Separate these four services first
| Service | What it does | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Domain registration | Keeps your business address registered to you. | Registrar, account owner and renewal date. |
| DNS hosting | Directs website visitors and incoming email to the right services. | Authoritative nameservers and a full export of the records. |
| Website hosting | Runs or serves the website people visit. | Host, website backup and cancellation conditions. |
| Email hosting | Stores mailboxes and provides sending and receiving. | Provider, administrator access, aliases and forwarding rules. |
Paying one invoice does not tell you which services depend on each other. A web hosting package might also supply DNS and email forwarding. Equally, the domain might be registered with one company, the website hosted with another and the inbox managed by Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
Start with account access and bills rather than guessing from the name of the email app. Someone reading mail in Outlook might still have a mailbox hosted elsewhere. Ask which service actually stores and delivers the messages.
Moving the website and moving DNS are different jobs
If the current DNS service can remain active, a website move may only require changing the records for the main domain and www. Use the exact values supplied by the new web host. Email routing and authentication records can usually remain as they are.
Changing nameservers is a broader move: it changes which DNS service answers for the domain. The destination needs a complete, checked set of records before the switch. Copying only the website address can leave email, verification records or other subdomains behind.
- Preserve MX records for incoming email, with their priorities.
- Preserve relevant SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for email authentication.
- Check mail, autodiscover and any other hostnames your email setup actually uses.
- Include website forms, newsletter tools, booking systems and domain-verification records in the inventory.
- Have the DNS provider handle nameserver and DNSSEC changes correctly; do not copy the old provider's nameserver settings into the new zone indiscriminately.
What the Fletch Consulting launch taught us
For Fletch Consulting, the new website went live on Vercel using the existing domain. The DNS records showed Google mail servers for incoming email, while the old hosting account still contained a forwarding rule and supplied the hosting-based DNS setup.
Peter confirmed that a test website enquiry arrived. That proved the tested enquiry path worked at that moment. It did not establish that every old hosting dependency had been removed, or that cancelling the account would preserve DNS and forwarding.
The next step was to clarify those remaining dependencies before cancelling anything. This is a useful distinction for any redesign: launching the new website and retiring the old hosting are two separate completion checks.
What to have ready before changing anything
- Business-controlled access to the domain, DNS, old host, new host and email administration.
- An export of the full DNS zone and backups of the old website, database and any hosted mail that needs preserving.
- A list of important email addresses, aliases, forwarders and sending tools, with a named person to test each one.
- A tested preview of the new website, including mobile navigation, contact forms and confirmation messages.
- A record of existing page URLs and redirects for pages whose addresses are changing.
- A change window, someone available to monitor it, and the previous DNS values ready if a rollback is needed.
Ask who is responsible for each check. 'The developer handles the website' can leave a gap if nobody owns email testing or the DNS move. If the business uses an IT provider, involve them before changing records.
Test the whole enquiry path, not just the homepage
| Test | What a useful result looks like |
|---|---|
| Website addresses | Both the main domain and www reach the intended HTTPS website. |
| Important old links | Old service URLs reach the relevant new page or an intentional redirect. |
| Incoming email | A message from an unrelated external mailbox reaches the intended recipient. |
| Outgoing email | A reply reaches an external mailbox; check authentication and spam placement if there is a problem. |
| Aliases and forwarding | Each important public address reaches the person who should receive it. |
| Website form | The submission succeeds, the business receives it, and replying goes to the visitor. |
Try a different network as well as your normal connection. DNS caches can temporarily send different visitors to different destinations. A TTL of 14,400 seconds means four hours for that record, but it is not a universal countdown for the entire migration. Delegation changes and other cached records can follow different timings.
Keep both services available during the transition where possible. If a page works on your phone but not your office connection, check the DNS answers and redirects before repeatedly changing settings. Browser content caches and DNS caches are also different things.
Get a specific answer before cancelling hosting
The cancellation decision should follow a dependency check: the website is on the new host, authoritative DNS will remain available, required email services and forwarding have been preserved, and backups are saved. Keep the domain registration and any email subscription you still use.
Website migration FAQs
Do I need to transfer my domain to the new web designer?
Usually no. The domain can stay with its current registrar while DNS points the website to a new host. Keep the registration in an account the business controls.
Will changing website hosting delete old emails?
Not by itself. But cancelling a hosting account that also stores your mailboxes can remove access or data. Establish where the mail is stored and back it up or migrate it before cancellation.
Does Resend replace my normal business inbox?
Using Resend to send website notifications does not move your existing mailbox. Treat website notification delivery and everyday business email as separate parts of the setup.
Can I cancel old hosting as soon as the new website loads?
Only after confirming the account no longer supplies anything you need, including DNS, mailboxes, forwarding or sending services. A successful homepage test is not enough.