A Cup of Tea and a Few Thoughts…
Why moving your website isn't always quite as simple as moving house.
It's been a little while since I've sat down with a cup of tea and shared a few thoughts, but after working on a couple of website projects recently, I thought this was a good subject to come back with.
Moving a website. Sounds straightforward enough, doesn't it?
You've got an existing website, you've decided it's time for a refresh, perhaps you've found a new platform that's easier to manage, and you're ready for a change. Build the new website, connect your domain name and off you go. Well, sometimes. But not always!
Your website is only part of the picture
One of the things I've been reminded of recently is just how many different elements can sit behind a relatively simple business website. There's your domain name (your website address), your website hosting, your email accounts and something called DNS, which essentially tells the internet where to find everything. And here's the interesting bit. They don't necessarily all live in the same place.
You might have registered your domain with one company, have your website hosted somewhere else and your business emails managed by another provider entirely. Everything works perfectly well together until you decide to change something.
That's when it pays to understand how everything connects.
And what about your emails?
This is probably one of the most important things to check before making any changes.
Imagine spending weeks creating a lovely new website, only to discover that your business emails have stopped working. Not ideal, particularly when those emails are how your customers contact you. The thing is, your website and email might share the same domain name, but they're not necessarily the same service. Moving your website doesn't automatically move your emails, and cancelling an old hosting package without checking what's attached to it can cause problems.
So before making the switch, it's worth finding out exactly where your emails are hosted, how they're accessed and whether anything needs to be transferred.
A little detective work goes a long way
Something else I've learnt is that not every business owner knows who originally set everything up.
And why would they?
Perhaps a web designer created the original site years ago. Maybe a friend helped out, or a hosting company took care of everything. The website works, the emails arrive and there's never been a reason to question it. Until now… Sometimes the first part of a website project isn't designing anything at all. It's working out who manages what, checking account access and making sure nothing important gets lost along the way.
Not particularly glamorous, I'll admit, but absolutely worth doing.
My advice? Don't rush to switch everything off
If you're thinking about moving your website, take a little time to understand what you've already got. Find out where your domain is registered, who hosts your website and where your emails live. Make sure you've got access to the accounts you need, and don't cancel your existing services until you're confident everything has been moved and tested. It's also worth checking whether your existing website pages need redirects, so customers and search engines can still find you after the move.
A little preparation can save an awful lot of frustration later.
And finally, a thought over my cup of tea…
I think there's a common misconception that website work is all about design. Of course, how a website looks matters, but there's quite a bit going on behind the scenes that most people never see, and sometimes, the most valuable part of helping a small business with its website isn't creating something new. It's making sure everything they've already built continues to work.
So if you're considering a website refresh or moving to a different platform, my advice is simple.
Put the kettle on, ask a few questions and make a plan before pressing any buttons.
And if you'd rather have someone help you make sense of it all, that's exactly the sort of thing I enjoy doing.
Bev