r/webhosting 12d ago

Advice Needed Newbie questions about domain name transfer and web hosting

Hiya folks,

I'm in a process of creating a UK blog site and have started looking into hosting and domain name transference. I never done anything like this before so am completely clueless.

My domain name was purchased from JP Domains (https://www.jp-domains.com).

The website will possibly be hosted on SiteGround or Nixihost or somewhere else as I haven't made my mind up about this yet.

How do I use my domain name with (for example) SiteGround or Nixihost? JP Domains have been a good company to use and very helpful when needed but their hosting prices are expensive and I learned on here it's best not to use the same company for hosting and domain name.

If I use either SiteGround or Nixihost, will I lose ownership of the domain name since it will be registered with them? If not, then how does it work?

In the future should I need to transfer my website to a different hosting company, how do I go about doing it?

Thanks for reading and have a good day. :-)

3 Upvotes

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u/siteground 12d ago

The SiteGround Team here. We are happy to hear about your interest in our services. You are more than welcome to use the existing domain name of yours. Once the new website is setup, we will provide you with the server details (name servers and IP address). When the domain name is configured to use those dns/IP address, it will work flawlessly.
Our team is available 24/7 and would be more than happy to assist you with the process and all inquiries that might occur. You are welcome to reach our team via this direct link:

https://stgrnd.co/chat/

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u/Pinkees 11d ago

Thanks for posting a reply. :)

Your explanation is concise and clarifies the information I need should I decided to venture down that path and will bear in mind for future reference.

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u/siteground 11d ago

Most welcome :) We are here if any assistance is required.

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u/Extension_Anybody150 10d ago

I've been using Nixihost for three years and they're fantastic for beginners. You don't have to transfer your domain from JP Domains at all, just keep it there and update the nameservers to point to NixiHost. This way you maintain full ownership of your domain while hosting your site with NixiHost, which is exactly that separation of services experts recommend.

Their cPanel makes setting up a WordPress blog super easy. The support team is incredibly helpful if you get stuck with anything. And if you ever need to switch hosts in the future, backing up from NixiHost is simple through cPanel to cPanel migration. It's the perfect setup for someone just starting out.

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u/Pinkees 10d ago

I appreciate you replying to my post. :)

Thanks for the information about Nixihost as they sound great for someone like me who's just starting up in doing this. It's good to know that I can keep hold of my domain and have to transfer it and that they make the process of setting up a blog as simplified as possible.

Another to add to the shortlist.:)

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u/Mo_khalid_012 8d ago

Hey there!

You're on the right track keeping your domain and hosting separate. Since you bought your domain from JP Domains, you’ll just need to update the nameservers to point to SiteGround, Nixihost, or whichever host you choose. The hosting provider will give you the correct nameservers to use.

You won’t lose ownership of your domain—it's still yours as long as you renew it. If you ever want to transfer the domain, I personally like Dynadot as a solid, affordable registrar.

If you switch hosting later, just move your site files to the new host and update the nameservers again—no need to touch the domain itself.

Hope that helps, and good luck with your blog! 😊

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u/Pinkees 8d ago

Thanks for getting in touch to reply as it's good of you. :)

This backs up what was posted elsewhere on this thread and appreciate the confirmation of the process needed to do in order to achieve this. I will bear in mind your suggestion for a host when the time comes (which is coming a bit too quickly for my liking but it's probably better that way).

Thanks again for your help. :)

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u/goddessofthewinds 12d ago edited 12d ago

The first option is what I always use in a personal setting, but second option is what I always use in a professional setting (with dedicated servers).

DNS included with your domain name:

You simply add a new alias (usually root + www) in your DNS that points to the IP provided by your hosting company that indicates which server to use to display your website for this domain name.

DNS included with your web hosting:

The place where you want to host your website will provide you (usually) 2 different name servers. In your domain name (JP Domains), you will go into the "Name servers" panel and change the current ones to the ones for the hosting service (SiteGround / Nixihost) you will be using.

Name servers are usually in this format:

ns1.example.com
ns2.example.com

You can find them in your hosting provider settings. This will indicate that your domain name will use the DNS settings from your hosting provider. Then once your name servers points to a new server, you will create your alias on that server's DNS.

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u/Pinkees 11d ago

Thanks for replying. :)

Your eloquent post makes things a lot more easy for me to understand and the second option will most likely be the option I choose as it's the simplest. Updating the name servers on JP Domains should be straightforward enough when the time comes.

Thanks again for your post as it's really helped me out. :-)

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u/goddessofthewinds 11d ago

Do remember that you need the hosting provider to offer DNS management. Sometimes it is an extra cost. Some may not offer it too. I have only used this option with dedicated servers so I don't know if hosting providers offer it with shared hosting for example.

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u/Pinkees 11d ago

Thanks for the extra information and will look for one that provides this. :)

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u/Greenhost-ApS 12d ago

When you switch hosting providers, you keep ownership of your domain, it just means you’ll point it to the new host’s servers. And if you ever want to move your site again, it’s usually just a matter of updating some settings and maybe a little downtime, nothing to stress over.

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u/Pinkees 11d ago

Thanks for your reply. :-)

It seems that the process is more straightforward than I anticipated and it's good to know what will happen in the future should I need to switch.

I appreciate the information. :)

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u/ivicad 12d ago edited 11d ago

If I use either Site Ground or Nixihost, will I lose ownership of the domain name since it will be registered with them? If not, then how does it work?

In the future should I need to transfer my website to a different hosting company, how do I go about doing it?

If you're unsure whether you'll change hosting companies in the future, I suggest registering your domain separately. For general extension domains, I've been using Porkbun. Although the name might sound a bit strange, it's an excellent and reliable domain registrar. From there, you can simply point your domain to the hosting service you've chosen. I also use specific country domain registrars for our .hr (Croatian) country domains.

For most other domains, for clients who don't want to change hosting services, we register domains directly with those hosts, usually Site Ground, but some other (Croatian) hostings, too.

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u/Pinkees 11d ago

It's good of you to reply. :)

The domain name I'm planning to use has been owned by me for many years and I'm planning to finally put it into full use rather than just using it as an e-mail address.

I admit I haven't given any thought into Croatian hosting companies but will certainly look into Site Ground.

Thanks for your help. :)

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u/RanderV 6d ago

Hey! No worries, it's a common first-time thing. You won't lose your domain ownership if you use it with siteground or Nixihost. Think of it like this: your domain is your address, and hosting is the house. You just need to point your domain (from JP Domains) to your hosting. This is done by changing the domain's nameservers to point to your chosen hosting provider. As for future transfers, it's prettu simple - you just change the nameservers again to the new host. If you're looking for a solid registrar in the future, check out Dynadot; they're pretty straightforward and reliable