Site Transfer Issue

  • Unknown's avatar
    rick006usc · Member ·

    I was a previous owner of a blog/website (skyetempsite.wordpress.com), and transferred it to another another WordPress account (@drskye) using the steps outlined in the WordPress ‘how to transfer a site to another person’ article. I did this over a couple of months ago, and the new owner has said that they have never been able to see or access this site on their personal dashboard, and they also did not receive an email to state that a site was transferred to them. Which I’m guessing they should have received as well?

    I received a notification at the time of transfer to state that the transfer of ownership was completed successfully though. I have asked this question before on the support pages here, and a WordPress staff member had offered to assist, but that thread is now closed.

    If someone would be kind enough to assist with this issue, it would be greatly appreciated.

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • supernovia · Staff ·

    Hi @rick006usc, we’d be happy to help. I can see drskye is indeed the owner of the site you shared.

    Would they be willing to reach out with details on the issue they’re running into?

  • Unknown's avatar
    rick006usc · Member ·

    Yes, I’m sure they would like some assistance in solving this problem. I’ll get them to make contact with you via this chat.

    Thanks for your help.

  • Unknown's avatar
    rick006usc · Member ·

    Hi Supernovia,

    Just a couple of quick questions. Is there a timeframe on when these chats are closed for further comment? I can let drskye know then how long she has to access this thread before it is closed.

    And is there any trouble-shooting tips you might have on hand at the moment, that might help or be the reason why they can’t see this transferred site on their dashboard still?

    Again, drskye already owns “noosaosteo.com.au”, and I created “skyetempsite.wordpress.com” in my account and transferred that over to her. Once she has that site in her account and can see/access it, the plan is to change the domain names over so that “skyetempsite..” becomes the new “noosaosteo.com.au”.

  • staff-totoro · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    Again, drskye already owns “noosaosteo.com.au”, and I created “skyetempsite.wordpress.com” in my account and transferred that over to her. Once she has that site in her account and can see/access it, the plan is to change the domain names over so that “skyetempsite..” becomes the new “noosaosteo.com.au”.

    Hmmm… from what I can see that is not a domain that is registered with WordPress.com. You can also confirm here: https://gwhois.org/noosaosteo.com.au+dns

    To clarify, your intent was to have the site owner transfer the domain from one site to the other to “launch” the new site and replace the old one with it?

    The reason I ask is because the site noosaosteo.com.au appears to be hosted with Webcity Hosting (as shown at the link above) and not a site that is hosted with WordPress.com.

    To clarify, we are a separate provider of WordPress sites, and not connected to other hosting providers directly. Are you sure that your client has a site hosted on WordPress.com specifically, and not with another hosting provider? If so it may be the case that you have transferred the site to a different person, someone on our service that coincidentally has the same username.

    Please ask your client to clarify what hosting provider they are using as it may be the case that the site was not actually transferred to them as you intended.

    Thanks!

  • Unknown's avatar
    rick006usc · Member ·

    Hi,

    The “noosaosteo.com.au” site was created with WordPress and can be accessed and modified via their (drskye) WordPress dashboard. It is hosted by someone other than WordPress yes, but that shouldn’t be an issue to have a site created with WordPress, but, have it hosted by a different provider? It seems they have done just that.

    In any case, that’s beside the point for now. At this stage, all I have done, is transfer a site I created in WordPress “skyetempsite.wordpress.com” and transferred THAT site to “drskye” and I’m wanting to know why they have said they cannot see it on their dashboard. At the time, I thought they would be the ONLY one using that username when I transferred it. As it asks for the USERNAME of the person you want to transfer a site to…

    But it seems, WordPress let’s users have the SAME username?? Well, that would lead to confusion, mistakes etc. wouldn’t it?? Can you tell me (at least in part, for privacy reasons I suppose) the email address of which “drskye” my site was transferred to then? It may help me see if it was indeed a different person.

    Is there anyway to contact this other “drskye” then, if that is what indeed has happened, and ask them about reversing the transfer. Is that something you can do?

  • staff-doublebassd · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    But it seems, WordPress let’s users have the SAME username??

    WordPress.com does not allow users to have the same username. However, as staff-totoro mentioned, noosaosteo.com.au is not hosted with WordPress.com. It is using the open-source, WordPress.org software and is hosted elsewhere. I think that is where the point of confusion is mostly lying here. For clarification on the differences, please check out:

    WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org

    You can have drskye, admin, or any username for your individual self-hosted site. However, it appears that coincidentally, the username that your client created for their individual WordPress.org site happens to also be the username someone else chose for their WordPress.com account. Therefore, when you transferred skyetempsite.wordpress.com, it essentially went to an account that your client does not own.

    I cannot divulge any information regarding the account that the site was transferred to, but as you recommended, what I could do is reach out to the owner and confirm that this was not an account that they own or want. Since the transfer was made from your account, we can reach out to our Account Recovery team as well and see if we can transfer it back to you.

    Please let us know if you have any questions, as I recognize this all may be confusing. But, we’re committed to getting this sorted out for you.

    Thanks!

  • staff-doublebassd · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    I was able to transfer the site back to you successfully.

    Now that is sorted – let’s see if we can assist you with your original need:

    Again, drskye already owns “noosaosteo.com.au”, and I created “skyetempsite.wordpress.com” in my account and transferred that over to her. Once she has that site in her account and can see/access it, the plan is to change the domain names over so that “skyetempsite..” becomes the new “noosaosteo.com.au”.

