How to set up your new Web site with an existing domain name
With Microsoft Office Live, it’s easy to set up your new Web site using an existing domain name. It takes just a few steps to redirect your domain to Microsoft Office Live.
This is known as domain redelegation. It means that you’re telling your current domain registrar (the company responsible for your domain records) to associate your domain name with new Web site hosting and e-mail services.
All you need to do is contact your domain registrar to change your
name server settings. Select your registrar below for specific instructions on how to redirect your existing domain name to Microsoft Office Live.
* Name server defined
A name server is a computer that uses a Web site name to route visitors to the actual Web site location. For example, when you type www.adventure-works.com into a browser, a name server uses that name to connect you to the Adventure Works Web site.
Instructions for specific registrars
How to determine who your current registrar is
On the WHOIS search page, enter your domain name and review the results to find the name of your registrar. Choose the option below that corresponds with the extension of your domain name.
To search for domain names ending in .com, .net, and .org, visit the
InterNIC web site. For domains ending in a two-letter country code, including .uk (United Kingdom), .de (Germany) or .jp (Japan), please visit
Uwhois.com.
How do I move my Web site content to Microsoft Office Live?
If you have already created a Web site, just save all of your existing Web site files including pictures, sound files, and video clips to your computer. After you
sign up for a Microsoft Office Live subscription, you'll be able to easily transfer all your files to your new Web site. You can preview and make changes to your Web site until all your pages look exactly the way you want.
Transferring the contents of your existing Web site to Microsoft Office Live
If you have already created a Web site with another provider, you can now move it to Microsoft Office Live. We recommend that you follow these steps before you contact your current domain name registrar.
- Save all of your existing Web site files including pictures, sound files, and video clips to your computer.
- Upload these files from your computer to Microsoft Office Live using our Site Designer upload tool. NOTE: You can copy a small portion of HTML directly onto a Web page using the HTML Module within Site Designer. If you have a Microsoft Office Live Essentials or Microsoft Office Live Premium account, you can even upload an entire Web site, created using any Web design software, to your site.
- Once you've uploaded the files, you can preview and make changes to your Web site until all your pages look exactly the way you want.
- If you are using an existing domain name, contact your registrar to change your name servers. (See the instructions above.) This change will redirect your existing domain name to your Web site hosted by Microsoft Office Live.
- After this change has been made, your Web site will be published to the Internet.
What happens to my e-mail after my current site is moved to Microsoft Office Live?
Once you redirect your domain to Microsoft Office Live, you’ll need to recreate the e-mail accounts you had with your previous registrar in Microsoft Office Live. For example, if your domain name is northwindtraders.com and your e-mail address is jim@northwindtraders.com, then you can create this same account in Microsoft Office Live.
You may be able to access e-mail messages that were sent to your e-mail account with your previous domain registrar for a period of time after you move to Microsoft Office Live. We recommend that you save your messages, calendar items, and contact information either before redirecting your domain or immediately afterwards. Messages sent after you have created the new accounts will appear in your Microsoft Office Live inbox. You should be aware that some e-mail, however, sent after you requested the name server change (but before your site is moved and the new e-mail accounts set up) may be lost.
Please note:
- This is not a domain transfer. Your registrar remains unchanged and you'll still be responsible for domain name fees and renewal with your current provider.
- Only the domain owner can request this change. Microsoft Office Live cannot do it for you.
- Currently, we support domain redelegation with .com, .org, .net, .co.uk, .de, and .eu domain extensions.
Is redelegation the same as transferring my domain?
No. Transferring your domain name consists of transferring the management of the domain name to a new registrar. Domain delegation is done at the time of registration where you assign your domain name to a designated computer that has domain name hosting capabilities. This enables your domain name to be used as a Web address or email address. Once your domain name is registered and delegated to a host computer, you may choose to change the hosting details. The process of changing the hosting details is referred to as redelegation. Your registrar can provide you assistance with the delegation and redelegation of your domain name.
NOTE: With domain redelegation, you will still pay your current registrar to manage and renew your domain name.