Webhosting complicated and stupid issue

[Sarah Atkinson]

OK so we have 2 web hosting companies we use. One is really really bad. Would it hurt us if we had our domain with them then a redirect to a different domain on a different host? The problem is that it takes about a week to upload a file to host one. Well often times by the time they have it uploaded the next change has come down and I've got another file to send to them to upload. Because of this 3rd party deal it's just a pain in the rear.

So would a redirect be that bad. Would it hurt us in SEs would it hurt us in reliability/trustworthiness ext?

I know it would make my life easier. what would be batter would be a DNS config change however that apparently is not an option.

[londrum]

you definitely need to change your host. they take a week to upload a single file? that's a laugh. can't you get FTP access so you can upload your own stuff?

i would get the site uploaded to the new host first, and make sure it's all there. then ask the old host to point the domain at it. that should only take a day to work. once that is done you can delete everything off your old host and shut it down. keeping the domain name with should be okay.

[edit] actually, i've just reread your post. doing a redirect would be okay as long as you do a permament redirect. you shouldn't lose out search engine wise. but it's far from being the best option.

maybe you should just go the whole hog and dump this company altogether.

[StudioKraft]

Hello,

If the switch to your new web hosting provider is done correctly, you should not have any effect on your SEO as far as Google is concerned:

[google.com...]

The key is to make sure that the switch is done professionally so that there is no loss of data (if your site has a database) and no "blackout period" where your web site is inaccessible. If your old host is as bad as it sounds, the trick will be to copy your site to the new host, verify that it is functioning, and then cancel the account on the old host so that they do not drop your site before the new one is ready.

You should have control of the domain name, not your web host. You should also not have to rely on them to upload files for you, it sounds like a very weird situation. We register all domain names with the client's name so that they retain control of it and can make changes to it, and we provide FTP access for clients who need to upload files so that they can do so 24/7. I'm not sure why your old host would not allow you to do this.

Hope this helps,

SK