Are you ready to switch Internet providers? You may be paying more than necessary; Internet services have become more competitive over the years, with significant drops in pricing. In order to determine whether you are paying too much, check other providers' prices and check to see if you need all of the services being offered. Services such as: speed -- you might not need to have fast speed; or Static IP address -- these are necessary only if you provide services like your own web server or mail server. If you find it is time to switch, you can easily save your information with a site backup.
Difficulty: ModerateInstructions1Download and open an FTP program such as Filezilla or Cuteftp.Log into your site through your FTP program, and navigate to "Public HTML." Click and, while holding your mouse down, drag the "Public HTML" file to where you want to save your files.
2Back up your database files by clicking on "phpMyAdmin," click on the database you want to back up, and then click on the "Export" tab.
3Click "Save as File" and "Add Drop Table," then click "Go." Repeat to save other databases.
Tips & WarningsIf your email address is tied in with your Internet provider; send out advance notices that it will be changing. You might also want to do a backup of your email messages and export the contact list. References Tech Soup: How to Switch Internet Service Providers Site Ground: How to create a backup of your site and restore it? Site Ground: MySQL Export: How to back up your MySQL database?