A website just launched and already slow, moved to AWS the same day.
A web agency had just launched a design school's new website, and the site was slow. They asked us for a bigger hosting plan. We proposed changing platform and had the server ready the same day.
A design school's website ran on shared hosting we had managed for many years, on a platform we would not choose today. The day after the new site went live, built by an external agency, it was slow. We opened an AWS account in the school's name, created a server in the Milan region with Laravel Forge and handed over access the same day, offering to do the move ourselves.
Context
A design school had its website and email on shared hosting managed by us, a setup we used more than ten years ago. The new website was built by an external web agency, working with the school's contact person.
The problem
The day after launch, the agency wrote that the site was very slow and asked for the available hosting plans to upgrade. More space on the same shared hosting would not have fixed it: the site needed a server with its own resources.
What we did
- 01
An account in the client's name
We proposed AWS, or alternatively a VPS, in either case in an account owned by the school, with its own billing details. The machine and services belong to the client, who can hand their management to anyone.
- 02
The server in Milan
After talking to the school's contact, we created the server in the AWS Milan region with Laravel Forge and sent the access details the same day, with only ports 22, 80 and 443 open.
- 03
We do the move
Instead of leaving the migration to the agency, we offered to do it ourselves, and the agency gladly agreed. Our partner completed the final configuration.
- 04
The agency keeps working
The agency connects over SFTP with its own SSH key to a user dedicated to the site, with no access to the rest of the server. For the domain's email we later added a DMARC record.
How it went
The site runs on its own server in Milan, in the school's account, and the agency keeps maintaining it with its own access.
Tools
FAQ
Does more space on shared hosting make a site faster?
Rarely: slowness usually comes from CPU, memory and configuration shared with other sites. A dedicated server, even a small one, makes a bigger difference.
Why a cloud account in the client's name?
Because the client stays the owner of servers, data and invoices, and can change supplier without migrating anything.
Can an external agency keep working on the site?
Yes, with a user dedicated to the site and SSH key access, without seeing the rest of the server.