Our independence

Domains & DNS

The registrar, DNS provider and web host may be three different companies. Keep those roles separate when budgeting renewals or changing a site: a registration move need not move DNS, and a DNS change can affect mail as well as the website.

Registration and renewal

Compare registration, renewal and transfer for the same extension and term; the first-year price alone hides the continuing cost. For several names, record each expiry date and who can edit or renew it. Account ownership and a working alert route matter when a domain carries your website or mail.

  • Put current renewal totals, expiry dates and the responsible person in one ledger.

Who controls DNS?

Registration controls the name; authoritative nameservers control its live DNS answers. Cloudflare Registrar requires Cloudflare nameservers, while a registrar supporting custom nameservers can leave DNS elsewhere. Before changing delegation, copy the web and mail records. A lower record TTL can help a later origin cutover but cannot clear answers already cached.

  • Record the current nameservers and verify web and mail records after a change.

Move a domain safely

A registrar transfer changes registration management, not necessarily DNS or hosting. Check eligibility, lock state and access to the registrant contact route; treat the authorization code as a credential. Schedule any site redesign or host move separately so a broken page or missing email has a clear cause.

  • Compare nameservers, web response and mail delivery before and after transfer.

When a name expires

Recovery depends on the extension, registrar and current expiry stage. Contact the registrar promptly to learn whether renewal or restoration is still available, what it costs and the deadline. Meanwhile, list the site, mail, certificates and account-recovery routes tied to the name; a replacement domain does not restore those dependencies by itself.

  • Record the current status, recovery deadline and affected services.