The Basics to Transferring Your Domain to InMotion Hosting

By Brad Markle

There may be a number of reasons why you’re ready to let go of your current registrar (or domain provider) in hopes of finding another one. One of the primary reasons people want to make the switch in registrars is the need to cut costs or pricing. Another common reason for making a domain transfer is because it would be easier to register the domain name with the hosting company that you already use. No matter the reason for switching registrars, the process is pretty simple even for those who aren’t familiar with concepts behind web hosting, domain names, and other various components of the internet.Before explaining the process of making the switch for your domain name to InMotion Hosting, it’s great to know exactly how everything works so that you have a pretty clear understanding of what happens when the transfer is made. In this article, you’ll get a brief understanding of how web hosting and domains work, as well as the general process involved for making the switch.

The internet is made up completely of servers. Every website that you view is hosted somewhere on a server, and most of the servers that exist belong to hosting companies. InMotion Hosting is a prime example of a hosting company that “rents out” servers to users so that they can host their websites and files on the internet.

An easy way for inexperienced users to look at domain names is to imagine them as doors to your website. When a user types a domain name into the address bar of a browser (www.yourdomain.com), the browser will use the DNS (or domain name system) to find the appropriate server that hosts that particular website. More specifically, your browser will use name servers to locate the correct server, and ultimately, the files that make up the website. By typing the domain name into the address bar of the browser and pressing enter, you are essentially turning the knob and opening the door to that website.

All domain names are registered through a registrar. This is something completely different from hosting, as hosting is just a word for files being hosted on a server. A domain name is essentially needed to contact and interact with those files. Domain names need their registrations renewed with their registrars periodically so that their visitors can keep using that simple domain to access their websites easily. When you transfer a domain name from one registrar to another, you are not switching hosting or name servers. In a nutshell, you are simply changing the provider, or changing who you pay periodically for registration to your domain name.

With the basics squared away, you may feel comfortable enough now to initiate the switch from your current registrar to InMotion Hosting. InMotion Hosting uses a registrar named Melbourne IT to handle all things domain-related for the service. However, when you’re ready to transfer your domain to InMotion Hosting, you will need to complete the following simple steps.

1. Contact your current registrar, and unlock the domain name. All domain names are locked to prevent any unauthorized transfers from occurring, so this step is imperative for successful completion of the process.

2. Get the authorization code. Once you’ve unlocked your domain name, you’ll be given an authorization code that acts similarly to a password for authorizing various phases of the transfer process. Be sure to write this code down for future reference.

3. Make sure that the administration email in the Whois is accessible by you. If you were the one to set your domain name up, the email address will more than likely be your own. However, confirm that it is indeed an email address you have access to because you will be receiving emails in it that will be vital steps in the process of making the transfer.

4. Contact InMotion Hosting about the transfer. Once you’ve spoken with InMotion about making the switch, you’ll need to log into your AMP (or account management panel) to initiate a Domain Transfer Request. Please remember that when you initiate this request, the authorization code that you received in step 2 will be needed to confirm this.

5. InMotion Hosting will begin the transfer process. Essentially what will happen when you arrive at this step is InMotion Hosting will contact Melbourne IT about the domain transfer, and Melbourne IT will handle the rest of the transfer process from there on out.

6. Wait for Melbourne IT to contact you via the admin email registered in the Whois to confirm the process. Generally, there will be a link contained inside the email that you will need to click to complete another important step of the process. You’ll need to enter your authorization code once more to ensure that you indeed want the transfer done. This is just a security measure to help ensure that you indeed want to transfer your domain.

7. Give the process a few days for completion. The process generally does not take long, but in some cases, the process in its entirety can take up to 10 days. However, once everything has successfully completed, InMotion Hosting will send you an email letting you know that your domain has been transferred. From then on out, you’ll make periodic payments to InMotion Hosting rather than your former registrar for the registration of your domain!