Job dns-move-domain-without-email-downtime · revised 9 October 2026

Move your domain’s DNS with a plan to protect website and email

Move one domain’s nameservers to a new DNS provider. Compare mail and website records before the switch, then check the services after it; cached DNS can delay recovery.

You might be seeing

The domain is in a former designer's or agency's account, not yours
Your host or registrar's renewal price has gone up and you want to move
Last time someone changed nameservers, email stopped for days
You don't know which DNS records your email, website and tools need

Enquire — £195 fixed price Check if it fits first What to send us

No passwords, keys, card details or admin invites needed to start.

Fixed price

Fixed price for one authoritative DNS cutover, up to 60 service records, a cooperative current holder and a DNSSEC state we can control. A registrar-only transfer is unnecessary here; disputed ownership or an immediate forced cutover is outside scope.

You pay: After the agreed checks pass and you sign off. No advance payment.
Includes: One domain with up to 60 DNS records; Record-by-record pre-switch comparison; Next-day website and mail checks
Technology: Dns, Domains, Email, Cloudflare
Delivery: Start window and delivery date agreed in writing after eligibility and access checks.

This is a new fixed-price service. We agree scope and checks with you before starting, and you pay after it works and you sign off.

Enquiry only: no checkout, charge or booking. The written quote confirms the total price and any applicable tax before you accept.

What usually happened

The domain’s authoritative DNS holds the records that route your email, verify its senders and point visitors to the website. During a nameserver change, missing service records can make mail bounce or the site disappear. A registrar-only transfer that leaves nameservers unchanged does not move this DNS zone.

Who it’s for: Owner of a small business whose domain sits with an old web designer, an expensive registrar or a host they are leaving, and whose email runs on the same domain.

Usually starts when: You want DNS at Cloudflare or another provider, or are leaving a host that answers for your domain. Moving the registrar alone without changing nameservers is a different, simpler task.

The result: Your domain uses the new authoritative DNS provider, with the agreed website and mail service records copied and checked, and the site and two-way email still working after caches settle. The domain stays in an account you control.

Check whether this job fits

Five questions, about two minutes. Your answers stay on this page unless you choose to email them.

Is the domain registered to you or your business?

The registrar's account or a public WHOIS lookup shows the registrant, though many hide personal details.

Yes It's in my designer's or agency's account Someone else claims it

Is the domain currently paid up and working?

Yes It expired or stopped working

What are you moving?

The nameservers or DNS provider Only the registrar account, keeping the nameservers The website’s files and database too Mailboxes to a new email provider too

Does your current provider show DNSSEC as switched on?

No, confirmed disabled Yes Not sure

When does it need to happen?

Within the next few weeks Today, the old provider is cutting us off

Answer the questions to see whether this job fits.

Nothing is sent anywhere until you choose to email us.

Email us your answers

How to read your answers: any answer below means this fixed job needs a closer look or doesn’t fit.

Is the domain registered to you or your business? Someone else claims it: Ownership disputes go through the registrar, or Nominet for .uk domains. Settle that first; nothing here can be done safely until then.
Is the domain currently paid up and working? It expired or stopped working: Renew it with the current registrar first. An expired domain can be lost, and moving it isn't possible until it's renewed.
What are you moving? Only the registrar account, keeping the nameservers: This DNS cutover is unnecessary. Ask your registrar for an account-to-account or registrar transfer that keeps the current nameservers unchanged.
What are you moving? The website’s files and database too: The site migration is separate. Move and test the site first, then schedule the DNS switch.
What are you moving? Mailboxes to a new email provider too: Copying mailboxes is separate. Leave their MX records pointing at the old provider until that move is ready.
Does your current provider show DNSSEC as switched on? Yes: The DS record at the registrar must be removed or replaced in the right order. Ask the current DNS holder for the DNSSEC state and whether they can cooperate before booking.
Does your current provider show DNSSEC as switched on? Not sure: Ask your DNS provider and registrar to confirm the DNSSEC and DS state before planning the cutover.
When does it need to happen? Today, the old provider is cutting us off: An immediate forced cutover is outside this job. Ask the current provider for an extension or use its emergency support; send us the cut-off time so we can assess whether a safe overlap is possible.

