A really common blocker: a developer, agency, or old hosting company set up your domain years ago, and you've never had the login. Good news — you can still switch, and you don't have to leave it in their hands. A domain legally belongs to the business it's registered to, not the person who set it up.
You usually only need ONE small thing
To point your website at us, only one DNS record needs to be added — see Connect your own domain. So the smallest possible ask is often enough:
- Ask whoever manages your domain to add the one record for you (we give you the exact line to copy), or
- Ask them to give you access to the DNS settings so you can add it yourself.
That's it — no need to move the whole domain, and your email stays untouched.
Where to find these settings
If you *do* have access, here's where the record lives with the common providers:
- GoDaddy: Sign in → My Products → your domain → DNS → Records. Edit the existing A record (name @) or add it, and add or keep the www CNAME.
- Wix (domain bought at Wix): Wix dashboard → Domains → your domain → DNS Records / Advanced to add the record. To move the domain out of Wix, unlock it and get the transfer authorization code in Wix — note Wix's 60-day transfer lock after registration or a previous transfer.
- cPanel / traditional host (Bluehost, HostGator, SiteGround…): DNS lives under Zone Editor in cPanel — but that's on the host you may be leaving, so it's usually safer to move your DNS to your registrar first. If your email is cPanel/webmail on that host, it stops when you cancel it — move your mailboxes first. See Moving off cPanel / shared hosting without losing your email.
Want full control back? Ask for the transfer code
If you'd rather hold the domain in your own name, you can move it to a registrar you control (like Namecheap, Cloudflare, or GoDaddy). To do that, ask your current provider for two things:
- The transfer code — also called an authorization code or EPP code. It's a password that authorizes moving the domain.
- To unlock the domain for transfer (and turn off any "transfer protection").
You're entitled to request these. Under registrar rules a provider must hand over the auth code and can't hold your domain hostage. Once you have it, you start the transfer at your new registrar and confirm by email. Transfers between registrars typically take a few days, and your site and email keep running the whole time as long as you don't change your DNS records.
A script you can send them
> "Hi — I'd like to point my website to a new provider. Could you either add one DNS record I'll send you, or give me access to the domain's DNS settings? If it's easier, please also send me the domain's authorization (EPP) code and unlock it for transfer. Thanks!"
If they're slow, unhelpful, or gone
You're not stuck. If your provider drags their feet:
- If the domain is registered in your name or your business's name, you can often recover the login directly with the registrar's account-recovery process — contact the registrar (the company where the domain is registered, not the agency) and prove you're the owner.
- Our Done-For-You concierge can join a call, tell you the exact words to ask for, and set up the record with you once you have access. Contact us or see the Done-For-You service.
Either way, switching to us never requires your old provider's permission to keep your site and email working — the one record is all it takes.