Communicate With Your Clients
Its vital to prepare your clients for the change. Whether you choose to change your domain name after purchase, or months later, assess every point of contact email, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and be sure to regularly communicate before the big switch.
Tell them why youre changing, engage with them. This will help to calm your loyal customers and keep them trusting you as a brand.
Learn How To Transfer Your Domain To Another Hosting Provider
The first time you registered a domain name for your website, you had to go through either a domain name registrar or a hosting provider. But if, for whatever reason faster load times, smoother ease of use, cheaper renewal prices you want to move your domain name from one host to another, its completely possible! The only restriction is that youll have to wait at least 60 days after purchasing a domain before you can transfer it.
The process of transferring a domain is easy, but it takes some time. Thats because youll need to wait for both your current domain name registrar and the host youre switching to to authorize the domain name transfer.
Here are the steps broken down:
Monitor The Sites Uptime
When a new DNS is assigned, your transfer is basically complete. Youll want to monitor your servers uptime diligently over the next couple of days to make sure everything is working properly.
Its critical to not drop your guard and that you notice if there are any issues as soon as possible. Of course, monitoring your websites uptime does not imply that you need to visit your website every 5 minutes it means that youll need to use tools and apps to help with the task.
Some useful tools you can rely on are Pingdom, Uptime Robot, and Monitor Us. Regardless of the tool you choose, you need to calibrate them to monitor the following elements: Ping, HTTP, DNS Server, and TCP port.
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Paying For Your Transfer
You are charged for the incoming domain transfer unless you have a free domain registration still available with your hosting service. You can read more about the free domain registration with your hosting service in the article.
If you need to pay for the transfer, the cost of the transfer of that particular TLD is listed on the order page for you to review before you proceed. Click the Proceed to Payment Entry button to continue.
If you need to make a payment, the balance owed for this is displayed along with the various payment options. Enter your payment method, and then click the confirmation button for the payment method you selected.
The single transfer fee applies both to the transfer and the new year of the registration beyond the current expiration date.
After youve gone through the payment process and have clicked Submit Transfer Request, a confirmation appears.
If you navigate back to the Reg. Transfer page, you’ll see it’s pending.
Any payment you make is held as a credit balance on the account until the transfer completes. The charge for the transfer is then applied.
The Difference Between A Domain Change And A Domain Transfer
A domain change refers to replacing a websites internet address, which primarily just affects the domain name. A domain change thus differs substantially from a domain transfer.
When a domain transfer occurs, users change the internet provider, which means the entire website is transferred to a new server. Here, changing or registering a new domain is simply an additional option . However, domain changes are simply about altering the website address, meaning the provider generally remains the same as before. Here is a short summary of the differences:
- Domain transfer: the internet provider is changed a domain transfer is therefore frequently regarded as a change in providers. The web presence and the domain consequently move to a new web server. Find out how this works in more detail here.
- Domain change: this is where the web address changes. With a domain change, an existing website is linked to a new domain.
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Configure The New Provider In Your Email Tool
Weve already created an identical email address with your new provider, and weve also set a redirect that will send all new emails to that new provider.
The main thing to do now is to configure that new email address in your email tool .
Go back to cPanel on your new host, and click on Email Accounts.
Click on CONNECT DEVICES next to the email address that youre migrating to the new host.
On the next page, youll see all the details needed for configuring this email in any email tool.
- The first section is where you can find auto-config files for some of the popular tools.
- The second section shows the raw config details, which you can use to configure your email by hand in any tool.
Note In this model, youre going to have two instances of the same email address configured in your email tool. Theres the version still hosted on the old server and the one hosted on the new one.
At this stage, when someone sends you an email, it should be delivered to your new host. However, within the next two days or so, you might still be getting an odd email landing on your old server. This is because domain name redirection doesnt take effect right away.
In some cases, it takes up to 48 hours for all traffic to be correctly redirected to the new server.
This is why you shouldnt delete your old email configuration from your email tool right away.
That being said, the core of the work is done now!
Overview Of How To Transfer Email Address To Another Provider
The most straightforward and quickest way to transfer email address to another provider is the following:
The first thing you should do in terms of configuring your new hosting is set up your domain name there.
To begin, log in to your cPanel account, go to Domains.
Click on CREATE A NEW DOMAIN.
Fill out the following form:
- Domain. Your domain name.
- Document Root. It can be an entirely new directory name. I usually just enter my domain name with a _ instead of the dot, e.g. mysite_com.
Click on SUBMIT.
With this done, your server is now ready to receive your domain name.
At this stage, most people choose to move their websites to the new host as well. Heres how to do that without downtime.
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Decide On A Public Or Private Domain
Some providers allow you to obscure public WHOIS information for your website. When searched, your website will return contact information for your registrar rather than your personal details. This is useful if you’re running a business out of your home or don’t want your phone number displayed. However, private domains are more expensive than public domains.
Why Change Domain Names
There are many reasons for wanting to change, perhaps you dont like your domain name, or maybe youve had feedback that your customers dont like it.
So, what happens if a name just isnt working for you anymore?
There are benefits of domain name changing. You might be able to get your hands on a shorter and more memorable domain name one thats marketable, modern, and appeals to your customers.
