Host and URL news

I have decided to migrate the hosting of this website from BTinternet to PlusNet.

Main Advantages

The main advantages are:

• PlusNet supports URL hosting, so the http://coventry-walks.org.uk URL can be seen as the root URL for all pages
   
• PlusNet offer 250MB of webspace, thus avoiding me sometimes getting far too close to the btinternet 50MB limit
   
• BTinternet 50MB is not guaranteed to remain.  Although I was told it would be available "for the foreseeable future" at the time of the BT-Yahoo launch in early 2004, BT are really pushing the Yahoo product.   [Note: BT-Yahoo allows 15MB webspace (but with pop-up adverts forced onto every load of every page) + 100MB photospace + possibly another 100MB briefcasespace, all 3 types per each of up to 11 users;  this could be 2,365MB total, but worth much less to me than PlusNets 250MB of good webspace.]
   
• PlusNet seems to offer an excellent service, judged by many as among the best.  BT-Yahoo is rated less well on every measure.
   
• I get the PlusNet package for c.£5 per month less than BT-Yahoo

Implementation Plan

1. 13-Nov-2004 - The old files were published to the PlusNet location
    
2. 13/14-Nov-2004 - I applied for the coventry-walks.org.uk URL to be re-hosted to PlusNet;  this is completed "within 24 to 48 hours".  Unfortunately during much of this transfer period, most users will find the URL does not work.  By 17:00 on 14-Nov most people should have been able to see the new location - any who can't, please "try again later" - or complain to your ISP that their DNS (Domain Name Server) is slow at getting up to date!
    
3. 14-Nov-2004 - sent out the newsletter telling users about the change.
    
4. between 15-Nov and 17-Nov I replaced all pages on the old location with a "We've moved" notice, which will include a link to the new location, an auto jump to that location after 5 secs, and an instruction to search engines not to index that location.
    
5. on 5-Dec I updated all e-mail links to send messages to webmaster@coventry-walks.org.uk .  This will ensure portability should I ever move again!  It also helps me organise my inbox to give priority in dealing with your mail, and/or to automate my filing system better in order to find your messages if needed at a later date.
    
6. on 10-Dec I will transfer by broadband connection from BT to PlusNet, by upgrading the dial-up connection I took up last week with PlusNet in order to get this far.  I will then write to all in my address book notifying a "change of e-mail address", but will keep the btinternet address working for at least six months in case I forgot to tell someone!
    
7. Dec-2004/Jan-2005 - most search engines should update their index to remove the old location, and add the new one.  By 5-Dec-2004 Google had indexed most of the new location, and I updated the within-site search to point to it.
    
   [ NB - would anyone who has a link from their website to a page on Coventry Walks, please update that link to be of the form http://coventry-walks.org.uk/folder/file.html  in order to help speed this process. ]
    
8. In late-2005 - when I founnd traffic to pages at http://cv.pages.users.btopenworld.com/coventry-walks/ has mostly disappeared, I deleted that site completely

Experience so far ...

I have now used PlusNet for about 2 tears, including 4 days as my ADSL link.  Everything I have seen/experienced has been as good or better than I had expected, apart from a few months spring-2006 when site was down a few times. It now (Feb-2007) has been good again for over 6 months.  Well done PlusNet - keep it up!

I trust my users have been equally impressed.  If you have any problems, please let me know and I will try to fix them.

Peter Page