    I gather that your client does not actually have a WordPress.com account and will need to create one if you are interested in importing noosaosteo.com.au over to WordPress.com. So, overall, there will need to be three key steps:

    1. Creating a new WordPress.com account for the client:

      https://wordpress.com/support/create-a-blog/

    2. Transferring skyetempsite.wordpress.com from your account over to your clients new WordPress.com account:

      https://en.support.wordpress.com/transferring-a-site-to-another-wordpress-com-account/

    3. Lastly, since noosaosteo.com.au is a self-hosted WordPress.org site, you will need to export the site over to skyetempsite.wordpress.com.

    So there are a few things to think about here.

    The process of exporting the site content on noosaosteo.com.au from its current host to WordPress.com can be found on our support page here:

    https://en.support.wordpress.com/moving-from-self-hosted-wordpress-to-wordpress-com/

    If you also want to use the actual domain noosaosteo.com.au once you transfer your site, you can follow the instructions here:

    https://wordpress.com/support/move-domain/incoming-domain-transfer/

    Also, keep in mind that a custom domain on WordPress.com will require the purchase of the Pro Plan:

    http://wordpress.com/plans

    Please take a look at our support instructions and let me know if you have any questions at all. Also, please confirm that skyetempsite.wordpress.com is accessible from your end.

    Thanks,

  • Unknown's avatar
    rick006usc · Member ·

    Oh! Yes, I see now. The fault was mine. My client only has a wordpress.org site and not .com. And that’s where the confusion/problem lies.

    I’ll follow the steps you’ve supplied. But my question is that they don’t really want/need the website that is currently viewed when you access “noosaosteo.com.au” on the web (their current wordpress.org site), but that domain name transferred to my created WordPress.com site (currently skyetempsite.wordpress.com).

    I gather to give my current wordpress.com website it’s own domain name (noosaosteo.com.au), I, (or they, if I transfer it once they have created a wordpress.com account) have to purchase/subscribe to a Pro Plan with WordPress, yes? And then configure that with the domain host and WordPress.

    And yes, the site in question is now back and visible in my dashboard.

    Thanks for your time.

  • staff-totoro · Staff ·

    Hi again,

    Glad we were able to get that sorted, I had the hunch that the site might have transferred to the wrong person, so I’m glad to see it back under your account.

    I gather to give my current wordpress.com website it’s own domain name (noosaosteo.com.au), I, (or they, if I transfer it once they have created a wordpress.com account) have to purchase/subscribe to a Pro Plan with WordPress, yes? And then configure that with the domain host and WordPress.

    I did note that skyetempsite.wordpress.com appears to be “ready to launch” more or less. If you do not need to move content over from the existing site, the process is more straightforward. Let me outline it here:

    1. Invite your client to be an “Administrator” on skyetempsite.wordpress.com. You can do that here, using their email address: https://wordpress.com/people/invites/skyetempsite.wordpress.com
    2. This will prompt them to create a account so they can log in, and once they do they will have access to the site
    3. Upgrade the site to the Pro Plan (If you plan to hand this off to your client I actually recommend that they purchase the plan) which can be done here: https://wordpress.com/plans/skyetempsite.wordpress.com
    4. Once the site is upgraded you can contact us here (you will have priority support via the Pro Plan) and we can walk you through the process of moving the domain so that the new site can replace the old one: https://wordpress.com/help/contact
    5. You can also follow the steps here to transfer full ownership of the site to your client, so that they appear as the owner of record in our system: https://wordpress.com/support/transferring-a-site-to-another-wordpress-com-account/

    It’s worth noting here that the Pro Plan comes with live chat support M-F (as well as priority email support anytime) which your client can continue to use going forward. This will mean that they are welcome to contact us with any site issues or questions they might have.

    Hope that helps. Please let us know if you have any more questions.

  • Unknown's avatar
    rick006usc · Member ·

    One more query,

    With the new WordPress Starter Plan just announced, if I were to upgrade my currently “Free” site to this Starter Plan, would I be able to keep my current themes and any calendar content I may have installed already on the “(email visible only to moderators and staff)” site, and then simply port over the (already owned and existing) domain name?

    Basically, just keep the site as it is, without losing any of the base themes I have there already etc.

    And that would be $5USD/month (billed annually), correct?

  • kokkieh · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    Your site won’t change in any way if you upgrade to Starter. Upgrading unlocks the additional features included in the plan, but your existing content will stay exactly as it is now.

    And that would be $5USD/month (billed annually), correct?

    Correct. In other words, you’ll pay $60 at the time of purchase. If you have an existing domain somewhere else, you can connect that for free as part of the plan.

    Or you can also transfer the domain registration to us if you prefer – the initial transfer is also free with the plan, but from next year the domain’s renewal cost will be added on top of the plan cost.

  • Unknown's avatar
    justjennifer · Member ·

    Or you can also transfer the domain registration to us if you prefer – the initial transfer is also free with the plan, but from next year the domain’s renewal cost will be added on top of the plan cost.

    Hi @kokkieh – sorry to jump in here, but just to clarify, is WordPress.com still extending domain registration for an additional year on incoming domain transfers, as mentioned in this support document? https://wordpress.com/support/incoming-domain-transfer/#about-domain-transfers Thanks.

  • kokkieh · Staff ·

    Hi @justjennifer,

    That’s not something we do. That’s something that’s built into the domain transfer process itself at the registry level. In other words, any domain will always be renewed on transfer, no matter where you’re transferring it to or from.

    So we couldn’t prevent it from renewing even if we wanted to :)

    (Fun fact: That’s also why, if a domain has been renewed up to its maximum term (ten years for most regular TLDs), it’s impossible to transfer it. )

  • Unknown's avatar
    justjennifer · Member ·

    👍 The more I learn, the more I understand how much more there is to know.

  • Unknown's avatar
    rick006usc · Member ·

    The more I learn, the more I understand how much more there is to know.

    Amen to that Jennifer… :-)

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