Here are the directions for how to transfer your domain to Google Domains. Your website host and your domain registrar should be separate. After you have read the instructions about how to transfer your domain to a new registrar and have prepared your domain for transfer, you’re ready to actually make the move!
Website tutorials for the rest of us
How to move your domain name from another domain registrar or host to Google Domains
- If you haven’t already, open an account with your new registrar. I’m going to transfer my domains to Google Domains.
- For Google Domains, if you’ve got anything else with Google, you’ll automatically have an account at Google Domains.)
- Make sure you understand how to transfer a domain IN to Google Domains. If you don’t understand everything, go ahead and give support a call. You can contact Google Domains support here.
- Make sure you understand how to transfer a domain OUT of your old registrar or host. If you don’t understand everything, call support at your old registrar or host.
- Make sure your domain is prepared for transfer.
- Now go back to the homepage of Google Domains.
- In the middle of the page, below the domain search box, choose > I’d like to transfer, instead
- It will take you here to search domains.
- Enter the name (URL) of the domain you want to transfer
- > Continue
- If you have prepared your domain correctly for transfer, it will tell you that:
- the domain is unlocked
- that it’s public
- you’ll have one last chance to confirm that your email address is one you can read the email from. If not, go back to your old registrar and fix this![link]
- It will tell you to “Get authorization code.” There will be a blank for an authorization, or EPP code.
- Return to your current registrar,[link] copy the authorization code (also called an EPP code) into the blank for the authorization code in this blank for Google Domains.
- Make sure “Detect and import my domain’s current settings (recommended)” is selected.
- It will also tell you if it detected your website and any other records or email configuration. If your website isn’t detected, check and make sure you either did or did not include the “www.” correctly. Also, I wish I had written all the information given here written down, so you might do that!
- When you transfer a domain in google domains there is a button to review and edit the record and make sure you check before you do transfer. These will be different for every domain that you’ll transfer. On the step 2 there will be a review your records, edit and view the records, see all the existing resource records that you have for this domain. Should you want to import all the records then just accept and proceed. Or you can add or remove records. Be sure you record what all these records are in case you have any problems. If you’ve never done this before, go ahead and call Google Domains help to make sure you everything correct here. Chat is open 24/7.
- Subdomains (and you really should have WordPress installed on a subdomain) seem to be one thing that is tricky in this process, so be sure and check with support about this before you start this process.
- Some of my problems had to do with subdomains and subdirectories and test sites on subdomains and subdirectories. It would be a good idea to clean up all your test sites and have as few subdomains as possible before go through this process!
- > Accept and proceed
- Read the payment and renewal information
- > Transfer!
- Enter your contact information
- Select > make my info private
- This is your free WhoIs protection
- (I opted in on emails)
- > Continue
- Enter payment information ($12.00)
- > Buy
- Get a message “We are setting up the transfer process.”
- Now pops up “An authorization email has been sent to (the email address for this domain). Please follow the instructions provided in the email to authorize the transfer. If we don’t hear back by (some date), the transfer will be canceled.”
- Go to your email.
- Read the terms of service.
- Inside the email > confirm transfer
- The link inside the email takes you to a web page…
- > Transfer
Message will let you know that you may be contacted by your current registrar before they approve the transfer. And the transfer may take up to 5 calendar days.
However, in some registrars you can approve the transfer yourself. In fact, after waiting until close to the cancellation date for Bluehost to approve the transfer, I was searching around and finally found that I could approve the transfer myself! (This is covered in how to prepare your domain for transfer and How to save days off of your domain registrar transfer.). Check at your old registrar or host for this. It may take a few minutes after you confirm the transfer for your new domain registrar for this option to show up at your old domain registrar. If you can’t find this option, contact help before you wait around with nothing happening for several days. If there is one thing I learned in this process, it is call support early and often!
I’m not sure, but in my experience, the domain I (accidentally) waited several days to approve for transfer propagated with no glitches. However, in the second set I was able to approve the transfer after just 30 minutes of initiating the process. Everything seemed fine, but the next day, when I tried to go to the websites I got the error
www.highschoolcollegesuccess.com’s server DNS address could not be found.
AAck! That was scary.
However, I contacted Google Domains support. It turns out this is that pesky “might take 24-48 hours to propagate problem” but at some point I also needed to re-enter my custom resource records, more than once. I hadn’t done anything wrong; according to my software engineer, these kinds of things just happen sometimes. Google Domains Help support walked me through this step by step for both of my domains. So if this happens to you, don’t panic. This is what support is for and Google Domains support was always helpful in my experience. At one point, I was even on the phone with support for an hour and a half until something was fixed. But, this is one of the reasons why I suggest you hire a developer if any interruption in website service will me a loss of income for you.
Resources
How To Transfer Your WordPress Domain In 3 Easy Steps – A good overview of steps. Steps include deciding on a new registrar, updating your registration information, turning off WhoIs.