Domain transfers are without a doubt one of the most confusing things to a domain name owner, especially if you've never done it before and you don't have a clue as to where to start. Unfortunately; it's a fact and we can't make it easy for you. But we can try to ease it up a bit.
The first thing you need to do is determine where your domain name is currently hosted. To do this; you must do a whois search. Go to one of the websites below:
https://betterwhois.com
https://allwhois.com
https://completewhois
For this example; we will use https://betterwhois.com. Type your domain name in the text box provided.
The
who is database gives info about the registrant: administrative
contact;
the technical contact and the billing contact, including
addresses; phone numbers
and email addresses. This is available to the public.
We want info about notreallyadomain.com for this example.
This is what you will see:
Domain
names in the .com, .net, and .org domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to https://www.internic.net
for detailed information.
Domain Name: NOTREALLYADOMAIN.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS, INC.
Whois Server: whois.opensrs.net
Referral URL: https://domainhelp.tucows.com
Name Server: NS1.NOTREALLYANAMESERVER.NET
Name Server: NS2.NOTREALLYANAMESERVER.NET
Updated Date: 07-jan-2004
Creation Date: 08-mar-1997
Expiration Date: 08-mar-2006
The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .ORG, .EDU
domains and
Registrars.
So, in breaking a whois search down:
Domain Name-The domainname you have inquired about
Registrar-The registrar the domain has been registered with
Whois Server-Who is database this info was pulled from
Referral URL-The URL of the Registrar -who you need to contact in order to change the domain from one name server to the other: either by physically talking to them or using control panel access.
Primary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on
Secondary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on
Two nameservers are generally used: if the primary nameserver breaks; then the secondary can take over the primary nameserver duties
until the primary is fixed.
Updated Date-When the whois record was last updated
Creation Date: When the domainname was created
Expiration Date: When the domain name expires
This domain was registered thru an Opensrs registrar/reseller.
Scan the who is database;
you will usually find the Registrar contact info. In this
case; the info was towards the bottom:
Registration
Service Provider: Domainmonger.com, service@domainmonger.com
+1.425-821-8032 https://www.domainmonger.com
We would then go to https://www.domainmonger.com
Providing we have our userid and password; we could login and change our nameserver info, contact info or any number of functions.
Once we have changed our name server info; there is generally a propagation period
as the internet as a whole updates with new dns information. For a new domain name,
you can count on anywhere from 12 - 24 hours. For a domain name that is
already in existance,
and has already been moved, it can take anywhere from 12 - 72 hours. There is no definitive time,
unfortunately.
There have been instances of propagation taking two weeks or more.
Here are some of the different Domain name registrars now available on the net.
Never use your domain name as part of your email address on your contact email for your whois record. Use a web-based email like Yahoo or Hotmail. If you experience any kind of issue, you'll be emailed at your contact email, and if it's your domain name and it's broken, you're out of luck.
Use yourself as a technical contact on your whois record. Use a second email address as well. Hosting companies do go out of business, and this could hinder your access should you want to move the domain name.
Keep track of the email addresses you use as contacts, the userids and passwords. Keep track of your domain name - when you ordered it, when it expires. If you let the domain name expire, your website will not be accessible through the domain name. Keep track of any userids/passwords associated with domain name maintenence.