We have been informed by our schools that Hants IT are no longer offering school website hosting from the end of July.

This has resulted in a few concerned emails into the office but provided the provisions are put in place before this date, there is nothing to worry about.

Hosting and domains – what does it all mean?

Just in case there is any confusion over the difference between the two, here is a quick overview of what each one means. Firstly – website hosting. This is quite straightforward and simply refers to the company who host your school website (i.e. they manage the server which hosts your websites’ pages).

Next is domain name and for the sake of simplicity, this can be referred to as the address of your website. Commonly this will be a .hants.sch.uk address here in the Hampshire area but some schools also have .co.uk or .com addresses as well. For example www.schoolname.hants.sch.uk.

It is worth noting that the domain name isn’t simply a website address as this may have additional uses such as for your school email as well.

Another point worth noting is that your hosting and domain do not necessarily have to be managed by the same company. However, this is the easiest and most common approach as you only have to go to one company.

Ok, so how do I move my website?

So now we have a good understanding of the basics, how do we actually get the site moved? As intimated above, there are two parts to this – the domain move and the migration of the hosting. The good news is that all of the technical heavy lifting should be done by the two companies involved. Once you have chosen your new hosting provider, contact your current provider (i.e.Hants IT) with the details for your new hosting company. All of these details should be provided by the new hosting company. You may be asked for something called an IPSTAG. This is simply a record that needs to be changed when the domain is transferred. Your hosting company will be able to provide this to you. The final thing to mention is to give both parties enough notice to make the change. Hants IT are requesting 3 weeks but the earlier the better.

Which hosting company should I choose?

This question could fill the contents of an entire blog post alone. There are a number of options; Windows or Linux, shared or dedicated, storage space etc. etc.

Let’s keep things simple. The main things to consider are if your site is hosted on Windows or Linux and how big it is. If you know these details, you can check your current hosting is suitable. The basic plan for most hosting company’s will be suitable in the majority of instances. However, we strongly recommend asking for advice if you are unsure. Your current and future hosting company should be on hand to assist you in making the decision.

In terms of which actual companies we recommend, any of the big names such as 123-reg.co.uk and Heart Internet are a fairly safe bet. Our personal choice is currently Fasthosts. One thing to watch out for is by saving a few quid by buying hosting from an unknown company. Although tempting, if any faults arise with the website you could be stuck with poor support and long waiting times to get your site up and running.

Why not consider Coretek?

If all of the above just gave you a headache, why not hand it over to us? Coretek offer competitive Windows and Linux web hosting for schools starting at £7.49 per month. The best part is we will be on hand to help you through the entire process of migrating your domain and website.

If you are looking to revamp your website too – check out our web design service: Websites for Primary Schools from Coretek

Finally, if you have any questions at all, please get in touch with our educational team who will be happy to help.

Contact us at enquiries@coretek.co.uk or alternatively please call us on 0800 304 7444.