I need some serious help and quick, the current company I used to build and host my website have been taking my monthly fees for over 2 years and when I have tried to contact them via email/phone they never get back to me for anything. So I did the only thing that seems to get any businesses attention and I stopped paying, they got the message and got in contact. As a result of the last contact they have now served me notice and told me they will shut down my websites on Friday 8th June unless I sign a new contract.

 

I don't want to use them anymore, I'd rather do it myself now so I don't get this issue in future. What I need to do now while I still have some access is try and export the websites so I can download my own copy of dotnetnuke and upload them without any loss of service. Is there a way I can do this quickly without much technical knowledge? Please help someone

 Peter,
I hate to say this so bluntly, but no...you need a fair amount of not only technical knowledge, but also access to get copies of your files and database from your current host.  Depending on the type of hosting account (shared) it would also be unlikely they would allow access directly through FTP, Console or other "on the box" methods.

The few times I've had to help a client in a "hostile" hosting situation I've used tools like HTTTrack or SiteSucker (Mac) to copy down local version of the content, pages, images, etc.  It obviously won't grab the skin, modules, cms, etc....but generally speaking we could setup a new DNN instance, reload the modules and then use the local copy of the content and image to "cut & paste" the website back together again.

The final step is to move your domain over from your current host to the new host, so hopefully that is not registered through the old host.  Far too many times I've een hosting companies hold a small business' domain name hostage to "keep" them on as a client.

While this is not nearly as efficient or effective as getting back ups it does work and if your site is a small one it's not too much effort to get going. 

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Steven Webster
Manager, Community Platform
F5 Networks, DevCentral

Peter,
I agree the site is simple enough to migrate to something new. The skin does look fairly custom, it would be ideal if you could at least copy that down using the File Manager. As far as the branch sites; I looked up 30 domains on the same IP address. (check for yourself here: http://rapid.searchmetrics.com/en/seo-tools/server-and-domains/reverse-ip,41.html)

I suspect not all of these are yours, so the host is likely using a single DNN instance as a multi-tenant CMS. Not a bad thing, but it does make it more complex to separate out one site that wants to move (which might explain the resistance on their part).

You can use the multi-tenant capabilities of DNN to your advantage by setting up parent portals for each branch. That way each location can manage their own content and information independently of each other using admin accounts. but the home office can still make changes to any location using a host account.

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Steven Webster
Manager, Community Platform
F5 Networks, DevCentral