You`ve already got a website, but your current hosting provider can no longer meet your needs, provide adequate service, costs too much, or is going out of business. You need to move your website to a new host. How do you do this? This situation arises all the time, but many people don`t know where to begin. This guide is designed to help you understand what is involved in a hosting transfer so that you can transition from one host to another as smoothly as possible.

Step 1: Determine What You Have

Before you move anything, you need to know what you`ve got to transfer so that you can determine your requirements of the new hosting provider. Ask yourself these questions and find out the answers. You may need to ask your website designer or youur current hosting provider for some of this information.

• Do you have all of the information you need to manage your domain names? If you don`t know what this is, read our guide to Understanding Your Domain Name.
• Can you get a complete backup copy of your website?
• What kind of server are you currently hosting on? Windows, Linux/Unix, something else?
• Is your site running any kind of dynamic code, scripts, or software, such as ASP, PHP, CGI, Java, etc.? What kind? Most shoopping carts and data processing applications fall under this description.
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• Does your site have a database? What kind? MySQL, SQL, PostgreSQL, Access, Oracle, something else?
• How many e-mail addresses do you have? Do you have a list of usernames and passwords? Are there any e-mail aliases or forwarded addresses set up?
• Are any parts of your site password protected or secured? How is this set up?
• Are there any elements of your site, such as the shopping cart, that are not under your domain name and cannot be taken with you? Some hosting providers offer a shopping cart which ca