Lets take a closer look at four reasons you might want to switch names.
Reason 1. You want to rebrand
Maybe your company was bought and you need to undertake a domain name change, or a brand agency recently swept you off your feet, resulting in a company name change, and therefore a pressing need to change your domain name?
Perhaps you own a company that sold blue dog collars and registered for the name billsbluecollars.co. After a short while, you start to realize that red collars are more popular. You no longer want that .co domain, you want a .com, and to revamp your domain name entirely.
Its perfectly understandable that if a complete overhaul and fresh design are happening, you might need a new domain to match.
Reason 2. Youre relocating
Imagine youre an actor. An exciting move from a small US town to Toronto in Canada might mean that your acting portfolio website needs to change from a .us to a .cato reflect your availability.
Reason 3. Your business has changed
Reason 4. Your dream domain name is up for grabs
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Moving A WordPress Site
Moving WordPress from cPanel to cPanel
For WordPress sites on cPanel hosting, the fastest way to move your site is to zip everything in your public_html or www folder, upload the folder to your new web host, and add the following two lines into your WP-config:
define define
Moving WordPress using common plugins
Alternatively, there are plenty of good migrating plugins for those who are moving WordPress site to a new web host. I like Duplicator WordPress Migration Plugin and All-in-One WP Migration for their simplicity. These plugins will help you to move, migrate, or even clone a WordPress site to a new web host with no technical knowledge required.
Moving WordPress using special-built plugins
Some web hosting companies provide their own WordPress migration plugin. For examples WP Engine Automated Migration and SiteGround Migrator these are special plugin developed for transferring WordPress sites to a designated web host. You should make use of the in-house plugins when switching to those particular companies.
More Details On Domain Preparation & What Can Cause A Transfer To Fail
There are a few things that will cause a domain transfer to fail. If you have followed the preparation steps, you have eliminated the majority of these possibilities. The information below will help you understand why you will take each of these steps:
- Domain is not more than 60 days old or has been transferred within the last 60 days.Per ICANN regulations, a domain that has been newly registered or transferred from one Registrar to another within the last 60 days is not eligible for transfer.
- The domain is locked or on hold with the current Registrar.Most domains will have a Registrar Lock in place for added security. We recommend you leave these in place unless you are transferring a domain from one Registrar to another. You should have access to remove these directly within your account at your Registrar. If you do not, contact their help department for assistance If the domain has a hold in place, it will be reflected in the domain status when you do a WHOIS lookup. These are usually put in place at either the registry or Registrar level. You will not have direct access to remove these and will need to contact the losing Registrar for assistance in removing them.
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What Happens To E
Not only will your domain change provider, so too will your e-mail address. However, this does not apply to your inbox and previously received emails. If you keep the old host, you have the option of managing your e-mails just as before and register its mail server in the MX record of the domain.
However, you can also transfer your entire e-mail inbox onto the new server, which you should be sure to do if you are cancelling your old contract. You can either do this manually, which could mean a certain degree of effort if your inbox is full, or you can use your providers e-mail transfer service, which is offered by many hosts.
How Does A Domain Change Work
Unfortunately, you cant simply change your domain with the internet provider or registrar that provided your web address. When a web address from ICANN the highest authority in the domain assignment industry is supplied to the database of a domain name system, it cant be changed at the drop of a hat. A domain can only be transferred to a different owner or deleted. You must therefore always secure a new domain and connect it with your web presence.
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All About Domains: The Ins & Outs Of Naming Your Website
If your website is your online home, then your sites domain is your primary address. Your domain is the first impression that people have of your business and the first introduction to your own plot of land on the world wide web. But like any first impression, youll want to take some steps to make a positive impact.
Picking the right domain name is kind of like naming your business it can be a big deal if you dont do it right, so take the time and invest some thought into it before you commit. Nervous yet? Dont be, were here to help.
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How To Transfer Your Domains To Siteground
Important!point your domain name serversbefore
To transfer your domain to SiteGround, go to your Client Area > > Domain Services tab. In the Add Domain Extras section, search for Domain Transfer> Get.
Enter your domain name in the type-in box and click on Check Status.
Our system will automatically check its status and inform you about the information needed for initiating the domain transfer. You can read more about the different types of Domain Name Statuses in this article.
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Switch Your Dns To Your New Host
With your new host set up, you can finally switch your sites DNS to their servers. If you got your domain through the hosting provider youre leaving, their customer support team should be able to help you transfer it to another host. You may need to go back and forth between both providers to complete the process.
On the other hand, if you acquired the domain independently, its up to you to change your sites name-server to match your new host. That process will vary depending on where your domain is registered. You should be able to find the target DNS in your new hosting account.
Websites like IP/DNS Detect, Whats My DNS Server, and Whats My DNS can check your sites DNS settings to confirm that the changes have taken place. While that process may take 24 or 48 hours, your site will be available at the old DNS until the modifications go into effect.
Retrieve The Transfer Code
Once the status is set to Disabled, a link labelled AUTH/INFO will appear. Clicking on this link will open a window that contains your AUTH/INFO code .
The code will be requested by your new registrar to complete the transfer process. You can verify the details with your provider.
Make sure to copy and paste the code as opposed to typing it by hand, since some characters are easily confused.
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