How to Transfer a Domain Name To or From Bluehost

Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosting and domain registration companies on the internet today. One of the most common questions they receive from hosting customers is how to transfer a domain to or from their company. There are a number of reasons why someone might want to transfer an existing domain to or from another provider, such as a change in ownership, registrar or simply a matter of setting up DNS and hosting settings and having your domain registered in the same location as your hosting.

When it comes to domain names and web hosting, this can be a complicated process — especially for anyone who is just starting out with a new website or blog. Thankfully, the team over at Bluehost has provided complete tutorials and guides on how to make this process as seamless and easy as possible. Existing Bluehost customers simply need to log in to their customer accounts and they will have full access to their domain names, while also having the ability to access transfer settings as well.

To help with this process, we will guide you through a domain transfer using Bluehost right now.

How do I transfer my domain name to or from Bluehost?

In order to transfer a domain name to or from Bluehost, you will first need to access the domain from wherever it is currently registered. Once at your domain registrar, you will then find the necessary options for transferring your domain. While every domain registrar is slightly different, the core basics of transferring a domain name are generally the same and consist of the following process:

  1. Log in to the domain registrar where your domain is currently registered. (ie: GoDaddy, NameCheap)
  2. Update your domain name’s personal contact information (specifically your email address). This way Bluehost will be able to reach you with important information during the domain transfer and confirmation process.
  3. Next, you will need to make sure your privacy options are disabled for the transfer process to take place. Once the domain name is fully transferred, you will want to re-enable these settings to keep your domain name safe.
  4. Update the name servers for your domain name to point to Bluehost by using the following:
    – NS1.BLUEHOST.COM
    – NS2.BLUEHOST.COM
    (This will let the domain registrar know that you are switching your hosting provider to Bluehost. Depending on who your domain registrar is, this may take up to 48-72 hours to propagate, but it’s usually much faster.)
  5. Unlock your domain name.
  6. The last step in this process is to acquire your “transfer EPP code”, or “authorization code”. This should be provided to you through your domain registrar and is often sent through email upon request from within the member’s area. Copy this code and log in to your new registrar (Bluehost) to initiate the transfer.

With all of this now in place, the last and final step in the process is to initiate the transfer from within your Bluehost members area. To do this, simply follow the steps below.

  1. Visit the Domain Manager tab in your Bluehost control panel (members area).
  2. Select “Transfer a new domain to your account” from the Shortcuts menu on the top left-hand side.
  3. Type in the domain you wish to transfer and click continue.
  4. Enter the EPP code you received from your previous registrar and click continue.
  5. Bluehost will e-mail a second verification code to the administrator e-mail associated with the domain. (Which is why it’s important to update your contact information before you start the transfer process.) Enter this verification code and click continue.

While it does seem like a lengthy process, it’s just a matter of following the steps and working through the one at a time. With all of these actions now in place, there are actually a lot of other things going on behind the scenes with your domain name and hosting. As all of these transfers and confirmations are taking place behind the scenes, you will be updated during the process and usually sent an email once the transfer is complete. Again, this process can take up to 5-10 days but is usually within 48 hours depending on your domain registrar.

If you ever need extra help with the transfer of a domain name or your hosting, be sure to contact Bluehost support through their 24/7 chat support, online tutorials or even by phone at 888.401.4678.

How to Transfer a Domain Name Away From Bluehost

We just walked through the process of how to transfer a domain name TO Bluehost, but another common question we need to answer is how to also transfer a domain name FROM Bluehost. Again, this is often done when there is a change in domain name ownership or web hosting services. To also help with this process, we’ve listed some of the most common web hosting and domain registration companies below, along with their tutorials on how to transfer a domain name from Bluehost to their specific solution.

Transfer Domain from Bluehost to GoDaddy

GoDaddy is one of the largest domain registration and hosting companies in the world today. With many people starting their website and hosting ventures through GoDaddy, it’s not uncommon for users to have domain names transferred to or from their accounts. While GoDaddy doesn’t have a specific tutorial on how to transfer a domain name away from Bluehost, they do have this tutorial that offers a wide range of questions and answers around the process. Such questions include

  • What’s the difference between Account Changes and Transfers?
  • What do I do after I resolve an error with my transfer?
  • Can I email the authorization code for an expired domain name?
  • Can I transfer an expired domain name?
  • How do I get an authorization code to transfer my domain name to you?
  • What if I don’t have my authorization code for my transfer?

Transfer Domain from Bluehost to WordPress

WordPress is the free CMS platform that runs the majority of websites and blogs on the internet today. In addition to being a free CMS software, they also have a free hosting platform at WordPress.com. This is where many new bloggers will start out and are giving free blog hosting with the option to have a domain name or simply host it off the wordpress.com domain name.

Transfer Domain from Bluehost to Squarespace

Squarespace is a web hosting solution and domain registration service that provides their users with access to a drag and drop site design platform. As popular as WordPress is, they do not provide this option to their customers for running their sites or blogs. When it comes to transferring a domain name from Bluehost to Squarespace, they do have a nice tutorial that walks users through the lengthy process.

Transfer Domain from Bluehost to Namecheap

When it comes to domain registration and hosting, Namecheap is quickly becoming one of the top solutions in the world today. With so many domain registrations in place, it’s important to know how to transfer domains to and from Namecheap or Bluehost. To learn more about this, visit the Namecheap domain transfer tutorial and walk through their simple multi-step process.

How to Start a Website or Blog with Bluehost

If you don’t already have a domain name, web site or blog with Bluehost, right now is the perfect time to get started. In just a few minutes times you can be up and running with a new site of your own. Not only do we have a special 60% off discount for Bluehost, we also have the ability to offer a free domain name to our Blogging.org audience as well. All you need to do is visit the Bluehost website through the link below and create your account. We highly recommend going with the 36-month plan at just $2.95 per month. This will back out to having your own web hosting account for just pennies per day.

Our goal here at Blogging.org is to provide you with the best tutorials possible when it comes to anything relating to web hosting, websites, domains and blogging. If you weren’t able to find the domain transfer information you were looking for, be sure to contact us and we will do our best to add such a resource to our guide above.