Transferring a Domain Name

Imagine that you just got a brand new domain name, then it turns out your domain registrars' services don't suit to your needs, what do you do now? There are two options: you get a similar domain name at another registrar or you transfer your domain name to another registar, in this article we will be discussing the second one. 

Why Transfer?

Many domain registrars provide bad services and support, in such case you might consider transferring. Some registrars do not allow the name servers to be set, or ask additional fees to set them, others do not allow redirections and other services.In some cases the registrars dns servers might be slow which could also be a great disadvantage. In other cases a customer might have registered his domain at his web hosting company, if the customer wants to change to another web hosting company he has to transfer his domain name if his current web hosting company doesn't allow domain name servers to be set to other web hosting companies' servers., which is a very common practice among web hosting companies. 

Before You Transfer

If you want your domain transfer to be successful you have to take few things into consideration. First and foremost you should know that transferring domains were registered/renewed less than 60 days ago is not allowed. So if you domain was registered or renewed less than 60 days ago you should wait before transferring Something else you should consider is to check if your domain is locked. Usually you should be able to see this in your domain control panel. If a domain is locked this means that no transfers for this domain are possible. You should unlock it before transferring, if you cant find an unlock option in your control panel then you have to contact you web hosting company and inform them about the transfer that is about to take place. 

Each domain name has administrative, owner, technical and billing contacts associated with them. Usually the administrative and owner contacts should contain your name, address, telephone and some other additional info. Some registrars allow you to modify this contacts, but others do not. You have to make sure that the administrative and owner contacts have their emails set to your email address. When a domain is being transferred the administrative or owner contact has to be contacted by the new and the old registrars to confirm the transfer.

Every domain name has an authentication key(also called security key, authentication code, security code..) this is to prevent domains being transferred by unauthorized individuals. When you transfer a domain your new registrar will ask you for it. Some registrars allow security codes to be delivered by email by requesting it from your domain control panel, like godaddy for example. If this is not allowed then you will have to ask your registrar's technical support for it.

The Transfer Procedure

First you go to your new registrars website and request a transfer. After you have done that a confirmation email will be send to the domain's owner and/or administrative contact for a confirmation. Usually there are one or two security codes included in the email and a link for confirmation,  you will be asked for them at your new registrars confirmation page. You will also be asked for the authentication key of the domain. After you complete the confirmation. Your new registrar is going to contact you current registrar for approval of the transfer. Your current registrar might inform you of the transfer that is about to take place, and give you an option to cancel it. Usually the registrar will wait five days for eventual cancellation of the domain owner, after this time has passed the domain name will be transferred