Moving your site to a new host - How?
 

How is the process of moving your site to a new host done? I've read it can be done if both hosts use cpanel. Is this a simple process, or is there work to be done after the site is moved? Are the image urls updated automatically? How much manual editing will I have to do? Are there webhosts who will do it all for you or is there still a lot of work to be done after it's moved?

Great question, very timely for me. I am looking forward to the discussion.

If you move from cpanel to cpanel most the time the new host will move it for you. Also you shouldn't have to update any image paths or anything assuming your username remains the same for the new host as it was with the old host.

If the new host isn't able to move it for you you'll need to download all files from your server to your computer, then reupload them. Then backup the database from the old server, and restore it to the new. This can be done with simple SSH commands in under 5 minutes, but i've posted it about 100 times already in similar threads as this one.

What about all the custom template edits that contain urls and things like a default avatar mod which has it's own image url, I assume the added images I would have to update myself, but with anything that comes in stock vbulletin, that would auto update?

Like Ntfu2 said, if you keep the same username there is no need to worry about that.

How does this actually work? Do the hosts contact each other serves and copy everything over? Does godaddy offer cpanel?

No, In most of the case hosting companies not contact you previous host direct to get you direct. They will ask you account info and move the file as any other.

GoDaddy have a custom control Panel, they do not cPanel for shared accounts.

There are import / export tools for a lot of the control panels if that's what you are using.

It's not that hard to move a forum from one server to another if you don't change the paths too much (though tbh this shouldn't affect you unless you've stuff hardcoded in, which is a bad idea in the first place)

Simply copy the files from server 1 > server 2

Take a dump of the database and import it into the new server.

You could probably do the entire thing in about 15 minutes (or less) :)

I've had to do this a few times over the last couple of years!

All I do is:

1.) Backup my files and database from the old server.
2.) Redo some edits in the config.php for the new server
3.) Upload the files to the new server
4.) Restore the database to the new mysql database
5.) And reinstall whats needed if anything

Please also see the manual: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/moving_servers

i have following problem when moving from one host to another:

I backup database from old host. Using PhpMyAdmin. Database encoding is CP1251.
After install VB on a new host, move files to new host (such templates, mods etc). Than i try to restore database. Restored all data but .... all Cyrillic symbols become "question mark" (screenshot attached).

I try many times to restore database with different ways and also try to change encoding to utf-8. Nothing hepls.

Have any idea?

All those question marks seem to be like its a different language type.