For many small businesses, switching web hosts feels risky. You may worry: Will my website go down? Will I lose email? Will customers get error messages? The truth is, moving a website doesn’t have to be stressful. With careful planning, your customers won’t even notice.
At MaineBizPros, we’ve migrated plenty of Maine business websites — safely, smoothly, and without downtime. Here’s how it works.
Why Businesses Move Their Websites
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Slow performance: Your site loads too slowly and frustrates visitors.
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Unreliable support: You’re tired of waiting hours (or days) for a fix.
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Security concerns: Your host isn’t proactive about updates or protection.
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Better value: You’re paying too much for too little.
The Migration Process (Step by Step)
1. Back Up Everything
We start by making a full copy of your website files, databases, and email. Nothing is moved until we know we can restore it.
2. Test in a Safe Place
We set up your website on our servers and test it behind the scenes. This ensures everything works — forms, shopping carts, logins — before switching live traffic.
3. Adjust DNS Settings Ahead of Time
DNS is the “map” that tells the internet where to find your website and email. By lowering the TTL (time-to-live) setting in advance, we make the switch fast and seamless.
4. Switch Traffic Over
When everything is ready, we point your domain to the new host. For most customers, this takes effect within minutes to a few hours.
5. Monitor & Support
Once live, we keep an eye on your website and email to make sure everything continues running smoothly.
Common Fears (and Why They Don’t Happen With Us)
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“Will my email stop working?”
Not if it’s migrated and tested properly. We handle both website and email to prevent gaps. -
“Will customers see downtime?”
Handled correctly, the cutover is invisible. Your site stays online. -
“What if something breaks?”
Because we back up and test in advance, we always have a fallback.
Final Thoughts
Moving a website doesn’t have to mean disruption. With the right process, it’s as smooth as moving into a new office overnight — everything works when you open the doors in the morning.
At MaineBizPros, we handle website migrations from start to finish. No downtime, no lost email, no guesswork — just a better, faster, more secure online home for your business.