Moving web host is stressful!
But what if you need to move hosts?
If you are not happy with your web host, or you have found your
website is not listed within your own country's search results on Google as your host has placed your account on a foreign server. Here is how to
check where your host has placed your website!
So you need to move...You will have to go through some pain! Sorry. But remember this: anything worth doing is never easy.
If you have control of your domain name then it should be a simple task of changing the nameservers (so long as your website is setup on your new host). But if your web host manage your domain for you then you need to contact them to check their procedure for transfer of the domain (costs can be charged). If you are looking to transfer to the UK then try a
real UK web host which do not charge to transfer in, or out.
Make it worth the effort, ensure you choose the right host....
Labels: Google UK, real UK host
Changing host - will it affect my Google search ranking or pr?
If its done correctly then your Google search results and/or PageRank (pr) will not be negatively affected.
The success much depends on the following:
- Avoid downtime while transferring.
Changing host can be done in most cases without any interruption to your website (even a dynamic database driven ecommerce site can be transferred without loss of business if done correctly).
Choose a host that allows you to setup your website on a sub domain (YourNewSite.ontheNewWebHostsDomain) prior to transferring in your existing domain name, more details on domain transfer here.
Correctly copy all pages and folders from your old host to the new web space, then test and test again until your sure all pages are present and correct (see 2. below), only when you are happy the new site is working correctly should you transfer your domain name.
- Check pages and links are correct.
You need to check all your pages are linked correctly on your new web
space and that you do not have any 404 errors (pages not found)! Xenu Sleuth is good
this this and its free, download here:
http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html
(don't be scared it really not that scary, its a useful tool).
Also, make sure you retain the original filename and folder structure as you do not want to lose any page rankings. A common mistake made by many of the arty-farty types who create these flashy sites is to scrap the old site and replace it with their own creation which has all new page names and folder names - this is bad news as all your existing pages will be dropped from Google as they will no longer be available. Retain your existing page and folder names when transferring or redesigning your website.
- Stick to your native country for hosting.
Google will list your results as per location, read why here:
is-your-website-not-listed-in-google
Google is the main search engine you should concentrate upon, you can forget trying to get traffic from other engines, you will be wasting your time. Google announced third-quarter increase in revenue of 70% to £1.4bn with £390m profit, while Yahoo profits fell 38% for the same period (source: computing.co.uk/...google-growth-continues). With that kind of income Google can sustain its position for a long time yet (personally I find this unfortunate as its not good for anyone to have a single dominating company steering our Internet).
Labels: Google UK, pagerank
Offshore web hosting - its cheaper so why not?
Why not use offshore web hosting?
Well there is NO guarantee with these services as could be involved in illegal activities (hosting any type of website), or may use unethical practices. Many state that if you must host outside the UK then host in the US, Canada, or Australia (however, don't forget
unless you host in your native country then you could be excluded from your country's search engine listings).
Consider the logic why these locations are often recommended:
- stability (of the host country - stable government), and
- positive regulations (that aid business enterprise growth)
this steers the decisions for good reason, and before you decide to take your prised
business website to foreign shores you should take heed too. And don't forget
data protection - else you could end up breaking the law yourself!
Labels: data protection, Google UK, real UK host
Website speed - FTP: Latency - reasons why to host in the UK
In relation to UK hosting/UK business websites - "connection speed" or delay is caused by latency (see first definition [in a network] whatis.techtarget.com/definition/latency ) this can be an issue for FTP, causing slow/delayed website updates, but can also be an issue for HTTP. In other words if your visitors are very impatient they may give-up waiting and go elsewhere if they have to wait half a second longer - Internet customers are very fickle.
If your business is based in the UK and your customer base is English/British then for optimum speed you need to host in the UK on a United Kingdom Server. This will ensure your website displays without delay and your customers will not be tempted to go elsewhere.
Also, remember search engines may not place your website within the UK search results if you host outside the UK (ESPECIALLY if you have a GTL Domain [.com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, etc...]).
Is it worth spending a little more to host your UK business in the UK? If it affects the successfulness of your business it is! There are other issues such as data protection issues with hosting outside the UK. If you host outside the EU you maybe breaking the law by moving customer data outside the EU unless you have specific permission from each customer.Labels: data protection, Google UK
Is your website NOT listed in Google UK search results?
No traffic to your website? Are you outside the sights of Google?
Google has become the main source of web traffic for most businesses around the World and if you do not take care where you host your website you could find your website is not listing within your country's search results.
To ensure your website is ranked well in the UK specific index then you need a UK domain name or must host your site on a UK server. Google will list your website as per IP address (
http://www.answers.com/ip address ) if the domain extension does not dictate your location. If you have a TLD (.com, .net, .org, etc..) then it is even more important to host in the UK.
Any serious business can no longer afford the possible loss of web traffic to its competitors:
Why UK companies choose the UK for web hostingLabels: Google UK, native hosting, real UK host
