You do not have to transfer a domain to Flashcloud to host a website on it. If your domain is registered somewhere else, you can point its DNS at our hosting and leave the registration alone. Transferring is only worth doing if you want the domain, hosting, and billing under one account.
Both paths work. Neither one is required to get your site live.
Option 1: Point DNS, keep the domain where it is
This is the faster option if you already have a registrar you're fine with. You change the domain's nameservers (or a single A record) to point at our servers, and your site goes live under your existing registration.
The full walkthrough, including the exact nameserver values and the A record alternative, is in Pointing your domain to your hosting account.
- Sign in to your current registrar and find the nameserver settings for the domain.
- Replace them with the nameservers we provide.
- Save, then wait for the change to spread. See How long does DNS propagation take? for what to expect.
You keep the registration exactly where it is. We serve the website (and email, if you use ours) once DNS points our way.
Option 2: Transfer the domain to us
Transferring makes sense if you want everything (domain, hosting, billing) in one place, or you want free WHOIS privacy without hunting for a registrar that includes it. A transfer adds a year to your registration as part of the transfer fee.
See Can I use a domain I already own? for the tradeoffs between the two options in more detail.
What if you want the domain to redirect somewhere?
If you don't want to host a site on the domain at all, and you want visitors sent to another URL, that's a different setup: forwarding, not pointing. Forwarding works whether the domain is with us or another registrar. Details are in Domain forwarding and redirects.
Ordering hosting either way
The order flow is the same regardless of which path you pick:
- Sign in (or create an account) and start a hosting order.
- On the order form, choose the option for an existing domain and enter it.
- Complete checkout.
- Point DNS (Option 1) or transfer the domain in (Option 2), whichever you decided on.
You don't have to commit to Option 2 upfront. Plenty of people point DNS first, get comfortable, and transfer the domain in later once they're sure they're sticking around. Nothing about pointing DNS now blocks a transfer later.
When to open a ticket
If your domain's registrar has an unusual DNS panel, or you're not sure which nameserver values apply to your specific service, open a ticket from the portal. Support is real humans, and they can confirm the exact values for your account before you start changing anything at the registrar.