OWNERSHIP & MOVING PROVIDER
Can I move my website, domain or email away from my provider?
These are often three separate services, even when one supplier manages them. Work out what you control and what depends on what before cancelling anything.
Map the accounts first.
Find out who holds the domain registration, who manages the settings that direct visitors and email to the right services, where the website is hosted and who provides the mailboxes. Note the account owner, renewal dates and recovery contact for each service.
A supplier managing an account for you is different from you being the account holder. Ask for a written explanation of ownership, export options and any contractual restrictions.
- The company that holds your domain registration and manages its settings.
- Website files, database, content exports and licences.
- Mailboxes, aliases, calendars, contacts and shared addresses.
- Bookings, payment links, forms and other connected tools.
Decide exactly what is moving.
Moving a website does not necessarily require moving the domain registration or email. Keeping a working service in place can reduce the number of things that change at once.
Keeping the same email address generally depends on retaining control of its domain and setting up the address with the new mail provider. Moving historic messages, calendars and shared mailboxes is separate work and depends on the systems involved.
Agree the checks before the change.
Agree what to back up, who needs access, when to make the change and how to recover if something goes wrong. Confirm that you can restore what matters, not just that a backup file exists.
Check the live website, forms, incoming and outgoing email, important links and connected services. Keep the old service available for an agreed overlap where possible. Do not cancel it before the new setup and required data have been checked.
Make the handover useful.
Keep a record of where services live, who pays for them and how to recover access. Use business-controlled accounts and appropriate access for anyone helping you.
Ask the new provider to separate their project fee from ongoing hosting, licences and support. Ask whether there may be an interruption and what the move depends on, so you can plan around it.