Domain name transfer -- downtime?

[msaz87]

Hey all,

I'm trying to figure out what kind of downtime I might face with the following plan:

I want to move a domain name and eventually my site from web.com to HostGator and GoDaddy. I plan to purchase my host with Gator and create my site on there identical to the current one before I switch the domain -- but during that transitional period, will there be any downtime? Or will it still direct to the web.com site until it finishes its transition and then point to HostGator and seemingly not have any downtime at all?

Thanks for your help

[JLHC]

Don't worry, there shouldn't be any downtime but take note that it may take up to 72 hours for the domain to propergate.

[Hosting Advisor]

In short I would say "No", shouldn't be any downtime while transferring a domain.

If you are changing hosting provider as well as Domain Registrar then:

Just don't cancel your old host until you have your website fully functional on your new host, then keep your old host for at least for some more days after you change the DNS settings. All users will slowly be directed to the new website as the DNS settings propagate out.

Only thing to watch out for is if you have any user registration or signup, disable that on the "old" site for a few days as you transfer over or you may "miss" folks as they get added to the "old" site's database or whatever.

[BobZ]

As far as I know that when a transfer of a domain is initiated, the previous registrar of this domain sends the confirmation mail to the new domain registrar.So it is important not to forget to approve that verification mail because in this case the transfer won't be initiated.It is better to check the validity of the email address to which this verification mail is going to be sent beforehand

[3Dprof4Online]

in general the transfer can take up to 3-8 days for a transfer to be completed, usually it is possible to avoid downtime as DNS are transferred as well. Taking into consideration transfers are difficult procedures and often fail I would advise you not to transfer your domain and not create problems for yourself, it is easier to update nameservers. However, it is solely my own opinion and everything is up to you.

[BobZ]

Yes, 3Dprof4Onlineis right.The transfer can even last more than a week and at the end of the transfer you can find out that it was not initiated properly or there are some problems from the side of the registrar.In this case the registrar starts a new transfer and there are no guarantees that this time it will be successful.