Building a website is easier than ever these days. There are a wide variety of tools available to make it much easier to do so. But there might be a time when you might need to transfer your registration, website hosting, or both!
This article will help you understand the easiest way to transfer your website hosting and domain registration, and completely avoid downtime and the many different frustrations that might arise during the transfer process. It takes only a few extra steps and some planning, but by following the correct process you can completely eliminate any downtime on your websites and actually save yourself some time in the transfer process as well.
VPS
First: Some Research on your website
Before beginning, you should know what was used to build your website, and what would be involved in transferring the content to the new hosting provider. Static.html files, for example, involve moving just files (your new hosting company should be able to help you with re-uploading your website: your old hosting company should be able to help you with the download to your local computer). Other types of websites (blogs, web-stores, and other database-driven applications) require more work because you also need to backup the database, restore it to the new hosting provider, as well as move the files themselves and make any necessary adjustments to fine-tune the application to the new hosting environment. In those cases, you should find out what was used to build your website, and then search for a migration guide specific to that application. You might also discover that the tools that you used to build your website are proprietary tools specific to that hosting provider, in which case transferring the files might be difficult (or impossible).
Next Step: Setup New Hosting account and move files
So once you have worked out the details on what files and databases (if any) need to be backed up and moved, the absolute easiest way to fully transfer your website hosting and domain registration is to begin by actually setting up the new hosting account with the intended new hosting company. This is usually easy enough, and your new hosting company will be able to guide you through setting up the account, uploading the website files from your local computer to the new host and setup databases when required. This can be done even while your domain name is "live" on the old server still. This allows you to fully prepare your website files on the new server without affecting your live website.
After checking that the files are uploaded and any databases are restored as needed, you should also setup email plans with the new hosting company as well. Many hosting companies provide free basic email services and you can prepare these email accounts beforehand, just like preparing your website hosting and files. This works in much the same way. Your new hosting provider should be able to guide you through setting up your email plans. These will not be "live" with the new server just yet, but preparation is key! If you set everything up first, you are guaranteed to avoid downtime on your website, and outages in your email. You will want to backup any emails that are with your current email provider, if you have not already done so.
The Switch! Change Nameservers to bring the new services live
Once you have prepared your website hosting and email, you are ready to actually switch! Your new hosting provider should be able to provide at least two nameservers for you to "point" your domain to. In simple terms, nameservers are the first basic layer of traffic control for a domain. Changing nameservers affects where the internet goes to find your website and email servers. Therefore, changing nameservers is all that is required to change hosting. Since it also affects email however, it is important that your email accounts are also setup at the new location to avoid interruption of your email.
Finally: Transfer your domain registration
Finally, once you have changed nameservers, you are ready to request the domain transfer. You will want to speak with your new hosting company about their specific procedure, but the basic transfer process requires that privacy options be removed on the domain (if needed), and that the administrative contact email is accurate and updated (Your current registrar can help with this). You will also want to contact your current registrar to ensure the domain is not "locked". Registrar locking prevents unauthorized transfers as well as domain theft, but your current registrar will be able to help you unlock your domain if needed. Once you have unlocked the domain and verified the administrative contact email is up-to date, you can then contact your new hosting provider and request the transfer.
Following the correct steps takes a little bit more preparation work but can save days or weeks in frustration and aggravation while trying to transfer your website hosting and domain registration from one company to another.
Smooth Transfer for Website Hosting and Domain Registration
