How to transfer my domain away from WordPress.com to ETNHost?

Here at ETNHost, we recommend that you keep your domain name where you host your website. It is easier to manage, fewer passwords to worry about, better security, and last but not least this way you get a piece of mind. You will receive regular notifications from us, via e-mail, reminding you when the renewal date for your domain name is due, so you will not miss to renew it and risk your website becoming inaccessible.

Extra:

Once the domain name is transferred to us, you will get one year of a free domain name renewal as a bonus.

Transfer of domain names may take anywhere between 3 and 10 days until completion. Before initiating a domain name transfer of a domain name registered with WordPress.com, you will need to make sure that the following conditions apply:

• The domain must be more than 60 days old. This is not an ETNHost, nor WordPress.com, specific rule, but rather a rule implemented by ICANN, the organization that governs domain registrations. 
• The domain has been unlocked for transfer from WordPress.com. 
• The domain is showing your current e-mail for the admin contact in the Whois database as that is where the authorization email will be sent. You can find the valid administrative e-mail for your domain name by using the WHOIS lookup tool available at: http://whois.domaintools.com/
• The domain must not be too close to its expiration date, as Fasthosts will normally auto renew domains 15 days prior to expiration. 

Notes:

The 60-day holding period only applies to domain transfers between registrar providers when a domain is either newly registered or recently transferred. If you just ended site services with another provider (without transferring the domain to another registrar), then the 60-day hold shouldn't apply at all. If the hold did apply, it still shouldn't prevent you from pointing it to another host service to start up a new site.

To prepare your domain name to be transferred away from WordPress.com you must engage in the following steps:

1. Log into your WordPress.com account. It is important to note that you should log in with the account used to purchase the domain.

• Once logged into yours WordPress admin, navigate to Store.
• Click on Domains and select Manage domains.

2. Unlock your domain name

• Once logged in, you would be able to manage your domain from Domain Management. 

• Select your site if you have more than one (also found from the Domains tab in your My Site menu).
• Select the domain you would like to transfer from the list, and you will see its information, settings, and options.

• Select Transfer Domain, and you will see a message explaining that your domain first needs to be unlocked.
• Click Update Settings and Continue.

3. Disable the Domain Privacy/ Whois Protect feature

• You must log in directly to Domainsbyproxy.com.
• Please note that the login information for it may differ from that of your WordPress account.
• To retrieve your info, go to the log in page and click on “Forgot your login information”.
• Once logged in, you will be able to turn off Privacy settings, allowing the transfer request to go through unhindered.
• Make sure to validate all emails concerning the transfer to speed things up. 
• Domainsbyproxy.com uses an address yourdomain.com@domainsbyproxy.com that will arrive in the email account you have on file with them. 
• That means the same email confirmation 2 times – validate both!

4. Obtain EPP/Authorization code

• The next page will confirm that you have been sent a transfer code (also known as an EPP code) via email.

• Shortly thereafter, you will receive an email with a transfer code (listed next to Authorization Info).

After completing the preparation, let some time pass (a day or so) before you initiate the transfer. You can also check the Whois info for your domain. You can do this at http://www.whois.net or http://whois.domaintools.com or similar sites, to make sure everything shows up and is correct.

Once ready, you can now submit a transfer request for the domain:

• Start within your ETNHost account .
• Proceed with posting an order for the domain name transfer by clicking on the Domains tab.
• Upon the request of the domain name transfer, you will need to enter the Authorization/EPP code. Once the code is entered then the process will begin.

Note that you will also receive a transfer approval email to the listed administrative contact for the domain. After the transfer is confirmed the losing registrar (WordPress.com ) has 7 days to release the domain. If everything is OK, the domain will be released and added to the Domains Section in your ETNHost account.

Notes:

Once you start a domain name transfer you must remember that you can't change your DNS, Whois info, contact info and so on.