The scenario we are looking at is moving a website and domain name from
one provider to another.There are two things to consider.
The first is the moving of the domain name registrar from 1and1 UK to Bluehost.
When complete it means that domain name renewals and payments are made by/to Bluehost
and not 1and1UK.
The second is the movement of the website (the files) from the 1and1 server to the Bluehost server.
Even though they seem related they are separate and it would have been possible to move hosts only, and leave the domain registration as it was. In fact this is common with organizations that purchase
many domain names. They purchase the domain names and the hosting from two different companies and link them as necessary.
However I find this arrangement difficult to administer for small organizations, and so I recommend using the same domain name registrar and hosting provider, which is why I transferred the domain
name.
The Process
There are four main steps in the move.
- Prepare for Transfer
- Establish the new site
- Reconfigure name server entries on Site A (original site) to point to the new site (site B).
- Request transfer of domain name to new authority.
Prepare for Transfer
Note:The actual transfer is purely administrative (for billing and renewal).
Also the actual admin transfer is done last and should only be done after the Domain Name servers have been updated.
During the transfer process you will receive emails from both hosts either requesting information of advising of status.
For security reasons domain registrars lock a domain name to prevent unauthorised transfers and so the first step of the process is to unlock the domain name. This is done on the admin panel of
the originating host (Host A)
Establish the New Host
First you need to get a new hosting account if you don't already have one. Most new hosts also include a domain name as part of the hosting package, and will let you transfer an existing domain name if
it already exists.
In my case the domain name already exists and so I needed to request a transfer this I did as part of the ordering process.
Configure the New website
Basically you need to copy the files from the old server to the new one. In my case and many cases this is very straightforward as the files are also located on my PC and I FTP them onto the 1and1
server.
All I need to do is to FTP all the files to the new server.
However the FTP account uses the domain name but if I FTP to niche-website-guide I get the website on the one and one servers not the Bluehost as the DNS (Domain Name Servers) haven't been
reconfigured.
However I can't reconfigure the Domain servers as if I do they will send visitors to a blank site. It's a catch22 which in the case of Bluehost is solved by the fact that they supply a temporary
address to use to FTP the files before the Name Servers have been configured.
This I used to transfer all of the files from my PC to the new host location on the Bluehost servers.
Configuring the Name Servers
This is done on the control panel of the originating registrar (1and1). The DNS information was supplied by Bluehost and I entered it into the DNS settings for the domain name
It now takes about 24 hours for the DNS servers on the Internet to synchronize and until then a visitor may be directed to the site on the 1and1 server or the site on the Bluehost server.
It's not possible to tell which so I made a slight edit on the home page of the new site so that I would know which one I was being directed to.
The new site actually showed up within 24 hours. After that I waited a week before I imitated the domain transfer.
Transferring The Domain Name
The is the last phase which places the administration of the domain name with Bluehost. Again it is important to point out that it is not strictly speaking necessary as I could have left it with 1and1.
During the transfer process you are asked for an authorisation code. This you get from the originating domain registrar (1and1).
This phase is initiated on Bluehost control panel. Here is the Whois information before the transfer:
Here is the Whois information after the transfer (Approx 7 days after request)
WHOIS information for: niche-website-guide.com:
The data in the BlueHost.Com WHOIS database is provided
to you by BlueHost.Com for information purposes only,
that is, to assist you in obtaining information about or related to
a domain name registration record. BlueHost.Com makes
this information available "as is," and does not guarantee its
accuracy. By submitting a WHOIS query, you agree that you will use
this data only for lawful purposes and that, under no circumstances
will you use this data to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support
the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or
solicitations via direct mail, electronic mail, or by telephone; or
(2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes that apply
to BlueHost.Com (or its systems). The compilation,
repackaging, dissemination or other use of this data is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of
BlueHost.Com. BlueHost.Com reserves the
right to modify these terms at any time. By submitting this query,
you agree to abide by these terms.
=-=-=-=
Registrar Name....: BlueHost.Com
Registrar Whois...: whois.bluehost.com
Registrar Homepage: http://www.bluehost.com/
Domain Name: NICHE-WEBSITE-GUIDE.COM
Created on..............: 2005-04-12 14:51:35 GMT
Expires on..............: 2009-04-12 00:00:00 GMT
Last modified on........: 2007-12-12 06:57:33 GMT
Registrant Info: (FAST-12911090)
Cope Consulting ltd
Stephen Cope
Akehurst
Ironbridge, TF8 7JT
United Kingdom
Phone: +44.1952884731
Fax..:
Email: stevecope@onetel.com
Last modified: 2007-12-05 20:41:27 GMT
Administrative Info: (FAST-12911090)
Cope Consulting ltd
Stephen Cope
Akehurst
Ironbridge, TF8 7JT
United Kingdom
Phone: +44.1952884731
Fax..:
Email: stevecope@onetel.com
Last modified: 2007-12-05 20:41:27 GMT
Technical Info: (FAST-12785240)
Attn: niche-website-guide.com
C/O BlueHost.Com Domain Privacy
1215 North Research Way
Suite #Q 3500
Orem, Utah 84097
United States
Phone: +1.8017659400
Fax..: +1.8017651992
Email: whois@bluehost.com
Last modified: 2007-04-05 16:50:56 GMT
Status: Locked
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.BLUEHOST.COM
NS2.BLUEHOST.COM
|
Summary
The domain transfer and host change is very straightforward there is a likelihood that you will suffer a short outage while the DNS servers get updated but it is unlikely.
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