Checks you can run yourself

See where your DNS is hosted and where mail goes
On a Mac or Linux terminal, run these read-only lookups with your own domain, or use any public DNS lookup website.
```
dig +short NS yourbusiness.co.uk; dig +short MX yourbusiness.co.uk
```
Look for: The NS lines name the company answering for your domain now. The MX lines show who receives your email. Both must be right after the move.
Find the registrar and expiry date
Look up the domain on a public WHOIS service, or nominet.uk's lookup for .uk domains.
Look for: The registrar's name and the expiry date. A date in the next month means renew first, then move.

What you get

Inventory and comparison of service records, noting NS/SOA and DNSSEC differences separately
Steps for the domain holder to change the nameservers and, if needed, the DS record
Post-switch results for website, inbound and outbound mail, and sender authentication
A cache-aware switch-back plan that keeps both old and new zones live until the old answers expire

Included

One authoritative DNS nameserver move for one domain with up to 60 service records; registrar-only transfer is not included
An inventory of mail, website, verification and other service records from the old provider’s export and public lookups
Building the service records at the new DNS provider before changing nameservers
Comparing MX, address, alias, TXT and agreed subdomain answers, excluding provider-specific NS and SOA records
A DNSSEC plan before cutover: remove or replace the registrar DS in the safe order, with an authorised holder
Mail and website checks after the nameserver change and again after caches settle

Not included

Moving the website's files or the mailboxes themselves to a new host or provider
Disputes over who owns the domain
Setting up SPF, DKIM or DMARC that wasn't there before: that is a separate job
Domains with more than about 60 records or dozens of subdomains, which we quote separately
Registrar-only ownership transfer with no DNS change: ask the registrar for its account-transfer steps

How we know it’s done

Agreed with you before work starts. Each check produces evidence you keep.

Before the switch, every agreed website, mail, verification and subdomain service record answers as planned at the new provider; NS/SOA and DNSSEC are compared by cutover plan, not expected to match byte-for-byte
Evidence: Record-by-record comparison table
```
dig +short MX yourbusiness.co.uk @new-nameserver-name
```
After the switch and after the old TTL expires, public lookups show the new nameservers and the agreed MX, SPF and website service answers
Evidence: Lookup output after the switch and the next day
An outside test email reaches the inbox, its reply reaches the outside address, and authentication results are no worse than the recorded pre-switch headers
Evidence: The two messages and their headers
Your website's home page and one agreed inner page load over https on the domain with and without www
Evidence: Status and screenshot per address

Sign-off. You sign off after post-cache checks pass for the site and two-way email. We keep both old and new zones in place for 14 days for a cache-aware reversal.

If it fails. If the agreed site or mail checks fail, you do not pay. Your domain holder can restore the old nameservers and DS state, but cached DNS may still point at the new provider until its TTL expires; we keep both zones running and fix the live service records while the reversal spreads.

When it fits, and when we stop

It fits when

The domain is registered to you or your business, even if someone else's account holds it
Someone can log in to the current provider, or the current holder will follow the steps
You have, or will create, an account in your own name at the new DNS provider or registrar
The current nameserver holder can export the full zone and leave it live during the cache window
The domain holder can change nameservers and any DNSSEC DS record at the registrar

We stop and tell you if

The current holder refuses to release the domain or you can't show it's yours: that needs the registrar's dispute process
DNSSEC is switched on and the old provider won't remove or hand over the keys before the move
The move must happen within hours and the old records' lifetimes are too long to switch safely
The domain is expired or in redemption: renew or recover it first
The old provider will shut down before its cached answers expire and no safe overlap can be arranged

What could go wrong

Both DNS zones stay live during and after cutover. If a check fails, the domain holder restores the old nameservers and the DNSSEC DS state, but cached answers may still point at the new provider until their TTL expires; fix the new zone as well while waiting. Do not delete either zone for at least 14 days.

