Checklist for Moving to a New Web Server - dummies
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Checklist for Moving to a New Web Server

Related Book

Web Hosting For Dummies

By Peter Pollock

Part of Web Hosting For Dummies Cheat Sheet

If you’re planning on moving your website to a new web server, print the following checklists and mark the left column when you have copied those things from the old server; mark the right column when you have restored or uploaded those things to the new server. You should also go through and, line-by-line, mark through any items that do not apply to your site — for instance, mailing lists, parked domains, or add-on domains.

Domain name

Item Copied from old server Copied to new server
Parked domains O O
Add-on domains O O
Forwarders and redirects O O
Subdomains O O
Subdomains need to be configured correctly prior to moving the data. O O
Change the nameservers on your domain(s) after the data is moved. O O

Website

Item Copied from old server Copied to new server
Download all files via FTP and upload them to your new server. O O
Put a notice on your site saying that there will be some disruption for up to 48 hours. Alternatively, put up a “We are moving” front page. O O
Re-create password protection on appropriate folders and inform users if the details have changed. O O
Use phpMyAdmin to download all databases and then re-create them on the new server and upload the data into them. O O
If the database names, usernames, or passwords have changed, update the configuration files in your website. O O
If you use an external database manager such as MySQL Workbench, update your logins with the new details. O O
Reconfigure SSL certificates with new server details. O O

E-mail

Item Copied from old server Copied to new server
Re-create all e-mail addresses. O O
Transfer e-mail history, if possible. O O
Copy across or re-create mailing lists. O O
Check that MX records match those on the old server. O O
Re-create mail aliases. O O
Re-create forwarders. O O
Switch on server spam filtering and configure it, if necessary. O O
Re-create auto-responders. O O

Miscellaneous

Item Copied from old server Copied to new server
Re-create all FTP accounts and notify users if details have changed. O O
Re-create all cron jobs. O O
Set up a server-based backup facility, if necessary. O O
Check that SSH access works correctly. O O
Reinstall FrontPage extensions, if needed. O O