Websites & support / Explainer
Your domain, website and email can live in different places
Someone says they will move your domain. You want to know whether that includes the website, your inboxes and all the old email. It is a fair question, because providers use transfer and migration for several different jobs.
Before we change anything, I want a small map of the current setup. Knowing who looks after each part makes the move easier to discuss and gives us something to check afterwards.
Put four names on the map
Your registrar manages the domain registration. Your DNS provider publishes the records that direct services using that domain. The website host serves the site, while the mail provider runs the mailboxes.
One company may provide several of these, or each may be somewhere different. The company on your domain renewal invoice might have no involvement in running your inboxes.
Record the provider and the account owner for each job. You need to know which business account controls it and who can approve a change, without circulating passwords in an ordinary document.
| Part | What to identify |
|---|---|
| Registration | Registrar, renewal responsibility and authorised account owner |
| DNS | Provider publishing the active records and who can change them |
| Website | Host, application and any separate files or database services |
| Mailbox provider, domains/aliases and the records it requires |
Ask what the proposed move includes
A registrar transfer changes who manages registration. A website migration moves the site’s working parts. A mailbox migration may need to copy messages and configure accounts. Those tasks have different checks.
For an illustrative move, a business could change registrar while keeping the same website host and mailbox provider. The plan should name those continuing services and preserve the records they need.
A provider can bundle additional changes into its transfer process. Cloudflare’s documented registrar process, for example, requires the domain to be active on its DNS first. Read the actual provider’s requirements before assuming the DNS is staying where it is.
Source: ICANN: transferring a domain registration; Cloudflare: registrar transfer process
Keep the records for services that are staying
Before a DNS move, keep an accurate inventory of the active records and compare it with what the new provider will publish. Include records used by subdomains and other business tools, as well as the main website.
Email has its own routing and authentication records. MX records direct incoming mail; SPF and DKIM help authenticate sending, with DMARC setting a policy for authentication failures. Check the values against the mail provider’s instructions.
DNSSEC also needs a provider-specific plan when nameservers change. Ask the person handling the move how the current setup will be transferred and verified. A simple record import should still be reviewed.
Source: Cloudflare: DNS and email troubleshooting; Cloudflare: registrar transfer process
Use the rules for your domain and provider
The transfer steps depend on the domain extension and the providers involved. ICANN’s registrar guidance and Nominet’s guidance for UK domains describe different processes.
Nominet’s UK Domain guidance explains the registrar name or TAG used when changing registrar. Ask the new provider what it needs before changing that detail. Avoid treating a transfer-code checklist for one type of domain as a recipe for every extension.
Also check whether leaving a bundled service affects DNS or hosting supplied by the old company. The renewal and cancellation plan should follow those answers.
Source: ICANN: transferring a domain registration; Nominet’s UK Domain: changing registrar
Check each service before closing the old account
Agree how you will verify the website and email after the change. Include the pages and subdomains the business uses, plus receiving and sending from the mailboxes that are supposed to stay.
A working website homepage tells you little about whether old messages have been copied into a new mailbox. Check mailbox content separately when a mail migration is part of the job.
Keep the old services available until the agreed checks and any required data copies are complete. I would rather settle that plan at the beginning than discover a missing inbox after an account has been closed.
Sources
Checked on 23 October 2026.
- ICANN: transferring a domain registration
Registrar transfers and hosting/nameserver changes are distinct. This guidance concerns transfers under ICANN registrar rules.
- Cloudflare: registrar transfer process
This provider’s DNS prerequisite and DNSSEC preparation demonstrate why the actual transfer plan matters.
- Cloudflare: DNS and email troubleshooting
Email routing and authentication records must match the mail service; these are distinct from website records.
- Nominet’s UK Domain: changing registrar
UK-domain registrar changes use the relevant registrar details or TAG, subject to the receiving provider’s process.