Changing Web Hosting
-
We're about to change web hosting providers and I'm wondering whether there's an "optimal" way to do this without losing any SEO value. Is it as simple as changing hosts without SEO in mind - point the domain to the new host?
-
As long as as the hosting change goes smoothly - i.e. no extended downtime during the transition - there should be no SEO impact.
The file that's even more important than the robots.txt is the .htaccess file. You need to make sure it's migrated to the new site as well as it could contain significant numbers of redirects that need to be preserved in the new setup. It's a frequently missed element if the hosting transfer is done manually.
Paul
-
By page names I mean the URL, so for example
www.yoursite.com/about.htm must not be changed to www.yoursite.com/aboutus.htm or anything else.
There is nothing in the transfer process that would cause the URL to change but often website owners take the transfer as an opportunity to make changes that they have been planning for a while.
-
What do you mean by page names? Titles of pages? And yes I'll make sure the robots.txt file is on the new host after we point the domain. Thanks Sean.
-
There should be no issue, just make sure you have a back up of the site before you change anything.
Do not change page names and make sure you have the Robots txt file is on the site once you have moved
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Is there a reason why a host would be reluctant to give up Cpanel access info?
Granted, a strange question here... My client lost her cpanel login credentials, or never bothered to get them (she didn't even know she had a hosting account). Apparently she has a friend who is hosting her website for her, free of charge. I need to get into the cpanel, but they are being extremely difficult. The client asked them and they didn't want to give it to her either. Still trying, but is there any reason why they would be so difficult? How does it benefit them? It can't be because they're afraid of losing her account because she isn't paying them anything. Totally confused by this. Any ideas?
Technical SEO | | Masbro1 -
Using Web Applications for SEO
I am in the sign/banner business, for years I have had a flash based web application that I developed which allows customers to design their own signs/banners online. With the demise of flash i am prompted to begin developing an HTML5 based application to take it's place. Developing this software is a rather expensive endeavor so many local sign shops, which don't sell on the web, don't bother to develop such an application, but what if i gave it to them? I assume a fair amount would find great value in such an application thereby allowing their clients to communicate a design idea without having to drive to the store front. The application would actually run embedded on my site thus earning me a link back to my site. Question is this: Is this a bad idea. If dozens of sign shops are running my application embedded on their sites will the help or hurt me? Thanks.
Technical SEO | | RocketBanner0 -
Recommended Web Hosting Companies
Some of you might have seen that I recently discovered that another was mirroring my website(petmedicalcenter.com). Found out that this domain (justinchina.co.uk) was previously hosted on Host Monster and when we upgraded to a dedicated IP this last year we got that same IP address. Unfortunately, the justinchina.co.uk domain from GoDaddy is still pointing to our server/IP. Thus the mirrored site. This has been a huge headache and a loss in rankings has made this even more frustrating. Instead of giving me a new IP address, Host Monster said to just add this to my htaccesss file: RewriteEngine on
Technical SEO | | BCB1121
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} justinchina.co.uk
RewriteRule .* - [F] I waited 24 hours, submitted two support tickets, and talked to 4 tech support people and this is the solution I receive when they should have given me a new IP. I think it is time to switch. Any good host recommendations?0 -
Ranking dropped after domain change
Dear Moz Community, first of all excuse my bad english, i am from europe and my english is not the best 😉
Technical SEO | | domiji
I use Moz Analytics for several days and try to figure out why our "main keyword" totally dropped after our domain change. We started this year with a new company name and a new domain. Our old domain was dp-hochzeitsfotograf.de and the main keyword we try to rank for was "hochzeitsfotograf" which means "wedding photographer" here in Germany. Last summer we reached position 1 and short before our domain change we still ranked on position 6. We register the domain change in google webmaster tools and redirect all urls via 301 redirect to the new domain. Our new domain name is yourheyday.de and all rankings adopted pretty good except our main keyword (now position 62) which could break our neck the next few month. I would be so so happy and really appreciate if anyone of you have an advise for us. Thanks and many greetings from europe
Dominik0 -
What is the best way to change tons of 302 for 301...
I'm doing an audit for a new client and their website has tons of 302... (more than 1000)... What is the best/fast way to change all the 302 for 301...?
Technical SEO | | Felip30 -
The best managed hosting companies for WordPress
I'm looking for a reliable managed hosting company specializing in hosting WordPress sites with 24-hour phone support. What companies would you recommend?
Technical SEO | | translate0 -
Changing preferred domain
My company has an international website, and because of a technical issue visitors in one of our main countries cannot visits the "www" version of our site. Currently, the www version is our preferred domain - and the non www redirects to that page. To solve this problem, I was thinking of proposing the following and would greatly appreciate any feedback! (Note: If you answered my www vs. non www question, thanks - this is a follow up) 1. Set non www site as the preferred version 2. Redirect from www to non www 3. Contact our current links and ask them to change to without “www” 4. Change canonical URLs to without “www”
Technical SEO | | theLotter0 -
Will changing page extensions from .html to .php require a redirect?
Hi. We are launching a new website and our .html page extensions will be replaced with a .php page extension. Example: www.theideapeople.com/web_design.html (current url) www.theideapeople.com/web_design.php (new url) Will this require any special treatment to maintain the page SEO ranking? Does it make a difference if you use a .html or .php? Thank you for your help and insight! Jay
Technical SEO | | theideapeople0