Anglian Internet is a family run, independent firm that has been in business for over 20 years.
Made up of a dedicated team of IT professionals, we pride ourselves on being able to provide a wide range of reliable solutions to suit your needs, at the right cost.
Our Support team provide cost effective IT Support, Cloud Services, Servers and Office 365 to business customers across Norwich, Norfolk, Suffolk and East Anglia.
Improve your Business ITOur Workshop in Norwich offers PC repairs, Laptop repairs, Apple repairs including iMacs, MacBook’s, iPhones and iPads, Tablet repairs, along with repair of AV Systems and any other electronic repairs.
View Supported RepairsWe can provide your business with a comprehensive VoIP telecoms solution, along with Broadband and Leased Line services across Norwich and Norfolk.
View our Telecom ServicesOur Web development team in Norwich can help with Linux and Windows web hosting services, domain names, emails, web space and web design.
View Hosting PlansBrowse our massive range of IT Equipment, PCs, Laptops and Accessories. Buy Local in our Norwich store or buy online with confidence on our Secure Shop and receive rapid shipping!
Purchase In-Store or OnlineWe can provide your business with unlimited technical support over the phone or via remote support no matter where you are in the world.
Receive Dedicated SupportA website move can look simple until a contact form stops delivering enquiries, a customer sees an old page, or business email is affected by an incorrect DNS change. This website hosting migration guide explains how to move a business website with minimal disruption, clear checks and a reliable fallback plan.
For most small and medium-sized businesses, hosting migration is not only about copying files to another server. It is a change to a live business service. Your website may hold customer data, receive sales enquiries, support online payments and connect to email, analytics, booking systems or third-party applications. Planning the move properly protects continuity and avoids a rushed fix when the site is already live.
Start by creating a full inventory of the existing website and the services connected to it. The old hosting account is often only one part of the picture. A business may have a domain registered elsewhere, DNS managed by a separate provider, email hosted with Microsoft 365, and a website built on WordPress or another content management system.
Record the domain registrar, current hosting provider, server login details, DNS records, website platform, database details and SSL certificate arrangements. Also identify who has access to each account. If the only login is held by a former employee, agency or supplier, resolve that before scheduling a move.
Your inventory should also cover connected services that are easy to overlook:
This information tells you whether the migration is straightforward or requires a more carefully managed project. A brochure website with a few pages is different from an ecommerce site processing orders throughout the day.
Many migration problems happen because these four services are treated as one. They are related, but they are not the same.
Your domain is the web address customers type into their browser. Hosting is the server where website files and databases are stored. DNS directs visitors and services to the right place. Email may be hosted on the same platform, but many businesses use Microsoft 365 or another specialist email service instead.
There is rarely a need to transfer the domain registration simply because you are changing hosting. Keeping the domain where it is can reduce risk, provided access is secure and renewal details are up to date. Equally, do not replace all DNS records with a generic set supplied by the new host. That can remove email records and interrupt mail delivery.
Before making changes, export or copy every existing DNS record. Pay particular attention to MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for email, as well as any records for remote access, VoIP systems, subdomains and verification services. If your email is on Microsoft 365, its DNS records must remain in place when the website record changes.
The best method depends on the website, its level of activity and the new hosting environment. In some cases, the new provider can copy files, databases and settings directly. In others, particularly where server software, PHP versions or security policies differ, it is better to build and test the site on the new platform first.
A direct copy is often suitable for a simple, well-maintained site. It is quicker, but it can carry across outdated software, unnecessary files or old configuration issues. A rebuilt migration takes more time, yet it can be the better option for an older site that needs updated plugins, a newer PHP version or improved security.
For online shops, membership sites and websites that receive frequent form submissions, plan for data that changes during the move. A database copied at 9am may not contain an order placed at 2pm. This is why busy sites usually need a short maintenance window, a final database synchronisation or a temporary order process during cutover.
