Transfer Question

[TJB]

I have an Bluehost account with one domain and two sub-domains. I also have a Geocities account that I would like to transfer as they are going out of business in 4 days. I am certain this issue has been covered before but I didn't find the exact information I was looking for after a brief forums search. I communicated with someone via chat and they mentioned there are services that assist with transferring, but I would prefer not to pay for help with this if possible. I was also told that transferring the site and transfer of the domain registration are separate issues. Can someone assist with this, or simply direct me to any links (external are fine) that provide step-by-step instructions for this process. I am a little anxious as I don't want to lose photos that are on the Geocities site. Thank you.

[felgall]

The first step is to copy all of the files from Geocities onto your own computer. From there you can upload them to your new hosting when you are ready.

Pointing a new domain at new hosting just requires changing the nameserver entries with your registrar. That then gets picked up by the various domain name servers so they know where to send requests for your domain. Some DNS will update within minutes, most will update within three days, a small number only update monthly.

Transferring a domain registration shouldn't be done until after all the DNS pick up the new location for the site as otherwise the nameserver info can be corrupted and end up with some visitors being directed back to the old hosting so leave it a few weeks after moving the hosting. It is then a matter of requesting for your chosen new registrar to arrange to transfer the domain for you. They will forward the request to your existing registrar who will contact you for authorisation. About a week after that they will release the domain to the new registrar.

[TJB]

Thank you for the response. I saved each page of my site (by right clicking and using 'Save As') and the file folders are now on my desktop. Sorry for asking such a basic question, but is this all that's required in terms of downloading? Will I simply use these files when I am ready to upload? Thank you.

[felgall]

It depends on which browser you did the save as with - some browsers scramble the page content when you copy the page that way. The safest way to download your pages is the same way you upload them - using an FTP program.

[TJB]

There was actually a recommendation on the Geocities site to use the 'right click' function, as opposed to an FTP program. I did not do the original download and have no knowledge of FTP so that worked well for me. My browser is Firefox; is there any way to tell if the content is scrambled or would I only know this after uploading? Perhaps I should attempt to upload using Bluehost instructions and see if that works?

[felgall]

I think Firefox is one of the browsers where save as actually saves the original files correctly (assuming that you had no server side code in the pages since the only way to download such pages is through FTP).

You will still need to use FTP to upload your files to BlueHost.

FTP is the standard way for copying files between computers.

[TJB]

I think I know how to proceed at this point, but want to clarify a couple of points first. As mentioned above I currently have one domain and two sub-domains, but am a little confused about this. As I understand it, an example of a domain would be "primarysite.com" and a sub-domain might be "support.primarysite.com". However, neither of my subdomains carry the primary domain in their address. Both subdomains are registered and have distinct addresses; all three sites are separate entities and not connected in any way on the web. Yet they are identified on my control panel as subdomains as opposed to add-ons.

My only purpose in keeping the Geocities account is to save the photos I have there. I can't transfer the name as it includes Geocities in the address (ie/ geocities.com/sitename). The site name (minus geocities prefix) isn't available anyway so I would simply like to transfer the files to a subdomain. Am I correct that no name registration is required for subdomain (even though I chose to go this route for my other subs)? Also, I want to make certain the new subdomain isn't accessible from the primary domain. I am essentially using the new sub as a way to store the site permanently.

My intent is to create a new subdomain (without name registration) and to upload my site/files there, but I was a little confused by the fact my current subdomains are actually registered and operate as independent sites. This is as it should be so perhaps there are simply different ways of setting up the subs (in terms of how the address appears on the web).

Any additional clarification would be greatly appreciated.

[felgall]

The two sites you have been calling subdomains are actually add-on domains.

Add-on domains are separately registered domains that you have on the same hosting as your main domain.

Sub-domains (of either your main donain or any add-on domain) do not require separate registration as you already own all the subdomains of each domain you own.

[TJB]

When I click on "Subdomains' from control panel and go to that page, under section titled "Modify Subdomains" both of my secondary domains are listed there consecutively in a box under heading "Subdomain." What you are saying is these are add-ons even though they are listed as subdomains. Okay, I think I understand that, even though I'm a little curious as to why they aren't listed on the "Addon Domains" page instead.

Final two questions. I am going to create subdomain and upload former Geocities site/files there. Can I name the new subdomain anything I want since no name registration is involved in process? And I don't want the primary domain name to be reflected in the sub address when the site is accessed via the web (nor do I want the primary and subdomain to be linked or accessible from one another). This is fine and can be addressed during the setup process, correct? Thanks again for your assistance.

[felgall]

Whenever you create an add-on domain on your account there is a sub-domain created for it as well specifically to allow you to access the statistics available though awstats and webalizer.

[TJB]

I setup the subdomain and uploaded the site files...everything went smoothly. I went to the subdomain and initially thought everything was fine. Homepage was there as were links to nine other pages. However, the photo and some graphics (mini-logo, border etc) are not present on the homepage. And...biggest problem...whenever I click to go to other pages the site automatically reverts to old Geocities address. So...homepage reflects correct subdomain address and pages 2-10 are the Geocities address. Can someone tell me why images aren't displaying on homepage and additional pages revert to old address? The original site was done by someone else and I know absolutely nothing about design, code etc. Any assistance would be appreciated.

[farcaster]

It sounds like there are hard coded URL's in your web pages. You'll have to grab your favorite editor and change those.

[TJB]

I was afraid your answer would be something along those lines. As mentioned previously I know nothing about codes or editors, but since my Geocities site expires tomorrow, I guess I am going to learn quickly. Can you recommend an editor (or multiple possibilities if that's necessary), and a webiste/s I can go to for further instructions or to proceed further. Also, the hard coding explains why the new subdomain keeps defaulting back to the original site; is there another explanation for the issue with images on homepage? Thank you.