Migrate Your Web Site to Canvas Dreams

Every day, Canvas Dreams helps more businesses migrate away from their current web host. Many of our new clients have chosen us because of our solid track record of reliable, friendly hosting service. Others are in need of custom hosting options, but simply not receiving it from their current provider.

If you want to move your web site to a new provider, but are concerned about downtime and outages, we want to reassure you that web site migration, if done properly, can occur with zero downtime, no loss of email, and no outages for your customers.

Simply follow these six easy steps, and your web site can quickly be brought online with our new service, safe and secure.

1. Inform us of the domain name and account type you wish to host with us.

Place an order for your new Web site through our Online Account Setup, or call us on 08700 114 143. We will review your order, create an account for the requested domain name and account type, and provide you with login details for the new account. After the account is set up, you can log in and upload your files to your new Web site.

2. Inform us about all of your Web site's email addresses.

To avoid losing any email during site migration, you need to inform us all email addresses in use on your domain.

We will recreate those email account on your new server, and provide you with login and password details. After your new site has been launched, you can log in and customize each account's settings, including name, password, and mailbox size.

3. Route all email from your old domain to a temporary, alternate email address.

In the 36 to 48 hours it takes global DNS to propagate and point to your new server (step 4, below), you will probably continue receiving email at your domain's email account(s). As DNS servers could update at any time during those 48 hours, you could stand to lose valuable emails, as some might be sent to your old site's mail server, instead of your new one with us.

To prevent losing emails, you should have your email forwarded from your old provider, to an alternate, personal account (e.g. Gmail) for a few days. After your new site is up and running, your old hosting provider will no longer receive any incoming emails for your old account - it will all be automatically routed to your new server within our network.

This method is a quick and easy way to make sure you continue receiving important messages during your site's migration.

4. Alter your domain record's DNS information.

This is the single most important step.

We will provide you with new nameserver information. You then need to contact your domain registrar (Network solutions, Register.com, etc.) and change the nameservers on your domain record to reflect these settings.

Nameservers usually are provided in pairs (a primary and secondary nameserver), each with its own unique domain name and IP address. Upon creating your account with us, our standard "welcome" email will contain a pair of nameserver values that look something like this:

Primary Name Server: NS1.canvasdreams.co.uk
Primary Name Server IP Address: 87.246.69.34

Secondary Name Server: NS2.canvasdreams.co.uk
Secondary Name Server IP Address: 87.246.69.35

Whatever the exact domain name and IP address, you will need to log into your account at your domain registrar (where you registered your domain) and change your domain's nameservers to reflect the values we have emailed you.

Upon request, we can perform this task for you, at no charge to you. We will simply need your registrar account's login and password so we can complete this work.

5. Arrange payment procedures with Canvas Dreams.

We accept payment for hosting using Visa or Mastercard.

If you choose to sign yourself up via our secure online signup forms, you will be required to provide a valid Visa/Mastercard debit or credit card.

Upon activation of your account, your card will be charged at a prorated amount through the end of the current calendar month, and subsequently automatically charged at the start of each following month. A printable receipt will always be emailed to you for your records, whenever you are billed in this manner.

Please note: Our online system is secure and encrypted via SSL. Further, your credit card information is encrypted on our servers, and protected against identity theft. You can sign up in confidence that our systems have been designed to make your account creation simple and safe.

6. Contact us for special Web hosting requirements.

Our Web hosting plans are perfect for 99% our customers. If you have a special requirement, or are in need of a plan not listed on our Hosting Packages, please contact us and inquire. We can custom build a hosting plan that matches your needs. Best of all, you can be guaranteed to receive the same great service at a price that can't be beat.