If you purchased your domain name from another registrar and want to manage it through Yola, you need to transfer the domain to Yola.
Note: Currently, you can transfer .com, .net, .biz, or .org domains to Yola. If your domain has a different extension, you can point it to Yola.
Before the transfer
Please take note of these important points:
- To be eligible for a transfer, your domain needs to have been registered for more than 60 days. It must also not have been transferred to another registrar within those 60 days.
- Make sure you can access the email address that is registered as your contact one for the domain. Once you begin the transfer, our domain registration partner will send a confirmation email to that address.
- You will need to obtain an authorization code (EPP code) from your current domain registrar.
- Make sure your domain is unlocked. To find out if your domain is unlocked, look it up on WHOIS (a domain lookup tool). If the Status is described as "OK" then it is ready for transfer. If the Status is clientTransferProhibited then the domain is still locked.
- During the transfer process, your domain will not be available online. To keep your website available, you can publish it to a free Yola subdomain. Once the transfer is complete, you can connect your custom domain to your published site.
Starting the transfer
- In the My Yola dashboard, click Domains in the Topbar.
- Scroll down to the Add a Domain you already own area and click the Purchased a domain from another registrar? Transfer it to Yola! option.
- Click the Transfer a domain button.
- Type in the domain name you want to transfer into the domain field.
- Choose which site the domain will be assigned to from the dropdown list (optional).
- When done, click Continue to begin the transfer process.
After the transfer process begins, our domain partner, OpenSRS, sends an email to the address you have used to register the domain. When you receive this email (check your spam folder), follow the instructions to authorize the transfer.
Then, your current domain registrar will be contacted to approve the transfer. With your registrar's approval, the domain is transferred to OpenSRS. Once the transfer is complete, you will receive a confirmation email, and the domain will appear in the Domains tab on your Dashboard.
How much does it cost to transfer a domain to Yola?
The cost to transfer your domain is the same as a domain purchase for one year. You can also register your domain for a longer period of time, for example, two or five years. This is a cost-effective way of purchasing a domain.
What happens to my custom email address?
If you had a custom mailbox set up with your domain, you can reconnect it after the transfer by adding the needed MX records to your domain’s DNS settings. However, some hosts do not allow a mailbox to be transferred, which means that once you transfer your domain, the mailbox will be disconnected. If this happens, you can always create a Yola Mail mailbox.
What happens if the transfer fails?
You will receive an email from us notifying you that the transfer was not successful. You can contact our support team to retry the action. Alternatively, you can receive a refund.
What should I do if it’s been a while since I initiated the transfer, but I still haven’t got an email that the transfer is completed?
In this case, you should double-check the email you registered your domainwith because all of the communication is being held through it (check the spam folder too). If you’re sure you checked the corresponding email and still couldn’t find the confirmation, you should contact our support team for help.
If you don’t have access to the email you registered your domain with, you should contact your current registrar to help you change it.
Once the domain has been transferred, how do I publish my site?
When you start the domain transfer, you have the option to choose which site you would like to connect it to. Once the domain has been transferred, your Yola site will be automatically published to that domain. If you didn’t use this option during the transfer (for example, your site wasn’t ready at that moment), you can connect your domain via the My Yola dashboard after the transfer and publish it.
We hope this guide helped you. If you’ve any questions left, please contact our Support Team.
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