Connect vs transfer: two ways to bring your domain to a new platform

"Bring my domain" can mean two different things. You can connect it, so visitors reach your new store, or transfer it, so the registration itself moves. Knowing the difference saves days.

Which guide do you need? This guide helps you decide whether to point your domain or move it. If you have already decided to move it off Shopify, follow the step-by-step guide How to transfer a domain away from Shopify (and the 60-day rule).

Connecting a domain

You stay registered where you are. You change DNS records, typically an A record for the main domain and a CNAME for the www version, so that they point to your new platform.

Good for: speed (often minutes to hours), low risk, any registrar, and domains less than 60 days old.

Watch out for: you still renew and pay at the old registrar, and if that is your old platform, you must keep that account open.

Transferring a domain

You move the registration to a new registrar. The domain must be unlocked, you need an authorisation code, and the domain must be older than 60 days since registration or last transfer.

Good for: having everything in one place, removing dependence on your old platform, and sometimes lower renewal prices.

Watch out for: it takes days, needs email approvals, and DNS records must be recreated carefully.

A side-by-side view

A sensible order

1. Connect first. Go live on the new platform quickly.
2. Transfer later, once the store is stable and you have chosen a registrar you want long term.
3. Never do both at once. Changing too much in one day makes problems hard to trace.

Whichever you choose

• Copy all current DNS records before you change anything.
• Keep your MX records for email.
• Lower the TTL a day ahead to speed up the change.
• Have your old store set up with redirects ready (guide).
• Test the site, a product page, checkout and an email to the domain.

Our platform supports connecting a custom domain on the Growth Pro plan, and our team helps you connect or transfer from any registrar. Read more on how switching works.

A worked scenario

Imagine a brand with a domain registered through its old platform 14 months ago, business email on the same domain, and a festive sale in three weeks. The safest plan is to connect: lower the TTL, copy the records, point the A and CNAME records to the new store, keep the MX and TXT records for email, and check everything within a day. The transfer can wait until after the sale, when there is time to approve emails and recreate records calmly.

Signs you should transfer sooner

• Your old platform is shutting down or you are cancelling it, and the domain is registered there.
• You do not have a login to the registrar that holds the domain.
• You want one provider to manage billing and renewals for all your domains.

What to do next

Look up where your domain is registered (a WHOIS lookup shows the registrar), log in, and screenshot every DNS record. That screenshot is your safety net for either option.