Transfer a public domain from another website builder

• 

  jessiehannon · Member · Jul 7, 2021 at 12:40 am

  • Copy link
  • Add topic to favorites

  I want to transfer a domain I have on GoDaddy to a redesigned site I will make on WordPress. I understand the steps, but I still need the GoDaddy site to be active while I work on the redesign. How do I achieve this? I understand that you can skip the transfer domain process in WordPress and start building, but I need to purchase a plan in order to do so, and to do that, I need the domain name. So my question is, if I transfer the domain to WordPress, will the site no longer be public until I finish the redesign?

  The site I need help with is vet655039260.wordpress.com.

• 

  kokkieh · Staff · Jul 7, 2021 at 6:13 am

  • Copy link

  Hi there,

  You can create a new WordPress.com site without transferring your domain.

  All sites on WordPress.com get a free WordPress.com or .blog subdomain when the site is created, that functions just like any regular subdomain, and your site is fully online and accessible at that subdomain (provided you set it to public).

  So you can experiment and build your site at that free address, even upgrade the site while still using the free address, and only switch the domain over to us once you’re ready. When you upgrade to a paid plan you’ll be prompted to add a domain, but you don’t need to do it at that point – you can skip that and upgrade on the free address, and the domain transfer credit in the plan will remain available until you’re ready to use it.

• 

  jessiehannon · Member · Jul 7, 2021 at 3:21 pm

  • Copy link

  Thank you! But I actually need to upgrade before I can start designing because I need the coding capability. Is there a way to upgrade without transferring the domain yet?

• 

  helper-heroponriki · Member · Jul 7, 2021 at 4:32 pm

  • Copy link

  Yep! You can purchase the plan you need and skip the domain step and only complete that part when you’re ready.

  If your plan is the WordPress.com Business or eCommerce Plan in order to install custom plugins or themes or do custom coding, it will receive a free *.wpcomstaging.com address instead that you can use to build the site. Again, you can skip the domain step when you purchase one of those plans.

  I hope that clarifies things!