If you’re not too thrilled about your domain registrar and are thinking about transferring your domain using Wix, you came to the right place.
One of the first yet often downplayed steps of creating a captivating website is choosing the right domain name. Since the top domain names are selling like hot cakes if you don't grab your piece fast, you'll either have to settle for the second-best choice or pay a hefty price if the owner is ready to sell it.
However, finding the right domain won’t cut it if your current domain provider isn’t supplying you with the services and support you need. While we often see a domain name registrar and web hosting services combined, this doesn’t come as a rule – you can choose one provider for the site and another one for the domain.
Also, although some providers will send a technical team to take care of domain transfer for you, this isn’t the case with most pocket-friendly choices out there. So, to give you a hand, we’ll go through the steps of transferring a domain name and since Wix is one of the most popular website builder solutions on the market – we’ll use Wix.
Does Wix charge for domain transfer?
While Wix doesn’t charge for domain name transfers by themselves, for them to be “free” you’re required to purchase one additional year of domain registration at a minimum. However, we must point out that Wix won’t straight out charge you any additional fees for transferring your domain to it.
The cheapest and most basic site-builder “premium” plan with Wix is “Connect Domain” and for $4.50 per month it will give you the ability to transfer and use your own domain, but it comes with severe restrictions (a skimpy 1GB of bandwidth and 500 MB of storage space) and Wix branding.
So, if you’re thinking about the overall cost, this is the bare-bones minimum you have to purchase so you can transfer your domain name to Wix – plus, one additional year of domain registration.
How to transfer your domain using Wix
If you wish to transfer your domain for an external source to your Wix site the first thing you’ll want to do is proceed to Wix’s dashboard and check if there is a suggestion for you to do so on the landing page – it should be right under the “Suggested for you” section.
If there isn’t one, go to “Settings” on the left sidebar, then to “Website settings” and scroll down until you see the “Site address (URL)” section where you’ll tap into the “Custom domain” link.
It will take you to another page and give you an option to opt between purchasing a new domain, connecting a domain you already own, and transferring a domain – tap into the last one.
After this, type in the name of the domain you wish to transfer, click the drop-down menu to select where the domain was purchased, and then press “Continue”.
Now, you’ll want to log into your domain name registrar account, do the same with your Wix account and click on the “I logged in” button.
Next, unlock your domain in your domain name registrar account, then do the same in your Wix account, and click “I unlocked it”.
After you get authorization codes in your domain name registrar and Wix accounts, paste them into fitting “Enter authorization code” fields and hit the “Continue” button.
Here, you should select an extension period of one year at a minimum and again click on “Continue”. If you’re lucky to have a free domain voucher, this is where it applies and it does so automatically.
Once this is done, you can choose between two privacy options: private registration (which means your name and address won't show up in the WHOIS domain information records) and public registration (meaning your contact details will be available to the public as part of the WHOIS domain information records). As always, then click on “Continue”.
After this, you’ll be asked to choose your payment method (where all major credit/debit cards are supported as well as PayPal and SEPA debit payments for some countries) and make a purchase.
How long does it take to transfer a domain using Wix?
As soon as your request is submitted, you’ll receive an e-mail from Wix to confirm they’ve got it and that the transfer has been initiated.
While in our Wix dashboard (as well as in Wix’s knowledgebase) it says it can take up to seven days for our domain transfer to be carried out, in practice, it shouldn't take longer than five days if everything goes according to plan.
Which domain extensions can be transferred to Wix?
As we write, only domains with the following extensions can be transferred to Wix: “.com, .org, .net, .biz, .info, .co, .tv, .guru, .email, .expert, .photography, .pictures, .space, .rocks .tokyo, .xyz., .company, .club, .solutions, .today, .technology, .tips, .center, .directory, .ninja, .photos, .land, .agency, .gift, .holiday, .christmas, .top, .design, .london, .online, .org, .party, .site, .store, .shop, .wiki, .mx, and .website.”
Also, it’s currently impossible to transfer a Network Solutions domain to Wix. However, you can still connect a Network Solutions domain to your Wix site by using name servers.
Transferring a domain from GoDaddy to Wix
To start the domain transfer process you’ll first need to get the authorization (EPP) code from your GoDaddy domain registrar and you can do it by following a couple of simple steps.
First, log into your GoDaddy account and find the username in the top corner of the page. Then, pick out the “My Products” section and click the “Manage” button alongside the domain you wish to transfer. Then locate the “Additional Settings” section and click on the “Get Authorization Code” button – it’ll be sent to your e-mail address.
We should note that if you’ve registered the domain name recently, it won’t be available for transfer for the first 60 days – so, the second-best option is to connect it instead.
After this, the transfer process goes along the same path as with all other domain name registrars and as outlined in one of the previous chapters.
Final thought
There are plenty of reasons you’d want to register your domain name with GoDaddy rather than with Wix and most of these reasons stems from the fact that GoDaddy’s domains are very reasonably priced.
So, if you’re still thinking about transferring your old domain to Wix, shake a leg and start with it straight away – or, if you’ve registered your domain just a few minutes ago, add a reminder to do it in 60 days or so.
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