I finally did it. I broke down and paid someone to host my web sites. This blog is now officially on HostMonster. I picked the site through partial recommendation from Web Hosting Search. Originally, my site was hosted in my own Linux box over my home’s AT&T’s DSL line. The connection was less than decent lately. What drove me crazy was AT&T’s constant reset of my DSL. They also did frequent IP address renumber, so I would be forced to keep changing the DNS entries. Some of you may have noticed the long down times within the past couple of weeks. I’m hoping a dedicated hosting site will change this.
The transition wasn’t as smooth as I would like it to be. My plan was to change the name servers at Network Solutions DNS, and point them to Hostmonster’s. What I didn’t take into account was the huge propagation delay, upto 24 hours! That will certainly cause a lot of places not able to browse my site – including myself! Currently, I’m testing the site using a hardcoded IP into my Windows XP “hosts” file (located in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc).
Aside from that, I’m happy with the speed and service of my new hosting site. I’ve also taken a step further and upgraded my WordPress install to the latest 2.6.2. I’ve also cleaned up and upgraded the various plugins I’ve been using. Since the bandwidth is much improved, I’ve decided to remove WP Super Cache. I’m curious to see how much this host can handle a spike in traffic.
In the future, I’m going to be doing this migration a little differently. Firstly, I’m going to follow Vladimir’s advice and move my database to the new host first. Then, I’ll setup a new subdomain host and make WordPress work with the new name. When the name server change occurs, the new subdomain will be ready and all I have to do is redirect (301 permanent) to the new URL. Also, I should not be changing the version of the software, plugins, themes, etc. – too many moving parts.
Well, here it is. I hope everyone can get here. Please let me know if you see any problems.
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Congratulations on the successful move. I know how anxious I get when my site becomes unreachable. It’s not really a rational anxiety because besides you only about 5 other people regularly check my site out. But for some reason it feels like a real disconnect from the world.
Periapex´s last blog post..Autumn’s Colours: Doggy Style.
Oh, BTW, those caching problems I’ve been having with your site for the last few months have been eliminated. I bet it was that super cache thing.
Periapex´s last blog post..Autumn’s Colours: Doggy Style.
Thanks, Dude. Well, as of this morning, my local DNS (and in the office) are still not updating the correct IP address for my domain. So I’m pretty much letting it be, and not worry about it.
Yeah, even though I only have 5 regulars, those are the people I care about. If I’m not making the site available to them, I feel I’ve let them down. It’s good that you’re able to get in and see the site properly – that’s one worry off my checklist.
Everything looks like it’s running smooth to me. Congrats, as I know how frustrating/nerve-wracking it is to move a site to a new server…. Had some issues recently myself!
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Good to see you’re finally hosting on your own.
Sure the switch is nerve wracking but everthing will get in line real soon.
I used to stuck with a lousy host for years just because I’m too lazy and afraid that switching the host will affect on my search engines ranking. Not now anymore. I’m so regret that I didn’t do the switch earlier and let myself being ripped off for more than a year.
(By the way, the lousy host: NetworkEleven – DON’T ever try them!)
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Congratz Rudy, hope the move is a success
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Congratulations on your successful move. Mind to share if how much you paid per month for your new hosting. I am planning to change hosting too.
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@Sergio: I sure hope I don’t have to do this again. Mind sharing what your hosting experience was like?
@Hostmonster Blogger: The first time is always nerve wracking. Cool, there’s a blog dedicated to Host Monster review? Good for some to review their hosting solutions.
@Farzan: So far so good. I’m still working out the incoming mail delivery for my domain. I hope to get that resolved soon.
@Hye: I’m in a promotional rate of $4.95/month for 2 years. I think their regular rate is $6.95/month.