Domain Transfer vs Domain Migration

Domain Transfer

Domain Transfer vs Domain Migration – A Domain Transfer is literally that. Transferring just your domain name from one domain registrar to another domain registrar. A Domain Transfer is NOT migrating/taking a copy of your whole website and moving it to your new hosts’ servers.

If you just place a Domain Transfer order, this does not automatically set up new hosting for your site. Website hosting must be added on to the order or ordered at a later time whenever you are ready to start developing or making your website live for the World to see.

We recommend clients transfer their domain to their website host as it then ensures your site hosting and domain are in one account – this makes it much easier for keeping track of your products and services and asking your host for help to update any DNS settings of your domain.

How do I prepare my domain name for transfer?

Ready to transfer your domain name? Verify that you’ve got the following ducks in a row with your current registrar and you will be.

Unlock your domain name.
Disable your domain’s privacy settings.
Ensure the admin contact information is updated and correct.
Get your transfer authorization code, also known as an EPP code.
Depending on your registrar, you may need to contact them directly for your code.
Ensure your domain is at least 60 days old or opt-out of your domain lock.
Make sure your domain isn’t tangled up in any legal disputes as that’s a quick way to get it locked at the registry level.

How long does it take to transfer a domain name?

Transferring a domain name is a quick process. Once you’ve completed a few steps (like making sure the domain is unlocked, etc.), the rest of the process is taken care of by the registrars.

You can complete your portion of the transfer process in one sitting (which we recommend for security reasons) It only takes an hour or two, max, and that’s being generous. Then, the registrars do their parts to complete your transfer which can take up to 5-7 business days.

Actions that cannot be performed while a domain name registrar transfer is in progress.

There are some other actions that cannot be performed while a domain name registrar transfer is in progress. These are:

Update nameservers.
Change the WHOIS registration information.
Renew domain registration.

If there is an urgent need for any of these actions to be performed, the domain name transfer process must be cancelled by the outgoing registrar.

Alternatively, one may have to wait for standard 5-7 business days for the domain transfer process to finish.

Domain Migration

Also known as Website Migration.

A migration is when you, your web designer, or your new host migrates or takes a copy of your site from your old hosts’ servers cPanel account or restores it from a backup file to your new hosts’ servers. In most cases, this is an easy process that may only take a few hours – as long as cPanel access or a backup copy of your site and any email accounts is provided.

In a site migration, a hosting account’s content is copied from one hosting provider to another. The migrated content usually includes:

Website files
E-mail messages
Databases
cPanel settings (for cPanel-based accounts)

A site migration does not affect the existing, functioning site. Content is merely duplicated, not removed. In order for the site at the migration destination to become the new “active” site, the domain’s name servers must be updated to point to the new server hosting the migrated content.

A site migration can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two, depending on how much content there is to migrate.

This process does not affect your live site or emails. Only when the “Domain Nameservers” or “A Record” are updated will this then make your site live on the new server.