Should i wait for my domain name to expire to transfer hosting?
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Hi there. I currently have a customised domain name with WordPress where I paid 26 USD a year to change from tinywandererdotcom.wordpress.com to tinywanderer.com. Now, it’s about to expire in 2 months and I’d like to transfer my hosting to another. Do I wait for it to expire so that the domain name becomes available? I’ve read the FAQs and it says that if it expires, it may be unavailable up to 90 days. If that’s the case, what should I do? Should I do the transfer now? If I transfer the domain to another registrar or host, does that mean I’d renew the domain name there instead of at WordPress? And also, once I move to a new host, would I be able to import all my current content on my blog to the new host? I haven’t got a new host yet though I’m looking to get one soon.
Thanks so much for your help! I’m sorry if I use certain terms wrongly. I’m not familiar with websites and development at all!
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Hi there,
I’m happy to help you sort out how this works — domains and hosting can definitely be a bit confusing at first! :)
You definitely shouldn’t let your domain name expire if you want to continue using it (no matter where you want to use it). Letting a domain name expire means that you give up ownership of the domain name, and there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get it back: Domain Expiration
Instead, you should either keep it registered here at WordPress.com and point it at your new host, or you should transfer it to another registrar. Usually, when you transfer a domain to a new registrar you will renew it for another year (with the new registrar) as part of the process. We have a guide that explains those two choices here: Move Your Domain to Another Host
No matter what you do, you’ll still have access to your WordPress.com blog’s dashboard. That means you can still export all of your content from here and import it at the new host whenever you’re ready. We have a guide for moving your blog’s content here: Moving a Blog
And if that all sounds a bit confusing and you’d rather get some help with the move, we do have a Guided Transfer service to help with the whole process: Guided Transfer
Just let me know if any of that was unclear or if you have any other questions. :)
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Hi Rachel,
Thanks so much for your reply. That was exactly what I needed.
As for web hosting companies, would you recommend BlueHost? Or HostGator?My other question is, once I transfer my domain and hosting, does that mean if I were to type in the name of my website, it’d go to the new website? Does that mean it’d come up to an empty page if I don’t import my old stuff into the new one?
Cheers!
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Hi there,
We recommend using one of the hosts on this page: http://get.wp.com/hosting/
Each host has slightly different prices and features, so you may need to do a little research to see which one offers the best deal for what you want. :)
My other question is, once I transfer my domain and hosting, does that mean if I were to type in the name of my website, it’d go to the new website? Does that mean it’d come up to an empty page if I don’t import my old stuff into the new one?
Yep! Your domain will show the content that’s at whichever host it’s pointed to. So if the domain is pointed to WordPress.com (like it is now) it will show your WordPress.com blog. If the domain is pointed to your new hosting, it will show the content you have there.
If you don’t export the content from your blog here, you’ll be starting from scratch with your new host.
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