How to Deal with Web Hosting Problems
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Frances Rhea
What You Can Do about Your Web Hosting Choice
You spent hours making the decision on where to host your web site and finally committed to a company. Now for one reason or another you find you made a big mistake. Do you have to 'suck it up and drive on' or do you still have some say so in the matter? This article will provide you with some choices.
My Web Site is Finished but Not Uploaded
After spending lots of time and maybe money to design a great web site you now find that you either can not upload your files or some of the files will not work on the web hosting company you chose. The first thing to do is send an email to their support staff or post a thread on the user forum at the web hosting company. See if they can resolve your problem. If you find that you still can not use your site as it was designed, find another web hosting provider.
My Web Site is Not Available
You got all your files uploaded but most of the time you try to access the site you get a 'file not found' error. Go to the hosting provider web site and see if their web site is available. If it is, there is a problem with your files. If their site is not available either, they have a problem with their server. Send them a message telling them your problem. If they cannot resolve the problem quickly, change web hosting providers.
My Web Host Does Not Work Like I Thought
If you have scripts, lots of graphics, music or other media you may find that the web host you selected does not allow you to use your files. Some host also limit the type of sites that they allow (such as no adult or warez content). If you have any of these special needs you will need to locate a hosting provider that allows these type of files. Use a search engine or hosting comparison chart to locate a new provider.
Moving to a New Web Hosting Company
After you find a new host, they should make it easy to transfer your site. Some hosting companies actually have a transfer program that does not involve you doing anything except telling them where you previously had your hosting done. They will transfer all of the files for you. All you will need to do is alter any files that have a absolute link involved (i.e. www.yoursite.com/filename.html, or yoursite, hostname.com/filename.html). Any relative links will still work (i.e. filename.html).
If they do not provide a transfer service, simply use their control panel or FTP to transfer your service. Then send an email to your old web hosting provider letting them know that you no longer will be using their services. Also let them know why since this will help them to improve their future services for other users.
