Registering and transferring a domain name

Registering

1. Search for the name in /panel/domains.

2. Check the extension. .com is the safest default; .io/.dev/.app suit tech; country TLDs can carry local requirements.

3. Register and enable auto-renew and WHOIS privacy (often free).

Avoid typo-squatting traps and trademarked names. A domain you have to give up later is a domain you should not have built on.

Registrar lock and WHOIS privacy

• Registrar lock stops unauthorised transfers. Keep it on except during a planned move.

• WHOIS privacy hides your name, address and email from public lookups. Turn it on.

Transferring a domain

A transfer moves the registration between registrars. It does not move your website or email by itself — DNS may or may not come along depending on nameservers.

Before you start:

1. Confirm the domain is not within the 60-day new-registration lock or a recent-transfer lock.

2. Unlock the domain at the current registrar.

3. Get the authorisation (EPP) code.

4. Verify the admin email on the WHOIS record — the approval goes there.

The transfer:

1. Start the transfer at the new registrar, paying any fee (often the first year's renewal).

2. Approve the confirmation email.

3. Wait — typically 5–7 days, sometimes faster.

4. Both registrars may email; read them.

After the transfer:

1. Re-check nameservers — do they still point where your DNS lives?

2. Re-check all records — A, MX, TXT. Transfers are the #1 cause of accidental email breakage.

3. Re-enable the registrar lock.

Do not let it expire

An expired domain stops resolving and can be snapped up by squatters. Auto-renew plus a valid payment method is the whole defence. Check the expiry date after any transfer — the clock resets.

Related reading

• Nameservers: where your DNS actually lives

• DNS records explained in plain English