Hey!
Thanks for coming here and giving these two posts another chance. You know what that says about you? That you are awesome.
Here’s to an awesome Father’s Day weekend. Leave a comment with your plans below. Me? Some time at a campground, yard work (it’s a weekend after all), and watching the U.S. Open be played in the town where I was raised.
Coming Soon to a World Changer Like You
Why Members of the Thank You Revolution Stand Out in 2014
What drove your decision to switch servers? Why did you go with the server provider you selected? What did you learn from the switchover that could be helpful for someone like me?
For me, it’s 90% about performance and 10% service. I reached the point where my traffic was stressing a weak server. Think of it like trying to consistently drive 100 MPH in hot weather in a 1998 Dodge Neon. You can pull it off but you’ll be on the side of the road every few days with an overheated engine.
I don’t need a 2014 Porsche yet either do I had to balance cost with performance. I went with the equivalent of a 2008 Lexus Sedan. I went with a semi-dedicated, designed for WordPress solution from Bluehost and the speed has been amazing.
I’m seeing a 0.3 second reduction in load times which may not seem like much but it makes all the difference in the world in terms of SEO and retention.
Service is also big and my previous company stunk. Bluehost has been awesome. They literally spent 2 hours between phone and live chat helping me move my site over. Most of the stuff they helped with was not “in their job description.” They fixed stuff I had broken, suggested better ways of setting my site up, and more.
You should check them out of if you’re not already with them –> http://www.bluehost.com/track/mattmcwilliams (affiliate link)
As far as lessons, none. I’ve been a part of so many server switches with previous companies and clients, I know the routine.
1. Always keep a hard drive backup of files. Cloud is great but just in case that goes down, too, you need hard drive backups.
2. Backup the database daily. (If you don’t know, WordPress runs on a database)
3. Get the host setup and switch you nameservers right away.
4. Upload files to the IP not domain as the domain is not propagated everywhere yet. While uploading files, add the database and upload the backup.
5. Once the files are uploaded, go back and add them in small batches. When you upload 1000s of files, some get lost in connection, so it’s best to also add them about 50-100 at a time. This took me 3 hours of nothing but sitting and waiting but it has to be done.
6. Be patient. Some people will see your site within 2 hours. For some, like my VAs in India, it was 32 hours. Just have to wait.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m wondering if there is an easy way to do the backup?
It was super easy. This will show you: http://codex.wordpress.org/Backing_Up_Your_Database