h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Here's the story. Two years ago I started hosting my own site for my tapas blog and a couple of other things, and I thought it would be a good idea to also move my natural clothing store over there, so as not to have to pay two hosting fees. At the time I asked the guy who had designed my online to help me do this and he hemmed and hawed and kept putting it off... and well, then I got cancer and kind of forgot about it.

Now that I am in remission (fingers crossed!) and trying to get my life back together, I am very keen to have that site moved over, for various reasons. But the designer does not answer my emails and so I was wondering if there were any geeky types out there who might be able to help me.

My self-hosted site is here:
http://azahar-sevilla.com/

The clothing store is here:
http://natural-clothing.com/

I was told by my host service that the store would end up being a subfolder with this URL:
http://azahar-sevilla.com/naturalclothing

Fine by me. I just want it over where I have easy access to it and don't have to pay extra, especially since I haven't made a bean of the store yet (though having paid for someone to design it, I would also hate to lose it).

Any ideas as to how this can be done?

Thanks!
az

Well, let's see. Firstly, you'll need to copy all the files from your natural clothing site into a folder on your home site. Then test it to see that they all work in your new location. Finally you'll need to contact whoever is hosting your clothing store url and get them to redirect it to the subfolder.

Does that make any sense?

Have you got all the files on your PC? Have you got a program for copying files from the PC to the web? I use a free program called FTP Explorer which I got somewhere. I could e-mail it to you. If you're using it, you'll need to know the username and password which you use for connecting to the web.

Yeah, it does make sense (surprisingly enough!)

But I don't have all the files on my PC.

I use Smart FTP Client - would that work? I've got the clothing store set up there.

Would I need the password for the present clothing store host to copy the files, or just for redirecting it later?

Thanks Gnomon.

az

You could, if you preferred, still have two separate websites, but within the same hosting package. The hosting would probably cost no extra, but you'd have to pay for two domain names.

(I'm have three sites at the moment, and could have many more without any extra charge.)

TRiG.

Any FTP client will do. I use FileZilla and SmartFTP, depending which computer I'm on at the time.

TRiG.

If the files on your clothing site are plain html, you can just go to each page using your browser and do a File Save to save it to your PC. If it is more complicated, such as asp, then you won't actually see the full file that is on the site, and will need to get the files from site in some other way such as FTP with the password.

I see that the files on the clothing website are php and that they do some internal processing, so you're not going to be able to see their full contents using the browser. You'll need the username and password to connect to the website using your FTP program, then copy all the files from the site to your PC. From there it should be possible to put them up into a subfolder of your own site.

If it is a 'content management' style system you'll have to make a database backup.

Many CMS, such as Wordpress, have admin-area tools designed to assist you in moving hosts:

http://codex.wordpress.org/Backing_Up_Your_Database

Thanks for the info. Not sure about being able to get the password though. Or do you mean the password to the FTP?

Getting confused.

az

I know with my host provider people ... err who I can't remember what they're called...
(though I've not done this, just read on their information that you can).

In the control pannel I get when I log into manage/upload/download thigns to my website, one of the options is to create some kind of 'backup', which it goes on to say isn't* a backup... its a kind of 'package' of the entire website, (I guess maintaining everything in relationship to each other, with bits from the public html folder, matching up to stuff in FTP folders and stuff to do with databases/dynamic content)... anyhow, this feature it says... is to create a .zip I think it was, of the etnire website in a format suitable if your migrating to another website... maybe your current provider does somethign simular?

Another Wordpress example:

http://codex.wordpress.org/Moving_WordPress

Other php/mysql systems have similar methods

Your FTP program needs a password to connect to the host's server so that you can see all the files on the website.

Okay, I think I'm in!

Will have another look at this tomorrow when I'm not half-asleep.



az

Looking like I'm not going to be able to get around to this until Sunday.

Hope some of you guys will be around in case I get stuck.

I know that my inner-geek is just waiting to blossom - this could be my big chance!


az

to move a website:

1)Grab firmly
2)Drag to new site
3)Water frequently until well settled

So okay ... gotta do this now because if the site isn't moved by the end of the month I'll lose it.

Seems like I can just download all the files from FTP, save them on my PC, and then upload them again to my present host site ...right?

I think I've figured out how to do this, but a question before I try it out. Does downloading the files delete them from the site, or will I just be making a copy?

az

It should just make a copy.