Getting Started Guide: Website

We’re happy you’ve chosen us for your web hosting needs. We want you to be successful with your website, and we are more than happy to help if you have any questions about creating a new site or moving an existing site to our servers.

Below you will find some essential steps to get: your new site up and running.

• If you don’t have a website, how to get started building a new website
• If you do have a website already, how to transfer your website
• Backups
• PHP and MySQL Databases
• Setting up SSL

Building a new site?

What software should I use?

If you’re building a new website, one of the first things you’ll need to do is decide which software you’ll use to help create the website. We’ve listed a few of the more popular programs below you can use (click each link for a getting started guide). If you’re not sure which software to use, we’ve recommended a few.

Learn HTML and increase your web design skills

When using CMS (Content Management Software) it’s not necessary to know coding but some basic knowledge can help you navigate much easier. If you’re interested in learning HTML and more in depth information on web design, there are many places where you can learn the basics of coding for web applications. Below are some websites where you can find easy tutorials.

• www.codecademy.com
• www.wordpress.org

Transferring a site?

If you already have a website and want to transfer it to InMotion Hosting, the steps you will take depend on whether your current hosting provider uses cPanel or not.

• Generate a cPanel Backup
• Download your cPanel Backup
• Upload your cPanel Backup using your new FTP account
• Contact tech support and request for your cPanel Backup to be restored
• Test your site

• Evaluate your Site
  The first thing you’ll want to do is evaluate your site. You’ll want to find out where in your previous host which folder your website files are stored. You will also want to find out if you are using any databases, and if so, how you can obtain a backup of them. It is best to contact your current hosting company to obtain this information as it does vary from web host to web host.
• Download your Website Files
  Next, you’ll want to download your website files from your previous host to your desktop. We recommend that you use FTP to perform this step.
• Export your Website Databases
  If your website uses databases, you’ll want to obtain a backup of your databases. Instructions for doing this vary from host to host, so you’ll want to contact your previous host for assistance with this.
• Upload your Website Files and Import your Databases
  In this step, you will want to upload your website files using FTP into your public_html directory on your new hosting account. If your website has a database, now is the time to import it to your hosting account. You’ll first want to create the databases within cPanel, and then import your database backup using phpMyAdmin.
• Test your Website
  After you’ve uploaded your website files and restored your databases (if applicable), your next step will be to test your website. You can test your website using your account’s temporary URL.
• Setup your Email
  If you have email addresses for your domain, such as you@example.com, now is the time to set them up. For more help with creating and configuring your email accounts, please see the following link:
  Getting Started Guide: Email
  If you currently point your email (MX records) to a third party email service such as Google, you’ll need to update the MX records in your cPanel and ensure “remote mail exchange” is set. No email accounts need to be created on our servers as they reside on the third party providers servers. If you are using a third party spam filtering service that still delivers emails to our server, such as Postini, you’ll need to create those email accounts on our servers. You can migrate the current emails from your previous host to our servers.
• Point your Domain
  After you’ve migrated your website to your hosting account and setup your email addresses, you’ll now want to point your domain name away from your previous host and to your new server. This can be accomplished by modifying your domain’s nameservers with your current registrar to the nameservers listed in your welcome email.
• Test your Website Again
  When you update your nameservers, it may take from 1-48 hours before the new changes begin to take affect. We recommend that you test your website right after the nameserver change, and then again every 6 – 12 hours until 48 hours has elapsed since you initially updated your nameservers.

Backups

We cannot stress enough the importance of site backups. With the cPanel Backup Wizard, it’s a very easy process. A site backup will be your best friend if something is accidentally changed or deleted in your site and you need to roll back to a working version of your site.

Keep in mind too, it’s not just about potential errors. If companies like You Tube, Nokia, and other large companies can be hacked; the truth is any website could potentially fall victim to an attack. Good backups are your safety net in the event your site is compromised.

PHP and MySQL Databases

Do you use PHP on your website? Most customers will need to update configuration settings and may need to update PHP settings after a website move. You can access both through your cPanel.

Setting up SSL

If you’re transmitting any confidential information through your website, such as credit card details or social security numbers, you’ll want to secure this data while it passes through the internet by using an SSL certificate. Shared SSL cerificate is included in your plan, please contact us if you would prefer to buy a Dedicated SSL certificate for your site. To have the SSL certificate installed, your domain WHOIS information must match the information for the SSL certificate. SSL certificate requests sent to our certificate provider that have mismatching information will NOT be processed. After completing the SSL installation, our support team will send you an email with more information.