Transferring website and e-mail to new provider

[#1]

(Sorry if this has come up before. I did do a search, but didn't find anything which matches the situation)

I'm shortly going to be leaving PN after 23 years and need to transfer my website and e-mail to Mythic Beast.

MB's prep page gives me a list of instructions which - amongst other things - tell me to "Go to your DNS control panel at your existing provider", and "Copying the www records will switch your website to our servers", and "Copying the mx records will redirect your email to our servers", and something else about the SPF record.

I don't know how to find all this info,

I'm a bit intimidated by all this, having not had to do anything like this in all these years. Please could someone who has made the same move to MB give me some advice on what to do?

Thanks in advamce.

[#2]

@thejudge 

have a read of this thread https://community.plus.net/t5/Email/Transferring-an-email-domain-Idiots-guide-needed-Registered/m-p/... particularly posts 6 & 7

[#3]

Thanks for that. I did read through (particularly the two posts you highlighted), but I'm not sure I'm any closer to understanding what I need to do.

I perhaps should have made clear (just in case it makes any difference) that my website is on the webspace included in my ADSL package, so is now at homepages.plus.greenbysites.com. I do not know how to find the 'DNS control panel' referred to in MB's instructions; I don't remember ever seeing it anywhere, and I probably wouldn't know what to do with it if I had.

Sorry to seem dense, but I'm not as genned up on these things as I used to be, so lack the self-confidence to just forge ahead.

[#4]

Ah! you can only transfer your webspace and email to MB if you have your own domain.

[#5]

The domain (a .me.uk domain) is mine, I've just been using PN to host it.

[#6]

@thejudge 

Ok, so you can transfer that domain to Mythic.

However, you cant follow the MB suggested no downtime method, the Plusnet DNS control panle doesnt provide the facilities you need.

So instead, for email you follow the procedure as described by @Busychip here https://community.plus.net/t5/Email/Transferring-an-email-domain-Idiots-guide-needed-Registered/m-p/....

For webspace , you will need to use FTP to copy your website files from your current webspace and then upload them to your MB account. 

[#7]

Right! I've set up an account with MB, (an interesting way to spend a Sunday morning!) but now I need the domain and MX transferring. In Busychip's post, he talked of the 'associated email address'; am I to assume that that was his old Freenetname e-mail? I can't set any e-mail addresses up in MB until the domain is transferred to them.

He also said that he requested the transfer via a post on the Forum. Is this what I should do now?

[#8]

I can't set any e-mail addresses up in MB until the domain is transferred to them.

Yes you can! . You add the domain, as a third-party domain, to your MB account. You can then create all your mailboxes and email addresses. You should also be able to copy your webspace content. 

Once you've got that all complete, you can then request the domain registration transfer. As soon s that completes, you use the MB portal to switch the nameservers to the MB ones.

[#9]

I thiink I cocked something up. I put the domain name in at MB when I was setting my account up, but not as a 3rd party domain. Now I can't add it as 3rd party because it's already been created, so I can't set up e-mail, mailboxes, etc.

[#10]

Have you tried deleting the domain and then re-adding it as a third-party one ?

[#11]

Yeah, but it won't let me do that because the domain name is already associated with my account. I've e-mailed their support for advice.

(You know, I'm really glad that I'm not likely to ever have to go through all this again! 🙄).

[#12]

---

@thejudge wrote:

I thiink I cocked something up. I put the domain name in at MB when I was setting my account up, but not as a 3rd party domain. Now I can't add it as 3rd party because it's already been created, so I can't set up e-mail, mailboxes, etc.

---

@thejudge   The best thing is probably to talk to MB Support.  All done by e-mail, and takes up to 24h for a reply, but they're really helpful.

For background, I moved the HappyChild site there back in 2023, *solely* because had to get https (the site had been hosted here by Force9/PN - amazingly well, would never have moved it voluntarily - for 25 years).

I, like you, am "not a techie" so the whole move process was fairly daunting [albeit I was moving not just the HappyChild site but various other things like the Illuminated Bible].  My way of dealing with unknown territory is to note down every stage I do, on an Excel spreadsheet (six columns wide) so I can (a) find stuff again (b) see how I did things last time. 

Did wonder about sharing [limited] aspects of the MB-move spreadsheet here, but to do so would require working through the content of 3000-4000 cells to (a) extract useful content (b) remove any personal login/server/email/other details - so, not a casual undertaking.  Also wasn't sure if Excel spreadsheets can be attached to forum posts (?)  Never tried, tbh.

Anyway.  Start with MB support, detail exactly what you've done, and ask how best to fix it.  Take things one step at a time.

Just keep notes on what works and what doesn't, and of the page addresses [URLs] on the MB site that have info you will need again.

It's worth persevering  : )   You'll be glad you did, once you finally get things sorted.

.

Edited to add:  @thejudge   Hadn't seen your 16.07pm reply when posted this one (obvs).

[#13]

The latest on this is that MB support replied within the hour (!) and said that they'd made a change to the DNS setting and that I should now be able to set up e-mail with them.

Unfortunately, it won't let me because the MX records aren't pointing to MB's mail servers. I assume that this will have to wait until the domain itself is transferred to MB (which I'd intended to do after everything had been set up at MB). I've e-mailed MB support for clarification and hope to update this thread in due course.

[#14]

@thejudge 

Unfortunately, it won't let me because the MX records aren't pointing to MB's mail servers.

Are you sure that isnt just a warning ? Yes, if the MX records arent pointing to MB , then you wont receive mail there, but that shouldn't prevent you creating mailboxes etc.

The MX records not pointing MB servers is the default for a third-party domain.

If you login to the MB portal and click the 'Web and Email settings' link under Web and Email Hosting., then that should show you your domain with a link for 'email addresses' 

See example for my account ( Note I have five hosted domains - one with a sub domain ). You should only see one domain listed

[#15]

When I go to the 'Mail Configuration' page, the following message is at the top:

"Mail for this domain does not appear to be handled by our mail servers: the MX records do not point to our mailhubs. The settings on this page will therefore have no effect."

I can click on 'Add an email address' and complete the fields, but - as the message above implies - it has no effect and the address is not created.

I'm awaiting a response from MB support.