Sunday, April 1, 2012

Moved Domain registrar from Godaddy.com to Namecheap.com

Hello there!  I just moved my domain from Godaddy.com to Namecheap.com.  This is a test post to make sure everything is working.  I'm sorry that this isn't about running, like most of my posts.   After I moved the domain, I had some difficulties getting it working again.  Luckily, I am a computer professional.  LOL.

I was a bit unhappy when Godaddy supported the SOPA legislation, but I was not so unhappy that I was motivated to move registrars, like many others did at that time.

What prompted my move was the cost of Domain privacy.  Godaddy wants like $10 per year, per domain.  If you have a number of domains, that cost can add up, quick!  Namecheap has free "Whois Privacy" for one year with a new domain registration or transfer.  After that, it is only $3 per year, per domain.  And you can get it even cheaper if you buy it in 5-packs.

I had an issue when I transferred the domains, in that I did not begin by reading all the suggestions thoroughly.  I just jumped right in.  I forgot to turn off privacy on a couple of my domains.  This resulted in my transfers being blocked by Godaddy.  I then had to chat with Namecheap support.  I spoke with Lana, and she was very helpful at 11:30pm on a Saturday Night.  (Yes, I have no life!)  She canceled the transfers, and refunded the money to my Namecheap funds account, I canceled my Godaddy Privacy, which is also called Domains By Proxy, and then I redid the transfer.  Worked flawlessly that time.

One downside to moving domain registrars is that you lose your Privacy for a short time when the domains are being transferred.  Also, if you don't properly document your settings, you might not be able to get your site(s) back up and running afterwards without a bunch of googling for help.  I did several domain transfers at once.  I don't really recommend this, especially if you depend on money that your websites or web properties generate.  If you move all of them at once, and then you can't figure out how to get them back up, you aren't making any money!  Which leads to very sad face...

The better solution is to move them one at a time.  If there is a problem, you only have one site not making money.  Also, once you get it working, the next ones should be easier.  I recommend moving your least important domain first.

Another thing I wanted to mention, is that you need to keep on top of the process, monitor the email accounts, check your spam folders, etc.  The entire process can be done in a matter of a few hours.  It can take days if you are not paying attention.  Some of my emails were incorrectly flagged as spam, and I only caught them because I was looking in my spam folder.

Don't forget to verify that the email address in your registrant info is accurate and still valid, and that you can still log into that account.  Some of my domains were first registered in 2002!  I used an old hotmail account that I almost deleted a couple times.  I'm glad I didn't!

To Sum up:


  1. Read about the process BEFORE you do it.
  2. Document, Document, Document your settings first.  Some registrars like Godaddy can do data exports into .CSV or .XML files.  Or just do old-fashioned screen captures.  Or do both!
  3. Verify that you can still access the email accounts that you used when you registered the domains.  If not, change them to a current email account, FIRST.  I suggest that if you use a third party email service like Gmail, Hotmail or perhaps Yahoo.  I DON'T recommend using an email account that is pointed to a domain you are moving!  You will lose access to that account while you are moving.
  4. To maximize the speed of the domain transfer, Check your email accounts during the process, including your spam folders.  If you have some kind of email feature that automatically deletes spam, you may want to turn that off during the process.  If it goes to a spam folder, you can still get to it.  If it is deleted, it is gone.