Domain names (such as "LearnWebDesignOnline.com") are registered in "registrars". You can often see what registrar a domain name is registered under by visiting who.is If you own a domain name that is already registered with one registrar and want to have it registered under another registrar, that transfer process is known as a "domain name transfer". This can occur if you are switching webhosts and want the domain name to be registered under your new webhost. Or it can occur if you have purchased a domain name from a third party.
Many webhosts have their own registrar that they work with. In this tutorial, we will use the Hostmonster.com as an example of our webhost. The process will differ depending on the webhost, but the concept should be similar. Let's say that we have just purchased a domain name say from another registrar (it could have been from GoDaddy or Network Solutions or any number of other registrars). For the purpose of this example, we'll say we are moving it from GoDaddy's registrar. So GoDaddy will be considered the losing registrar and Hostmonster will be considered the winning registrar.
Note that it is possible to host a website on a webhost where its domain name is registered with another registrar elsewhere.
However, in this tutorial, we want to perform a "domain name transfer" and move that new domain name from GoDaddy's registrar to Hostmonster's registrar so that both the hosting and the domain name registration is handled by Hostmonster.
1. First thing is to log into the losing registrar and make preparations to release the domain name. Check to make sure that the admin contact email in the registrar record is correct. Because emails may be sent to that address during the transfer process for various confirmation codes that you will need. Next you have to "unlock" the domain name so that it can be transferred. Locked domain names can not be transferred. If the losing registrar is controlled by a third-party, then you will have to work with them to perform these actions.
2. Now we log into our winning registrar -- in this case it is Hostmonster's control panel. In the Domain Manager tab, click on the link "Transfer a new domain to your account" ...
3. Enter the domain name to transfer ...
4. You will now be asked to enter an EPP code which you would obtain from the losing registrar.
5. Next Hostmonster will send an email to the admin contact that was listed in the losing registrar of the domain name. This is to verify the ownership of the domain and the intent to transfer. That email will contain an "admin contact verification code" that you will enter in step 2 of the transfer process ...
6. Once the codes have passed, you will get to a settings page similar to ...
Click the green button to continue and the winning registrar may ask you to pay for the domain at this time.
7. Then you might have to wait about a week for the losing registrar to release the domain name. Just log into Hostmonster domain manager to monitor its progress or you can call their tech-support on its status to see when the transfer has completed fully.
Also see Hostmonster's video tutorial on domain name transfer.
Process for transferring domain name to Network Solutions.
Tips on Transferring domain name from GoDaddy
