under your control rather than a last-minute guesswork.