i’ve been thinking about switching internet hosts, but it’s quite an ordeal. i think i have a pretty good handle on getting the files transferred, dumping the databases to sql files and reimporting, etc.
but the real problem is mail. how do I efficiently move a bunch of mail accounts from one host to another?
matt and I are both on 1&1 hosting. let’s just say that we’ve been less than thrilled.
who’s your favorite host?
The contemplating a host switch by apple juice, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
1&1 hosting really isn’t so bad for the price, in my own opinion. I’d be interested to hear how you got screwed/etc.
I’ve moved a few domains between providers over the years, and my most recent method is as follows:
1. Download all mail from old account (Apple Mail makes it quite easy to complete this step)
2. Before moving hosts, change domain to Google Apps (MX record must be updated, but that’s it)
3. Move hosts
4. Immediately after signup, ensure that the new provider uses the applicable MX servers
5. Move documents/etc
6. Enjoy the fact that you now have GMail with your own personal domain and all the benefits that confers (webmail from any phone, iPhone apps, easy setup, GMail web interface, no worries, etc.)
I created a website using goDaddy as my host and I like them a lot. Since I am not that experienced in code I linked the domain to my MobileMe site and its working great!
the bigger problem is the family members that I host… I think I may have to pull archives of their accounts to my local machine, and then push them back up again, resetting passwords in the process.
do you think that google apps is the way to go for email?
Duly noted that you’ve already started the transfer, but in response to your question: yes, I think that Google Apps are the way to go. I have never had any problems with them over my year of hosting, and if you’re a big fan of “the cloud,” it’s hard to get further into distributed computing than if you move to Google. If your email manages to go down, then most of the world must be going to hell.