Migrating from GoDaddy Shared Hosting to a Virtual Private Server (“VPS”) — what I wish I knew
I’ve mostly used “shared” web hosting but had the chance to help someone upgrade to GoDaddy’s Virtual Private Server (“VPS”).
After the purchase and setting up the admin info, launch the Web Host Manager (“WHM”).
First: “Create a New Account”
Fill in your domain info. It’s all straight forward.
Now I wanted to update the Registrar info with the new name servers. I couldn’t figure out how though!
How to set the Name Server
In WHM:
- Go to Server Configuration >> Basic Webhost Manager Setup
- Scroll down to the bottom and put in (2) Nameservers
Example:
- ns1.mySite.com
- ns2.mySite.com
I used the same domain that I just set up the account for.
On each one, hit the button for “Configure Address Record” and specify the IP4 address (found in the header of the site).
The IP address is reversed in the WPM site. Go back to the “VPS — Hosting” screen to get the IP address.
After entering the IP, hit “Configure Address Records” again before closing the modal. Then hit “Save Changes”.
I ran into an error on the next step. The GoDaddy representative said to go back in; I saw my browser auto-filled in something for ICQ ID password for alerts. I deleted it.
Then DNS Zone Manager
Find the domain you entered, and hit “Manage”.
On the second and third lines (where the Type is “NS”) —click “Edit” and update the values to match the nameservers above (ex ns1.mySite.com / ns2.mySite.com).
In the Registrar
They weren’t using GoDaddy. In the Registrar (in this case, Squarespace), there were three actions:
- In “Domain Nameservers” revert the custom name servers that were used (there was a button for “Use Squarespace Nameservers”)
- In DNS Settings, I got rid of the “Squarespace Domain Connect” entry
- Still in DNS Settings, I added a Custom Record:
Settings to Change
Setup FTP
By default, FTP is disabled. Enable it by:
- Search FTP in WHM
- Select “FTP Server Selection”
- Change from “Disabled” to another option (I chose “Pure-FTPd”)
- Click Save
Now go back into the “VPS — Hosting” page, hit refresh, and you’ll see the account you just created. You’ll see a link to the cPanel and it should be self-explanatory from there.
Add-On Accounts
For security purposes, it’s often better to have each domain on its own account. But I wanted two domains to share the same account. I had to enable “multiple domains”:
In WHM:
- Go to List Accounts
- Find the domain >> Click the Plus Sign
- Click Modify Account
- Change the “Max Addon Domains” value
SubDomains
To add a subdomain:
- Go the DNS Zone Manager, add an A Record >> for the subdomain you want to create
- Back in the Registar, specify the custom A Record (same as the screenshto above)