Scroll the table sideways to read it all.

Risk	How we handle it
A record the old provider created automatically isn't in the export and gets lost	We query public DNS for each known mail, verification and service name, not just the export, and compare answers before the switch.
Email bounces for some senders while old answers are still cached	We lower lifetimes in advance, keep MX targets identical, and leave the old zone running in parallel.
DNSSEC mismatch makes the domain stop resolving	We plan the DNSSEC order before the switch and the reviewer checks it; if the old provider won't cooperate, we stop.

A second reviewer compares every service record and the DNSSEC/DS order; NS and SOA differences are expected, not validation failures.

How we deliver

We arrange the work and independent review, then show you the result against the agreed checks. You keep authority over your systems.

Export the old zone and collect public answers for each known mail, website and verification service
Create the new service records and compare them with the old provider; NS, SOA and DNSSEC are handled by the cutover plan, not copied byte-for-byte
If DNSSEC is enabled, write the exact DS/keys change order and have an independent reviewer check it
Keep both old and new zones live; the domain holder changes the registrar’s nameserver delegation at the agreed time
Test website, inbound and outbound mail and authentication during the overlap and after cached answers expire
If a service fails, correct the new zone or reverse delegation, keeping both zones available until caches settle

This is a one-off job, not emergency cover or a subscription. We confirm eligibility, the total price, a start window and a delivery date before you accept. Work starts only after agreed inputs, secure access, any licences and necessary permissions are in place. Hosting, platform and supplier charges are excluded unless the written quote includes them. No charge or booking is created by an enquiry.

Need to keep it working?

If your services change often, discuss scheduled DNS inventory and mail-routing checks rather than repeated emergency cutovers.

Ongoing work is separately scoped and quoted: no monitoring, response-time guarantee or automatic subscription is included in this job.

Explore an ongoing engineering lane, or mention the responsibility you need in your enquiry.

What you can check

This is a new service. We have not delivered this job for a client yet.

Other ways to get this done

Cloudflare and some registrars import existing records automatically when you add a domain. That works well for simple domains, but check every mail record by hand afterwards, because imports can miss some.
If you only want the domain in your own name and are happy with where DNS lives, the current holder can often move it to your account at the same registrar without changing DNS at all.

Questions

Will my email stop during the move?

We copy mail records before switching and keep both providers live while DNS answers spread. No cutover can guarantee zero delay for every sender; we check mail in both directions and keep a way back.

Do you need my registrar password?

No. You or the current holder make the switch with our steps. At the new provider you can invite us with DNS-only permission, or enter records yourself.

My web designer has the domain. Can you get it back?

We can give the current holder exact steps to export the zone and release control, but if they refuse, ask the registrar for its ownership dispute process before scheduling a DNS cutover.

Do I need this if I only move the domain to another registrar?

Not if the nameservers stay the same. Move the registrar account without changing DNS; your mail and website records stay where they are.

Start with an email

Send us

The domain name and where it's registered now, if you know
Who controls the current account: you, your host, a designer or an agency
Where you want it to go: a named registrar, your new host or Cloudflare
Who provides your email, and every other tool you know uses the domain, such as a booking or newsletter service
Any deadline, such as a renewal date or a host closing

Later, once you agree

An export or screenshots of every record at the current DNS provider
An invitation to the new DNS provider account with permission to edit DNS only, or a person there who will enter records
A company-controlled secure handoff agreed before access: no live passwords, keys, private code or customer records by ordinary email.

The domain and both provider accounts stay in your name. AI agents prepare and compare the records; a separate reviewer checks the cutover. Your domain holder makes the switch. Synthetic Industry is owned by a person and remains accountable for the agreed work.

Enquire — £195 fixed price

Or write to hello@syntheticindustry.ai with “dns-move-domain-without-email-downtime” as the subject.