snoldak924

My current web host and registrar are different companies, and I would like to switch the hosting part over to surpass. My question is, will there be ANY POSSIBLE downtime between the point at which I change the nameservers to the point where they are directed to yours? Like, will propagation have any effect? I really want to switch, but not if it means that my domain will not work for a period of time.

SmartGuy

Yes, it will take a few hours for the domain to propagate. There is no way around this downtime.

snoldak924

I know it will take a few hours, but my question is this: in those hours, will my domain goto nothing, or just to the old site?

imsleepy

As long as you still keep your account with your old host active during the change and have all of your site uploaded to your new account here... the change will not affect your site.

If you have any host specific items on your site, such as email, message boards etc, you may see those items go down, but your site will remain viewable.

If you are worried about anything on your site going down during the move, just add a note to your site that you are changing hosts or making updates, however you want to word it, and some items may not be available during the change over.

imsleepy

You probably already know this, but just in case...

As far as host specific items such as email, message boards anything that may require a change (HTML forms come to mind) once you have your files uploaded here, if you make the necessary changes right away to make those work here, then once your domain has propagated, no one will even notice that they were changed.

Just don't cancel your old hosting, or delete your files there, until everything is up here and you will be fine.

Kayla

imsleepy, magnificent and correct suggestions. :1openarms

SmartGuy

I would like to add that you will lose posts in a forum if you do not close it down while the domain is propagating. It is because some people will be posting on the forum from your old host, some on surpass.

snoldak924

I don't think I'll have any of these probs, since my sites are mostly plain html and a little flash. no forums, forms, or anything dynamic. BTW: is the easiest way to transfer files to make a backup(I have cPanel already) and just upload the backup once I have the new domain? Or can you guys do it easier?

P.S. Those responses were super fast. Like IM fast.

imsleepy

I can't honestly answer that since my old host didn't have cPanel. Personally, I used FTP... probably the old-fashioned way to do it, but also fool proof! :1openarms no worry about compatiblility from host to host.