As a website owner, it is important that you understand the difference between transferring a domain and changing name servers to manage your online presence effectively. This guide will help clarify the key distinctions between these two processes, enabling you to make informed decisions when managing your domain.
A domain transfer means moving your domain from one company to another, while changing nameservers is about updating where your domain points to, like changing it to a new web host but keeping the domain registrar the same. Both are about updating your website's settings but serve different purposes.
To build a great website, you need a domain and a web host. If you purchase a hosting plan with WPLH, you're gonna need to connect your domain to it so you can start building your website. This is done by setting the nameservers of your domain at your registrar. If your domain registrar and hosting plan provider are two different entities, you have the option to transfer your domain to your host (your hosting provider) so you can manage both the domain and hosting in one place.
Since domain name registration is considered a separate service from web hosting, you are not required to register or transfer your domain to WPLH to use our hosting services.
If you already have a domain, you have 3 options for using WPLH as your web host.
You can leave the domain registered where it is and change the name servers to point to WPLH. This would allow WPLH servers to manage your DNS, and you can make DNS changes directly from your hosting control panel. When using our name servers, your DNS records are automatically updated to reflect any domain-related changes, including addon domains and subdomains.
Another option is to transfer your domain to WPLH and use WPLH name servers to manage your DNS. This would allow you to manage your domain through WPLH and have your domain and hosting in one place.
Of course, if you have registered your domain with us, you do not need to do this. You only need to ensure that your domain is connected to the hosting plan you want to use for hosting your website.
While not recommended for most customers, it is also possible to use name servers somewhere else and just set the individual DNS records (A records, CNAME, MX, etc.) there. This is possible whether the domain is registered with WPLH or another registrar.
Since you are not using WPLH name servers, the DNS does not automatically update when you make domain-related changes in your hosting control panel. You would have to manually change the DNS records on your name servers to match whatever you set up in the control panel.
Customers who use this option usually have complex DNS settings already established elsewhere and only want to change or add the records related to hosting on their existing name servers rather than recreating their existing DNS settings on WPLH name servers.
