Transferring domains can be a bit stressful at times and is also confused in many cases with DNS Transfer. Transferring a domain is different from transferring DNS though in some cases they do go hand in hand. Transferring DNS is changing where and who handles your DNS and usually means changing your nameservers. Transferring a domain means that you are transferring the actual domain handling from 1 Registrar to another.
If your current registrar is also handling your DNS that it is important that you change DNS before initiating the domain transfer. This is because some Registrars will stop serving your DNS immediately after you initiate a domain transfer or request a EPP Code. Considering that a domain transfer can take anywhere from 5 to 14 days that would be a very long time to have your website offline! So to avoid this make sure to change the nameservers at your current Registrar / Host to use your new Registrar / Host nameservers and wait for propagation to complete and your site to come back online.
Things To Check Before Transferring Domains
- Your domain must be at least 60 days old and not have been transferred in the last 60 days.
- The domain must be unlocked.
- The domain must be active and not expired.
- Pay attention to the contact e-mail in your domains WHOIS contact information as this is where confirmation e-mail / EPP code will be sent. if you have whois protection enabled you may want to disable that prior to requesting transfer to avoid any issues.
Now you can go ahead and initiate a transfer of the domain from old host to new host. You most likely will need to request an EPP Code for this which will need to be entered at the new host to confirm and authorize the transfer. If you use a 3rd party service such as CloudFlare there should be no downtime and you can skip the above part. You can initiate the transfer from within your Kickassd Client Portal > Domains.
Once initiated a domain transfer can take 5 to 14 days for transfer to complete. It is normal that transferring a domain generally costs the same as renewing your domain for 1 year as this is automatically done upon transfer. Once the transfer is complete you will be able to manage your domain from within your Kickassd Client Portal.
As always if you have any questions, concerns, or need help don’t hesitate to contact Kickassd Support!