How to Transfer Away a Domain Name From SiteGround to FastComet

SiteGround claim to host more than 2,800,000 domains. However, every day, we encounter SiteGround customers who are looking for an alternative hosting solution for their great domain name that provides better performance with higher quality and responsive support. So if you’re not happy with your SiteGround domain registrar — no need to worry! You can easily transfer your domain to another registrar. One of the best things about transferring your domain over to FastComet is that you can manage all your domain settings and billing from your FastComet account. You will have everything you need in one place. Additionally, you can use the domain name as a Private DNS, or you can choose to set it up with Google Apps. Furthermore, we send all our clients emails when their domains are close to expiration to avoid any downtime because of missed domain renewal. You will be no exception. 

Here at FastComet, we make it super easy to transfer a domain registered with SiteGround by guiding you through each step with simple instructions.

Table of Contents:

• Prepare to Transfer the Domain Safely and Easily
• Review Domain Name Transfer Requirements
• Steps to Transfer A Domain From SiteGround
• Unlock the Domain Name
• Obtain EPP/Authorization Key
• Purchase Your FastComet Hosting Plan
• Update the Nameservers to Point to FastComet
• Submit a Domain Transfer Request to FastComet
• Check the Status of a Domain Transfer

Prepare to Transfer the Domain Safely and Easily

Before you continue with the domain transfer, take note that whenever a domain name is transferred away, the nameservers associated with it stay the same during its transfer from one registrar to another. Say your domain is using the default SiteGround nameservers, they will be preserved during the domain transfer, which is why you will not be able to change them until the transfer is finalized.

This means that if you switched to another web hosting provider and your website was already migrated, make sure that your domain name is pointed to the new hosting provider before initiating a domain transfer. Again, you won’t be able to change the nameservers until the domain transfer is complete.

Keep in mind that Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting are two separate services. The domain name transfer process will not migrate your website automatically. If you’re a FastComet customer and you want to transfer your website from SiteGround, go ahead and submit a migration request from your client area. Our transfer experts will move your existing website(s) and email(s) free of charge, seamlessly, and without any downtime.

The details listed here are only for transferring your domain’s registration to another registrar. The transferring of the hosting for your site is a completely different process. Read more about the process in the following article: How to transfer your website to FastComet.

Review Domain Name Transfer Requirements

• Due to ICANN's Transfer Policy, domain names must have been registered for more than 60 days in order for them to be eligible for transfer. This 60-day registrar lock is to prevent fraud and theft of domains;
• You cannot transfer your domain if it's within 60 days of а previous transfer;
• Usually, the domain name should have more than 15 days before its expiration date.

For more thorough information, you can check our tutorial on domain transfer requirements. 

Prior to attempting to transfer a domain away from SiteGround, you must complete the following steps.

Steps to Transfer A Domain From SiteGround

You should start by accessing your SiteGround account where your domain is currently registered.

To transfer your domain to another registrar, follow these steps:

Unlock the Domain Name

To unlock the domain, you need to follow the steps below:

• Log into your Client Area → Services → Domains:

• Next, click the 3 dots to the right of the domain you wish to transfer.
• In the menu that appears, click Manage Domain:

• The Domain Management area will open. To the right of the renew button, click the 3 dots to open the menu, then click Registrar Lock:

• The registrar lock modal will appear. Be sure the registrar lock is toggled OFF, then click Confirm to save:

• Initiate the transfer at your new registrar and regularly check the administrative email for your domain.

You can find the valid administrative e-mail for your domain name by using the WHOIS lookup tool available here. If this tool shows the administrative email is [email protected] or similar, you have to change it to yours in order to complete the transfer. This can be done from your Client Area → Services → Domains → Manage next to the domain you want to transfer. There change the email address for your domain name.

If you have Domain Privacy activated for your domain, and the gaining registrar fails to send a message to your administrative e-mail account you should cancel it. This can be completed from your Client Area → Services. Allow up to several hours for the modification to propagate and the real administrative e-mail account will be shown in the WHOIS lookup.

Obtain EPP/Authorization Key

When you're at the Manage My Domain screen, to the right of the renew button, click the 3 dots to open the menu, then go Get EPP Code → Send Code:

The EPP Code will be sent to the domain’s primary registrant’s email address.

Purchase Your FastComet Hosting Plan

The first thing you should do (if you haven’t already) is to choose from our hosting plans. You can check our price list on your own, but you should consider contacting one of FastComet’s Customer Care specialists, who will help you pick the best plan for your online project. 

• Once you have chosen your starting plan with FastComet, you can click on the GET STARTED button:

• Next, choose the option “I already Have a Domain,” and then click on the USE THIS DOMAIN button:

• You will get to a screen where you have to input all your contact and billing info. Make sure that all the information is correct. Once you are ready, please go through our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If you agree with our terms, check the box, and finish by clicking on the button COMPLETE ORDER:

Update the Nameservers to Point to FastComet

The transfer needs time to process. As your previous provider should release the domain to FastComet, it is a good idea to point your domain to the FastComet nameservers or via A record to the IP address, provided to you in your Welcome email, so that be able to start working on your website. 

Changing your name servers while your domain is being transferred may cause the transfer to fail. Be sure that you have updated your name servers before the transfer begins so that your domain will be working as soon as possible.

Submit a Domain Transfer Request to FastComet

As you may have already seen during purchasing your FastComet hosting plan, we provide domain transfer services to all existing customers. After transferring your domain to FastComet you get access to our user-friendly domain management interface and you can take full control of your domain.

To initiate the transfer process for your domain name, please make sure that you have access to your domain administrative email address. In case you no longer have access to that email address you may request to have that email changed by your current domain registrar.

When you have done everything in this post up until now and you are sure that all requirements are met, continue with the following steps:

• Login to your FastComet Client Area;
• Click on the Domain Transfer link under the Domains section in your Client Area:

• Input your domain and select your domain extension to check if the domain transfer is available for your domain:

If you don’t find your extension on the list, contact our technical support for further information. You can do that by submitting a new support ticket.

• If your domain is available for transfer, click on the Add to Cart button to proceed:

• Insert your Authorization (EPP) Code in the field shown in this screenshot:

• If all requirements for the successful domain transfer are met, you should receive your domain transfer confirmation email shortly.

Check the Status of a Domain Transfer

Domain transfers can take 5 - 7 days to complete. You may contact us at any time to inquire about your transfer status.

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