Ask Slashdot: Smartest Way To Transfer an Old Domain/Site? 113
An anonymous reader writes "Back in early 95 I registered a domain name and built a website for a hobby of mine. Over time the website (and domain) name have built a small but steady stream of traffic but my interest in the hobby is essentially gone and I've not been a visitor to my own site in well over two years. I'd like to sell the site/domain to a long time member who has expressed interest in taking over and trying to grow the site, however I use the domain for my own personal email including banking, health insurance, etc. How have fellow readers gone about parting ways from a domain that they've used for an email address?" More generally, what terms would you like to include (or have you included) in a domain transfer? Old horror stories could help prevent new horror stories.
Keep the domain IMO (Score:5, Informative)
There's no clean way to ensure a new owner will provide service for your old email address to your satisfaction.
However, it is ridiculously easy for you to set up a permanent redirect from the front page of the website to a new location managed by this guy who is interested in being the new maintainer.
You could even set him up with a subdomain of the current domain name so that folks feel comfortable that it's the same old site they've been visiting for years. This requires very little effort on your part and you maintain control over your email address.
Do you want to get rid of the entire domain? (Score:4, Informative)
Might it simply be sufficient to transfer your site hosting to the other party and point the DNS records for the site itself to whenever they want? You can then have your mail hanging off the original domain and retain control of it.
Keep the domain, transfer the web site? (Score:5, Informative)
Why do you want to transfer the domain when you can just give him/her control of the web site? You can continue to own the services on the domain that matter to you (mail) and they'd own the HTTP service on the IP address you point the domain to. This could even be an intermediate step to full ownership transfer once you've moved your identity someplace else and are comfortable with the new owner of the domain taking more ownership over it.
Not even that complicated (Score:5, Informative)
Keep the domain, yes, but "lease" the rights to the www version of the site. Your DNS record can point the MX record to your mail sever (or Gmail, or whatever), while the A records for the domain and www host to wherever he wants to host it. You may wish to setup forwarding on certain addresses for him, like webmaster@, but make sure the domain is locked and secured to you first.
HTTP 301 (Score:5, Informative)
As Anrego says, I'd suggest not actually handing over the domain. Instead, rebuild the site under a new domain while updating key content such as contact links, and then set up an "HTTP 301: permanently moved" redirect to the new site on the new domain. This will transfer your pagerank to the new domain and makes search engines happy. Then, you can keep your email and other domain services under your own control.
Re:Step 2 (Score:5, Informative)
Step 2: Run *both* domains for at least six months.
Change all mail that's in databases (bank, etc), tell as many friends as possible to use the new address.
Set up mail forwarding to the new domain so you always hit 'reply' from there. Never reply on the old domain.
Meanwhile, give your friend access to as much of the site as possible while still keeping the admin password to yourself. Most servers allow separate FTP accounts, etc., he should be able to change files without admin access.
Re:Not even that complicated (Score:4, Informative)
You shouldn't have posted as AC. Some people won't see this, and you have the right answer.
Set the A records to wherever the new web hosting provider will be. Set the MX record to where the mail is to be delivered. It will then be up to him (the submitter) to forward mail for anything specific at the domain, such as webmaster@ to the real webmaster.
Or in bind...
And most importantly, the submitter shouldn't have needed to even ask this. Dearest submitter, please turn in your geek card on your way out.
Re:Step 1, reversed (Score:5, Informative)
I'd create a new domain for yourself first
No. Do it the other way around. I would create a new domain for the new guy taking over your site, or let him do it. Then transfer the web content to the new site, and set up a redirect on your site to the new one.
That way, people going to the old web site end up on the correct new site, but you don't have to change or worry about anything related to your personal email addresses.
If your web site also used email @yoursite, then YOU take care of setting up a redirect or whatever solution seems best.
You don't want to have your personal stuff at the mercy of someone else, or to have to call him to find out what the problem is if he made some configuration mistake or whatever.