How to Make Your Switch to Alentus Easy

1. Set up your new account with Alentus
- Talk to a Customer Service representative via telephone, email or live chat to determine your personal combination.
- Place your order via the online order form. Once your account is set-up you will receive a Welcome Kit email with all of the information for your new service.

2. Download your website files and data to a local location
- Create a backup of your website files and data on a local server or computer location.
- Once your current web hosting services are closed, your files and data will be inaccessible. It is crucial that you create a backup in order to move your files BEFORE you submit a cancellation request to your current host.
- It is considerably easier and faster to move your site files, if your host will "ZIP" up your site for you first. This creates a single file to move, and significantly improves the chances of moving it successfully the first time. If you are able to have your current host create a ZIP file, you may choose to take advantage of the Alentus "Red Carpet Move Service", details for which can be found here: http://www.alentus.com/secure/redcarpetsitemoveservice.asp

3. Upload your website files and data to the new server with Alentus
- The same website files and data that were backed up, need to be uploaded to the new sever.
- These files can be uploaded through a variety of FTP (File Transfer Protocol) services.
- If you have uploaded a ZIP file backup of your site, please submit a task request to support at this stage to "UNZIP" the files for you.

4. Check links, files & set-up email accounts
- It is wise after a website move that the new site should be checked for possible "bumps & bruises" during the move.
- It's not uncommon for settings on the new server to differ from the previous one, which can affect how your website functions.
- It is also a great time to proofread for dead links and make adjustments to the site before it is live in its new location.

5. Change DNS (Domain Name Services) Record
- The registrar of your domain name needs to know where you're changing your site's location to. Change your DNS Record Change through them. The registrar is generally the company you bought your domain name from at first. If you are uncertain who that registrar is, you may do a WHOIS search for that information (Google "WHOIS" is simplest, then use the tools provided by the site Google leads you to)
- Once the change has been made, you may receive an email from your registrar letting you know that the DNS record has been successfully changed, and the new DNS record has begun to propagate across the internet. It is possible, however, that they may make the change without emailing any completion notice. Do not rely on receiving confirmation.

6. Monitor the DNS change (DNS propagation)
- It takes time for the DNS servers across the internet and around the globe to update the new record for your domain pointing.
- The change can take up to 24 hours HOWEVER, in most cases, that update will occur within 4-6 hours (in North America, perhaps 12 hours elsewhere).
- The best way to monitor the change is to perform a "WHOIS" look-up. Once the change has occurred, the new DNS setting will be registered with your Alentus DNS settings.

7. Cancel your old web hosting account
- It is best to be certain that the DNS has propagated completely before canceling your old web hosting account.
- The earliest this will be done is, again, 24 hours after your DNS record has been changed.
- The delays between when you have updated DNS and when you officially cancel your previous hosting, are suggested to help you ensure that no email is lost during the transition. Email communications could conceivably still be sent to either hosting companies email servers during the DNS transition. Ensure that you have checked the previous hosts email servers one more time directly, before canceling any services. (Speak to them about how to log directly in to the server, as opposed to using mail.yourdomain.com)

REMEMBER - Alentus technical support is here to assist you, at any and every stage of this process. Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time, either by submitting a ticket to our support center at support.alentus.com, or by telephone TOLL FREE at 877.922.9903.

Article ID: 662, Created: March 11, 2011 at 1:19 PM, Modified: March 14, 2011 at 2:13 PM

How to Switch Hosting to Alentus

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