Domain transfer: how and why to do it

July 6, 2023 by guest writer

Anyone who has created one or more websites will be aware of the domain/hosting combination. With domain, in fact, we mean the name associated with the physical IP address on the web, in short, the name of the site appearing after the wording www.

Buying a domain is usually done at the same time as buying hosting, since most services include it for free. In other cases, the domain is purchased in advance, so as not to "miss” it, and only later is the most suitable hosting service chosen.

In both cases, many users look for a way to transfer it after the purchase: let's see why and how to do it.

Why transfer a domain?

There can be many reasons, but generally transferring provides a number of benefits, including:

Ease of migration - Let's start by saying that today there are specialized services in domain transfer and, if once this process could cause problems for your portal, today it is implemented in a very short time.
Easier management - Especially if you need to manage many domains (perhaps in favour of your customers) or if you bought a hosting service only after buying the domain, you may want to combine all the domains under a single service, so as to easily manage them in one location.
Value for money - The cheapest service is not always the best choice for your site and many customers find out the hard way. For this reason, you could opt for a service offering additional features at an affordable price.
Essential services - Among the various features offered by high-level hosting services, you can find greater attention to DNS (both in terms of flexibility and speed), a better technological infrastructure behind the service and a better control panel for managing your portal.
Customer support - Operator support is also often a factor to consider when making your choice. Any problem affecting your domain (and your hosting) is reflected directly on your site and can cause financial and image damage. For this reason it is good to rely on a company that can protect you, regardless of the problems that may arise.

These are only part of the benefits of domain transfer, but how do you do it? Is it a long and complicated process?

How to transfer a domain?

Transferring a domain is a process divided into several steps but not particularly complicated. What do you need for this step?

First, you will need to have the domain purchased from a service before, and to have framed a service to transfer it to. You will also need to check if the latter offers the possibility to transfer the domain.

Then you will need to contact your current service (also often called a registrar) in order to get:

- Domain unlock, required for the transfer.
- Access to the AUTH security code, which must then be entered at the new provider to start the transfer.

Domain unlocking is sometimes requested directly by the new provider, in which case you will need to confirm this request when the old provider sends you an email.

In principle, this is sufficient to carry out this transition which can take up to a few days.

Remember to make a security backup of your site and the data located within it and to verify, after the transfer, that the DNS redirects to the new provider.

Should you be anxious about this process, do not worry: the best providers offer dedicated support during this step.

Like Artera, a premium hosting service with a very high level of assistance which, in addition to offering personalized services for every need, accompanies their users in the migration thanks to dedicated support.