How To Transfer Your Domain Name From One Host To Another

HostLeet

HostLeet

Active member
We get a few domain name transfer requests each month from new clients, and I realized how very few of them have knowledge on the subject or don't even know where to start in order to transfer their domain name somewhere else. I created a FAQ article about domain transfers for our website, but I wanted to post a similar one here in Hosting Discussion to help educate does who seek some knowledge on the subject. :)

First of all, most people think they have to transfer their domain name over to a new host in order to have it hosted on their servers. This is NOT true... You can always leave your domain name with your current registrar or host, and simply change the nameservers to point to your NEW registrar/host.

Now, for those of you who DO wish to transfer your domain name away from your current registrar/host. You will need to make sure you follow these steps BEFORE starting the transfer process..

1. Have your domain's EPP Code (Security Key) handy so you can provide it to your new registrar/host (this can be obtained from your current registrar/host). When you order a transfer, you will be asked for the domain's EPP code. The transfer can NOT be initiated without this security key, so make sure you have access to it.


2. Unlock the domain. Make sure your domain name is UNLOCKED before you initiate a transfer. This can be done from your current registrar's domain control panel. If your domain name is locked, the transfer will fail.


3. Don't have WHOIS protection enabled. Make sure to DISABLE WHOIS protection on your domain name before initiating a transfer. This can be done from your current registrar's domain control panel. If your domain name has WHOIS protection enabled, the transfer will fail.


4. Make sure the domain's Administrative Contact Details or WHOIS Information (email, address, phone, ect..) MATCHES your own personal info with your new registrar/host. This can be changed from your current registrar's domain control panel. If your domain name's contact details DO NOT match with the new registrar/host, the transfer will fail.


Once you have initiated the transfer process, your new registrar/host will send a transfer request approval email to the email address listed in the WHOIS details for that domain (your email address). The request MUST be approved by the domain name holder/owner.

Once approved, your new registrar/host will then send the request to your current registrar/host so they release the domain name over. If your current registrar/host does NOT release the domain, it will NOT be transfered. Make sure you can contact your current registrar/host for assistance.

However, sometimes customers don't know who their domain name registrar is, or their current host has vanished from the face of the earth without a trace.. Most of the time, you can do a simple WHOIS search on your domain name to find out who your registrar is. A good WHOIS search tool is " http://www.domaintools.com/ ".

I hope this post can help some of you feel more prepared for this, sometimes, intimidating task. :thumbup:
 
In short : Your post is very useful for new webmasters. The clarity in your post is just prominent. Thanks for these guidelines :)
 
Unless my current registrar is unbelievable bad, i would not choose to transfer domain registration but just change DNS server if I like to switch website hosting. Change domain registration will take down website for a long time and it's definitely not affordable to online business.
 
hostloc said:
Unless my current registrar is unbelievable bad, i would not choose to transfer domain registration but just change DNS server if I like to switch website hosting. Change domain registration will take down website for a long time and it's definitely not affordable to online business.
Click to expand...

Actually, changing registrars does NOT cause any downtime on your website... Changing hosts will, though.
 
Changing hosts shouldn't cause any noticeable downtime either.
At least not for a .com domain.
 
Blue said:
Changing hosts shouldn't cause any noticeable downtime either.
At least not for a .com domain.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It can be avoided if you take the proper steps when changing hosts. I was just clarifying to hostloc that changing registrars doen't cause downtime at all, because your domain never stops pointing to the server during the transfer process. :)
 
Domain transfer is the process, which confuses ordinary computer users who do not know this industry much technically. So, your information can be very useful for such users.
 
HostLeet said:
We get a few domain name transfer requests each month from new clients, and I realized how very few of them have knowledge on the subject or don't even know where to start in order to transfer their domain name somewhere else. I created a FAQ article about domain transfers for our website, but I wanted to post a similar one here in Hosting Discussion to help educate does who seek some knowledge on the subject. :)

First of all, most people think they have to transfer their domain name over to a new host in order to have it hosted on their servers. This is NOT true... You can always leave your domain name with your current registrar or host, and simply change the nameservers to point to your NEW registrar/host.

Now, for those of you who DO wish to transfer your domain name away from your current registrar/host. You will need to make sure you follow these steps BEFORE starting the transfer process..

1. Have your domain's EPP Code (Security Key) handy so you can provide it to your new registrar/host (this can be obtained from your current registrar/host). When you order a transfer, you will be asked for the domain's EPP code. The transfer can NOT be initiated without this security key, so make sure you have access to it.


2. Unlock the domain. Make sure your domain name is UNLOCKED before you initiate a transfer. This can be done from your current registrar's domain control panel. If your domain name is locked, the transfer will fail.


3. Don't have WHOIS protection enabled. Make sure to DISABLE WHOIS protection on your domain name before initiating a transfer. This can be done from your current registrar's domain control panel. If your domain name has WHOIS protection enabled, the transfer will fail.


4. Make sure the domain's Administrative Contact Details or WHOIS Information (email, address, phone, ect..) MATCHES your own personal info with your new registrar/host. This can be changed from your current registrar's domain control panel. If your domain name's contact details DO NOT match with the new registrar/host, the transfer will fail.


Once you have initiated the transfer process, your new registrar/host will send a transfer request approval email to the email address listed in the WHOIS details for that domain (your email address). The request MUST be approved by the domain name holder/owner.

Once approved, your new registrar/host will then send the request to your current registrar/host so they release the domain name over. If your current registrar/host does NOT release the domain, it will NOT be transfered. Make sure you can contact your current registrar/host for assistance.

However, sometimes customers don't know who their domain name registrar is, or their current host has vanished from the face of the earth without a trace.. Most of the time, you can do a simple WHOIS search on your domain name to find out who your registrar is. A good WHOIS search tool is " http://www.domaintools.com/ ".

I hope this post can help some of you feel more prepared for this, sometimes, intimidating task. :thumbup:
Click to expand...



This is actually a very good post. We also face the same problems with our customers so this kind of education is really appreciated :-)
 
This is a really informative post with great tips, but there's one aspect that I'm still unsure of.

I have web hosting with Yahoo small business, with multiple domains and recently they've changed their email system and I've been having a lot of trouble getting to the email accounts that are on my domains rather than the generic yahoo account. I'm planning on switching to another host and I'm wondering, how will the transfer affect my email service?

You mentioned that you can just point your website to another host without transferring the domain, but who will the email accounts be with in that case? Will it still be Yahoo email even though my sites are hosted with another provider?

If I do transfer the domains to the new hosting provider, will I have to set up all the email addresses again, and will anything be lost in the process?

Am I over-thinking all of this and everything just switches over automagically?

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
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