There are several web hosting problems and situations many web administrators encounter that are cause for concern and confusion. Perhaps the greatest of theses comes from migrating your website to a different hosting platform. Although there are many safeguards put into place to help prevent your website from going completely offline during the migration process, there are several situations that are universally frustrating and relatively common. If you’re preparing to embark on a web host migration, take a few minutes to read through the common problems and what steps you can take to mediate these issues.
Problem #1 – Error Page After Site Transfer
When you upload your website to a new Web hosting provider, but when you attempt to access your site you see an error page or a “Coming Soon” banner, there can be a couple of problems. The first of these is your actual Web browser that is attempting to access an old version of your website. The second reason may be that you uploaded your website files to the wrong folder within your hosting panel.
If you’re encountering the first problem, where your browser is the culprit, simply clear your browser cache. This is relatively straightforward. Check with your browser operating manual to learn how to clear your cache.
If you uploaded your site files to the wrong folder you should double check the folder where the files were uploaded. If you’re confused about where they should go, contact your hosting provider’s technical assistance department. Next, you should ensure that you uploaded the correct index file to the website directory. Generally, these will be labeled either “default.html” or “index.html”.
Problem #2 – Recent Changes Aren’t Appearing on the Website
This is perhaps one of the most common problems experienced by the majority of websites that make changes to their physical site design. Thankfully, it’s also the easiest to correct. All you must do is clear your browser’s cache and reload the website. If this doesn’t work, then it may have something to do with the placement of changes within the web hosting directory. Contact your hosting provider’s technical support for customized help.
Problem #3 – Website Is Suddenly Unavailable
Should you have made a change to your website that was visible one minute and then your entire website is down the next, you may have accidentally caused an internal error. This is relatively common when you migrate a website to a new hosting provider. In order to determine the cause you must first ensure the hosting servers aren’t experiencing downtime. There could also be an issue with your domain name. To determine if this is the cause, then you should contact your hosting provider to determine whether or not your DNS Settings are accurate.