As you probably know, making a domain name famous is not an easy task. It takes time, effort, and money. But what happens if you want to re-platform? Do you just move to a new cart, that's under a different domain name, and lose all the results of your source store's domain promotion? Probably, that isn't your most cherished dream. Naturally, you'd like to keep your old domain name after migration. So, today, we'll explain exactly how to do it.
But before we get started let's do a vocabulary check.
First of all, let's explain some of the most commonly used terms:
DNS (Domain Name System) - a global web system that associates different information, typically IP numbers, with domain names. Thus, when you enter a website address into a browser, your computer knocks to DNS, gives it the letters you've typed, and receives an IP address instead. Then, it connects you to the requested web page.
NS (Name Server) - a server that handles queries from your computer, about the location of the domain's name and various services. In most cases, websites have two name servers to which they're pointed to.
In most cases, merchants want to put their target stores under the previous domain name after the migration. But usually, they fail to do it properly.
At Cart2Cart, we mostly face these three common scenarios concerning post-transfer domain name switching:
So, let's take a closer look into each of these cases.
If you're looking to switch a domain name, this is your luckiest case. Let's say the source store is - source.com, and the target is - source.com/target-store. Then, you'll have to do the following:
That's it! Now your new store is under the old, well-known domain name.
If you want to perform a domain name switch within the same hosting provider - log in to the FTP and rename your source store directory. Then, when the source store name is available again, entitle your target store folder with it. Deal’s closed.
This case is a bit more complicated. When different providers host the source and target stores - it is necessary to change the target domain name to the source's one. Then, you'll have to enter your source store's domain's settings, step to DNS management, and type in the new name servers from target's hosting provider.
Note:During the domain name switch, and for 24-72 hours after it, your target store will be offline.
If you wish to change Name Servers of a domain name, please follow these simple steps:
There are several reasons why your domain name may lead you to the source store:
Solution: Edit your domain details so that they’re pointed to the DNS of your new hosting provider.
Solution: Contact your hosting provider’s support team and ask them to remove the data.
Solution: It isn’t a one-click affair, so you need to be patient. However, if there are no positive shifts after 72 hours - contact your hosting provider's support team and discuss the problem with them.
The matter of domain name switch is quite popular and not easy to get a grasp on if you're not particularly tech-savvy. So, by presenting the instructions mentioned above, we hope to make this issue a bit clearer. Good luck!