Domain Transferring

byBlueCQ

341 followers

8 years ago

Transferring a Domain

Have a domain that you want to keep and relocate it?

Moving one is a straightforward action. Keep in mind it is not instantaneous, it will require a few days for all parties to move through the approval process. Two forms later and then just wait a few days as it all gets worked out by the from and to registrars.

1 You need to have your contact information up to date as they will use the information attached to your domain as a means to contact you. Not sure? You can visit WHOIS to double check.
I thought my domain was owned and created by me but in fact, the company that I was working with owned all rights to it. When I used WHOIS I was shocked as one of their enticements stated a domain was provided to you for free with free hosting and since I no longer was a paying member, I couldn't transfer. I completely fell for the wording.

2. If you had an email tied to your domain account you may want to set up with another provider such as Goggle, Mail.com or Live. When you transfer you will lose the email service. Back up your contacts. Update the new email in your domain information because they will what appears to contact you.

3. You need to request that your domain is unlocked. Now this part varies on your domain provider. You can usually find this step in the domain settings section.

4. Now you will be looking to request an Authorization Code in order to perform a transfer. When you registered your domain, there is a code that was created and stored. Some allow you to generate your own code and some will email it to you. You may request this in the same area in the domain settings.
For my domain name, I had to contact two extra people to obtain the domain I had created. A little bit of a pain in the butt, but so worth the extra few days of waiting to use it with WA.

5. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) they manage internet addresses. With that being said you will need to make sure that you haven't previously requested to move your domain. A domain cannot be moved if it was created or transferred in the last 60 days.

6. Be sure you read and understand The Change of Service Agreement. As the process will vary from one service to another. If you already have an account with the registrar where you are transferring to you will need to find the Transfer section, if not, you will need to create an account. You will then enter the domain that you are transferring. If you cannot locate it their support staff will gladly help you out.

7. Remember the Authorization Code? You will be asked for the code provided to you or the one you generated when you initiated the transfer. Enter it exactly as you see it. Brackets, ampersands, and asterisks you name it it's in there. You will be contacted either by email of by phone to verify that it was you, in fact, requesting the transfer. If something is incorrect, you will not be contacted.

8. Some registrars will ask for you to pay to renew the year or some will offer the whole transfer process for free just for signing up with them.

9. Now the wait. You can set up a free domain with WA and change it later when your domain is successfully transferred over. The setup process if very easy to do. As you are waiting for completion, the new registrar will configure the DNS and name servers, and it will take a few days for those changes to be recognized worldwide.

10. Just a note: If you want to hide your name, address and telephone numbers from the public if and when someone looks up your domain on WHOIS, that will require an extra fee for privatization. Once everything is complete remember to cancel your account. Also, don't forget. You will not be able to relocate your domain again for another 60 days.

Michel