Do not rely on a provider backup alone. Before the migration starts, take a complete independent copy of the website files, database and relevant settings. Store it somewhere separate from the existing hosting account, with access limited to the people responsible for the move.
A useful backup is one that can be restored. Check that the files download correctly, that the database export is complete and that you know how the site would be restored if required. For larger websites, keep a record of the backup date and time so you can identify whether recent content, orders or enquiries need to be recovered.
It is also sensible to retain the old hosting account for a short period after launch. Cancelling it immediately may save a small amount, but it removes your easiest rollback option. The cost of a brief overlap is usually far lower than the cost of extended downtime.
Upload or restore the website to the new hosting environment without directing the public domain to it yet. This gives you a safe opportunity to test the site, identify compatibility issues and correct configuration before visitors are affected.
Check the main pages on desktop and mobile, but do not stop there. Submit every type of contact form and confirm that messages arrive at the intended mailbox. Test logins, search, downloads, image galleries, online payments and checkout journeys where relevant. Review automated emails such as order confirmations and password resets.
Make sure the site uses a valid SSL certificate and loads securely on the preferred version of the domain. Test both the www and non-www versions, along with any important subdomains. Redirects should work as expected, particularly if the website has moved from an old structure or contains pages that are well established in search results.
Performance is worth checking at this stage too. A newer hosting platform may improve loading times, but poorly configured caching, oversized images or incompatible plugins can still cause problems. Addressing these before DNS changes means customers are less likely to encounter errors.
DNS changes are the point at which public traffic starts moving to the new hosting service. They can take time to update across different networks, although lowering the DNS TTL value in advance can reduce the waiting period. Do this at least a day or two before the planned cutover where possible, rather than making last-minute changes.
Schedule the change for a quieter period for the business. The right time depends on your customers. A local service company may prefer an evening or weekend, while an ecommerce business may choose its lowest trading period. Avoid launching during a major promotion, product release or seasonal peak.
Only change the records needed to direct website traffic to the new server. Keep email and other service records unchanged unless they are deliberately part of the project. Once the records are updated, check the website using mobile data as well as office Wi-Fi. Different networks may display the old or new site temporarily while DNS updates spread.
A successful migration plan includes a decision point for reverting to the old service. Define in advance what would trigger a rollback, such as failed payments, unavailable customer logins, missing form enquiries or a serious performance problem. Decide who is authorised to make that call and how the team will communicate it.
If the new website does not work as expected, reverting the web DNS record to the old server can restore the previous version while the issue is investigated. This is much easier when the old hosting account remains active and no unnecessary DNS records have been altered.
A rollback is not a failure. It is a controlled response that protects customers and gives the technical team time to fix the underlying problem properly.
The work does not finish at launch. Check website availability, page speed, security alerts and error logs during the first two days. Review form inboxes and ask the people who handle enquiries or orders to report anything unusual quickly.
Look for broken images, missing stylesheets, mixed-content warnings, failed emails and pages returning error codes. If analytics are in use, verify that tracking is still recording visits. For an ecommerce website, reconcile orders and payment notifications against the old platform and confirm that stock, tax and delivery settings remain correct.
Keep the old service available until you are satisfied that traffic has moved, DNS has settled and all key functions have been tested. Then document the new hosting details, renewal dates, backup arrangements and support contacts. Good documentation makes the next change much less stressful.
A hosting move is manageable for a simple website, but the risk grows where the site supports sales, customer information or critical communications. Businesses without an internal IT team often benefit from having one provider coordinate the website, DNS, email and security checks rather than passing responsibility between several suppliers.
Anglian Internet can help East Anglia businesses plan hosting changes around their working hours, test essential services and retain a clear route for support after launch. The practical aim is simple: move the website without making customers notice there has been a move at all.
Before agreeing a migration date, make sure you can answer one question with confidence: if something fails, who has the access, backup and authority to put it right? Having that answer in place is what turns a hosting change into a controlled business improvement.
