Switching Hosts with Zero Downtime

The fear of downtime keeps many people on hosting they've outgrown. With the right sequence, though, a migration can be completely invisible to your visitors.

Copy before you cut over

The golden rule: never delete anything on the old host until the new one is fully working. Copy your files and databases to the new server first and get an identical copy running there while the live site keeps serving traffic as usual.

Test on the new server

Before touching DNS, preview the site on the new host using a temporary URL or hosts-file entry. Click through key pages, submit forms and check email so you catch problems while the old site is still live.

Lower your DNS TTL first

A day or two before the switch, reduce your domain's DNS TTL so the change propagates quickly. When you're ready, update the records to point at the new server; with a low TTL, most visitors move over within minutes.

Keep both live during propagation

For a short window, DNS caches mean some visitors hit the old server and some hit the new one. Keeping both running — and both databases in sync — ensures nobody sees an error while the internet catches up.

If that sounds like a lot to manage, the ContourHost team handles migrations for you, coordinating the cutover so it's seamless.