Domain Name switch question

[twild]

I am currently with BlueHost and am thinking of switching over to HG. I registered my domain with them. I know that I will have to change the nameservers over to HG nameservers, but what happens after I cancel BH?

How do I know which company is the registrar for my domain name?

How do I make changes afterwards?

Thanks for any advice/help.

[EarlyOut]

You can leave the domain registration where it is, if you want. Even if you cancel your BH hosting, you'll still have access to the domain management portion of their service. In fact, I usually recommend that you move your hosting first, let things settle down (DNS propagation, make sure the new site is working properly, and so on), then transfer the domain registration later. That keeps things simpler.

When and if you decide to change the domain registrar, you can move it to any domain registrar you like. Currently, HG uses eNom as its registrar, but they keep promising that they will be launching their own registrar service. The projected date is always RSN - "real soon now."

Every domain registrar has an easy way to do the transfer. On the HG cPanel, for example, there's a "Transfer" button at the top, which leads you through the process of transferring the domain registration from BH to HG/eNom. The only thing you'll need is the EPP code from the current domain registrar (BH has a screen where you can fetch that code). That's what tells the gaining registrar that you really are the owner of the domain, and not just some prankster.

[twild]

Originally Posted by EarlyOut

You can leave the domain registration where it is, if you want. Even if you cancel your BH hosting, you'll still have access to the domain management portion of their service. In fact, I usually recommend that you move your hosting first, let things settle down (DNS propagation, make sure the new site is working properly, and so on), then transfer the domain registration later. That keeps things simpler.

When and if you decide to change the domain registrar, you can move it to any domain registrar you like. Currently, HG uses eNom as its registrar, but they keep promising that they will be launching their own registrar service. The projected date is always RSN - "real soon now."

Every domain registrar has an easy way to do the transfer. On the HG cPanel, for example, there's a "Transfer" button at the top, which leads you through the process of transferring the domain registration from BH to HG/eNom. The only thing you'll need is the EPP code from the current domain registrar (BH has a screen where you can fetch that code). That's what tells the gaining registrar that you really are the owner of the domain, and not just some prankster.

Thanks for the detailed reply!