Why Do I Need to Move My Website?

You spend a lot of time and money on your website. When it runs slow it can be frustrating for you and even more so for your customers. Red Wagon is an optimized, out-of-the-box hosting solution to speed up your website so your customers can quickly get your information.

Moving hosting can be a little scary at first, so we’ve put together a little FAQ to ease your mind.

Some Helpful Questions and Answers

Why do I need to do this?

Your customer is going to give you about three seconds before he leaves your website. If it doesn’t load within that time, you have probably already lost him. Keep in mind that your customer hasn’t been to your website before, so its going to take longer to load on his machine than yours.

How do I get my website to your server?

We handle this process for free and we call it a migration. We need access to your code, usually through FTP or SSH and access to your database. If you have login information to your existing hosting provider, we can usually take that and handle the move.

How long does it take?

Typically we can complete a migration in one hour to 90 minutes. The time to complete the migration may vary depending on how many files you have and the type of access we can get from your existing host.

Is the process secure?

Absolutely. We copy all of your website files except the files with passwords down to a computer. After that, the files are synced to the new server. The new file with the passwords is generated separately and lives outside of the directory that anyone has access to.

What about my DNS records?

We can swap your DNS record to our server or you can do it at your convenience. Once a subscription is made to our service, an email is delivered to you with the proper IP addresses to point your DNS records.

Will my website go down?

No, typically a website will not go down. In some cases the DNS might be hosted with the company you are moving away from and we will need to move it back to the domain registrar. We have seen brief lapses of downtime in these cases. If the website may go down, you will be informed and it can be migrated between between 2 and 4 am, or your low traffic hours.

Are your servers compatible with my existing website?

In almost every case the new servers are compatible. We use the latest version of code and data storage, so any incompatibilities usually stem from your code or data being old and insecure. Updating your code and data is usually a small issue and would most likely be included in the free migration.

Will by website be regularly backed up?

We back up your files nightly and weekly for 30 days. In addition, we can retrieve them for you if needed.

How often are your servers and packages upgraded?

The server and packages are upgraded nightly. We make sure everything is safe and secure.

Will I have access to my files and data?

When you purchase a hosting package you are sent SFTP (Secure FTP) access. If we migrate your existing website your content management login would stay the same. If this is a new website, the login information is also sent to you. In addition to the files, we can also whitelist your local IP address so that you can access your database from the tool of your choice.

What is your cancelation policy?

If we migrate your website to our server we have a three month agreement. After that, the plan is month to month. All new hosting websites that do not involve a migration are not bound to any contract. Additionally, if you need to move to another server, we will migrate your website free or charge if we are at fault or our service does not deliver.