SiteSmith

Network Solutions domains: moving or pointing them

SiteSmith · · 5 min read

Plenty of long-established businesses have their domain at Network Solutions, often registered many years ago by someone who has since moved on. Whether you want to point the domain at a new website or transfer it to another registrar, the first job is usually the same: getting back into the account. Once you are in, pointing takes a few minutes in the DNS settings, and a transfer takes about a week.

Step one: get into the account

Network Solutions accounts are often older than the email addresses attached to them. Common situations:

  • You have a username or customer number but no password. Use the password reset on the sign-in page. The reset goes to the account's email address.
  • The account email is dead. A former employee's address, an old internet provider's email, or an address on the very domain you are trying to manage. In that case, call Network Solutions support. Expect identity questions, and possibly a request for documents.
  • You do not know which account the domain is in. Some businesses have several old accounts. Search old emails for "Network Solutions" and look for an account number on old invoices or card statements.
  • The account is in someone else's name. A previous owner of the business, a web designer, a family member. Read a domain registered in an old employee's name for that situation; the approach is similar whoever it is.

Documents that commonly help when support asks you to prove the domain is yours: business registration or license showing the business name, a photo ID, and a card or bank statement showing payments to Network Solutions. Lost access to your domain account covers recovery more broadly.

Before you call, look up the domain on ICANN's lookup tool and note the expiry date. Network Solutions is part of a larger group of companies that also includes Register.com and Web.com, so if the registrar line names one of those, that is the company to contact.

Step two: see what you are paying for

Once you are in, look through every product on the account before changing anything. Long-held Network Solutions accounts often carry extras:

  • Prepaid years. Many owners renewed for five or ten years at a time. Note the expiry date; transferring usually keeps the remaining time and adds a year.
  • Private registration, which hides your contact details in the public record.
  • Domain protection or expiration protection add-ons.
  • Email or hosting packages that came with the domain years ago, sometimes still billing.
  • SSL certificates, site builders or "listing" services.

Write down what each costs per year and whether you actually use it. This tells you whether a transfer will save money, and what to keep running until a replacement is ready.

Pointing the domain at a new website

If you are happy to keep paying Network Solutions for the domain, pointing it is the quickest route to a new website.

  1. Check the nameservers. On the ICANN lookup, names containing "worldnic.com" are Network Solutions' own DNS. If the nameservers belong to a hosting company or another provider, make the change there instead.
  2. Open the domain's DNS settings. In your account, choose the domain and look for an option such as "Manage", then "Advanced DNS records" or "Edit DNS".
  3. Screenshot everything. The screen typically groups records by type, with labels like "IP Address (A Records)", "Host Aliases (CNAME Records)", "Mail Servers (MX Records)" and "Text (TXT Records)".
  4. Edit the A record for the bare domain (shown as "@" or "none") to the IP address your new website provider gives you.
  5. Edit the www record to the target your provider gives you, usually as a host alias (CNAME).
  6. Leave the Mail Servers and Text sections alone unless you are changing email.
  7. Save, then check whether the domain also has a forwarding setting switched on. Turn it off if so.

Changes there can take a few hours to show. We keep a step-by-step page for connecting a Network Solutions domain to a new website, with the screens to look for.

Transferring the domain out

If you would rather move the domain to another registrar:

  1. Make sure the admin contact email is current. Network Solutions often sends the authorization code to the admin contact on the domain. If that address is dead, update it first, and opt out of a transfer lock if one is offered.
  2. Turn off the transfer lock in the domain's settings.
  3. Request the authorization code. Look for a transfer option in the domain's settings. The code may be shown or emailed.
  4. Handle the retention step. Network Solutions may offer a discount or ask you to confirm by phone. You can decline politely and continue.
  5. Start the transfer at the new registrar with the code, and approve any emails that follow.

Before the transfer, copy every DNS record if the domain uses Network Solutions' nameservers, and set them up at the new DNS company. The general method, including protecting email, is in how to transfer a domain to another registrar.

If your email is at Network Solutions

Some businesses still use a mailbox package from Network Solutions. A domain transfer does not move those mailboxes. Plan the email first:

  • Choose a new email provider and set up the mailboxes there.
  • Copy old messages across if you need them.
  • Change the MX records to the new provider.
  • Keep the old package for a few weeks, then cancel it.

Do this before or alongside the domain transfer, not after, so no mail falls into a gap.

Cancelling what is left

After the transfer completes, or after the new website has run for a few weeks on a pointed domain, return to the account and cancel what you no longer need: old hosting, old email, add-ons. Turn off auto-renew on each one. Keep a final copy of any invoices for your records.

What to do this week

  • Look up the domain and note the registrar and expiry.
  • Get into the account, or call support with your documents ready.
  • List every product on the account and its yearly cost.
  • Screenshot the DNS records.
  • Decide whether to point the domain or transfer it.

If the domain still points at a site built many years ago, you can see your site rebuilt first and sort out the account while the new site is being prepared.

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