Transferring hosting companies can be easy if you follow the right steps. We've
created an easy-to-follow, suggested checklist for you to transfer your website
to CrystalTech. If you need any additional guidance, or have any questions about
the transfer process, please contact our
Customer Service Team.

Sign up for hosting with CrystalTech
You can sign up via this website by clicking on Order Now (in red) above. It takes
us about an hour to get your plan set up on our network.

CrystalTech will email you once your plan is provisioned
on our servers
You’ll receive a “Web Site Ready” and “Getting Started” email from us about an hour
after you order. These emails will provide you with your static IP address, DNS
information, account summary, and links to our Knowledge Base with helpful information
to get your site up and running.

Upload your site files, transfer your database,
and create your email addresses
Upload your website files to the IP address we provided, transfer your database,
and create your email addresses from within our WebControlCenter. Afterward, you
can test your site by typing in your IP address into any Internet browser to be
sure everything works prior to pointing your domain to our network.

Update your domain’s DNS settings
Once your site is tested and is operating per your expectations, contact your domain
name registrar and change your DNS settings to CrystalTech. Your registrar is the
company you purchased your domain name from (e.g. Network Solutions, Register.com,
GoDaddy, etc.), and you should be able to log into your domain management tool online.
From here, you’ll replace your existing primary and secondary name servers with
the ones we provided you in the Web Site Ready email. This change will take about
24 to 96 hours to propagate and update throughout the internet.

Wait for your domain to propagate (approximately
24-96 hours)
While your domain propagation is taking effect, you will basically have two sites
available and active – one at your old host, and one on our servers. This will minimize
any lost traffic and/or email. In order to receive mail from both locations, you
will need two profiles in your email client – the one that is already drawing email
from your old host and the new one drawing email from us. Alternatively, you can
also simply use our web mail interface available in the WebControlCenter to get
the email that is sent to our servers.

Cancel with your previous host
After the appropriate propagation time, you can go and cancel the hosting account
you have at your previous host, as all of your website traffic and emails should
now be coming to our servers.

Transfer your domain name (optional)
If you would like to transfer your domain and consolidate your registration and
web hosting to one source, you can utilize the Domain Registration Admin tool in
the DNS section of the WebControlCenter. The domain transfer itself costs NOTHING;
we simply add one year of registration onto the expiration date for $8.50 (we utilize
MelbourneIT as our registrar). After that, you will able to renew your domain name
with a click of a mouse in the WebControlCenter at the same great price.
Will I see any downtime when I move my website to CrystalTech?
Not necessarily. The whole moving process usually takes a couple of days to complete
(the longest part being propagation which can take between 24 to 96 hours).
During the transition, whereas some end users may be visiting your website at its
new location, others may still be receiving old information and are being routed
to your previous host (as long as your files are still active on their servers).
Therefore, it is best to continue service with your old hosting provider until your
domain name has been completely propagated and is pointing to CrystalTech's servers.
Will CrystalTech transfer my domain name registration?
Any registrar that you would like to use or are currently utilizing is compatible
with CrystalTech. However, if you would like to manage both your hosting plan and
domain name from within our WebControlCenter, it can be transferred conveniently
by following the last check list option above. CrystalTech is partnered with Melbourne
IT to offer reliable registration at the low cost of $8.50/year.
What if I want to buy a hosting plan but don't want to transfer my domain registration?
You do not have to transfer your existing domain name to CrystalTech to host with
us. You can change your primary and secondary domain name servers on your own schedule
as we cannot modify any settings with your registrar.
What if I only want an IP site (no domain)?
When going through the Order Form, you have the ability to select an "IP address
only" hosting plan. This will provide you with your own static IP address but will
not associate any domain with that IP within our network. Therefore, email is not
supported with an IP only plan. In the future, if you need a domain associated with
the IP, you would need to submit a Rename Request from within our WebControlCenter
which does carry a onetime charge.