How to transfer your domain name between 2 registrars?
When you have a website and do not have a webmaster or someone specialized in website management, one of the most important tasks you will need to handle is registering and then renewing yearly your domain name.
This is something to be done with a registrar, there are many registrars online, OVH, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Instra, DotRadio domains to name a few. Sometimes you will want to transfer your domain name from a registrar to another one.
It might happen for different reasons such as different pricing, different features available, customer support, and so on. Whatever it is, you may think that transferring your domain is a huge mountain and something hard to do, but following this guide will help you overcome the idea and make it seem easier than it is.
So, if you want to learn how to transfer your domain from one registrar to another, read on!
Step 1: Check Your Domain Name’s Eligibility for Transfer
It could be also that your domain is blocked because it is about to expire; it is called a transfer lock.
You also need to make sure your domain is not already in a transfer process or in the process of being renewed (this depends on its current expiration date).
Finally, you need to check with your current registrar if you need their approval for the transfer or if there is a specific procedure to achieve the transfer. Don’t worry, usually, anything that needs to be done is clearly explained on the registrar web site. In case of difficulties, usually, the registrar support team will help you or will do it itself.
Step 2: Check that the New Registrar is accredited for your domain name
This is because of the specificities of the TLDs which do not all have the same rules (policies) for registrations. For instance, some “country” TLDs such as .us , .cn, .fr, .de etc… are only available within a very few registrars.
Another example are “Community” TLDs such as .quebec, .paris, .radio, .sport which have specific registration policies to protect their community and therefore are not available at every registrar website.
Step 3: Start the Transfer Process with the New Registrar
Once you’ve confirmed that your domain name is good for transfer, the next step is to start the transfer process with the new registrar.
To do that, you will need to provide the destination registrar with a transfer code (also named sometimes authorization code) for the domain name after having double checked that the domain transfer is not blocked for any reason (Step 1).
Sometimes, for generic domains, all is automatized, and you have only to input the transfer code in a form on the destination registrar web site.
It can happen that you must contact the support team of the destination registrar in case this is managed manually. For instance, to transfer a .radio domain name to register.radio, you will have to contact our support team with the following information:
- Domain name
- Authorization code
as we will handle the transfer for you.
Usually, the transfer codes have a validity period of some days, so the best is to not waste time between steps. Otherwise, you may have to ask for a new code if your current authorization code has expired.
Then it will take a few days for the process to be completed, once again depending on the registrars and how they work. We have seen some transfers effective in less of 24 hours. It depends on the source and the destination registrars.
You are now ready to step 4.
Step 4: Completing the Transfer and Updating Your DNS Records
Once the domain transfer has been started and approved by both registrars (current and destination), the last step that you must do is complete the transfer.
For this last step:
- You may need to confirm (again) the transfer with your current registrar
- You should possibly update your DNS records (Domain Name System)
- You must make sure that your website is still accessible after the transfer is done.
This confirmation is not mandatory for all registrars.
Usually, once the transfer is done, the new registrar recreates on his own DNS servers the DNS zone of the domain previously defined at the source registrar.
As a reminder, the DNS zone contains records defining where the servers stand for your various services such as web site, emails server, streaming server, FTP server etc…
We can distinguish 2 cases. The first one is if your hosting services are hosted at some external provider with no relationship to your ancient registrar. In this case, the replicated DNS zone will keep working without any change.
The second case is if your services (website, mail, stream) were hosted by your ancient registrar (the one you leave) (maybe as a package) then your services may not be any more available there. You must migrate to another hosting provider and adjust accordingly the DNS zone at your new registrar.
It is important to understand that you can easily register a domain with provider A and uses for it hosted services with providers B , C , D…
The glue is the DNS zone defined on the DNS servers defined for your domain. The DNS servers can also be hosted elsewhere than at your registrar infrastructure.
You must define some DNS servers on your registrar which can be either its own DNS servers or others.
You might think now that it’s complicated because it includes DNS, but it is usually quite simple if you use a registrar offering packages including domain name(s) + hosting services.
In other cases, it remains often quite simple with a provider for the domain name and another one for the hosting services with a DNS zone defined either at one or the other.
It may sound hard, but with the help of the registrars, this will be sorted in no time.
Once your new registrar announces to you that the transfer is complete, it’s time to check your website, emails, etc. to make sure everything works as expected. It’s also a good time to check if all your settings are well configured.
And that’s it, you have now your website on a new registrar!
DotRadio tips: It’s also important to keep in mind that some registrars may have different procedures, or may take longer to complete the transfer, so it’s important to read and follow the instructions provided by both the current and new registrars.
Also, it is a good practice to keep an eye on your email during the transfer process to act quickly on any confirmation emails request or notice.
Conclusion
The process to transfer your domain name to another registrar is fairly quick, and it is generally really easy. Besides, a few words and technical names such as “DNS” should not scare you.
In most cases the transfer can be done in less than a week.
So, if you really want to transfer your domain for any reasons, don’t hesitate because of the technics, it’s quick, it’s easy, and even if you don’t know anything about website management, the registrar support teams will help you along the way providing screen shots, page links and everything so that you avoid mistakes.
Remember that it is also in their interest to make you succeed in the transfer, so they usually make it easy.
If you now want to bring your .radio domain to DotRadio domains, feel free to reach out to us and we will be happy to help!
The DotRadio Team
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