How To Transfer Domain From Bluehost To Shopify

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links that I get a kickback from.

Moving your domain from one hosting provider to another can be confusing and difficult on your own.

I’ll show you how to move your domain name from Bluehost to Shopify in under 30 minutes.

How To Transfer Domain From Bluehost To Shopify

Here are the exact steps you’ll need to take to move your domain name from Bluehost to Shopify:

1. Set up a Shopify account

First, you’ll need to open a Shopify account. You can do that for free with their free trial.

Go to Shopify -> choose “free trial” -> enter your store name -> select your store’s location -> create a Shopify ID (your ID is what you’re going to use to log in).

I recommend checking out my complete guide on how to set up a Shopify store from scratch here.

2. Connect your existing domain to Shopify

Next, you’ll need to connect your Domain name to Shopify. Doing that will point your URL to your Shopify store. Once your domain is connected to Shopify, customers will be able to visit your store from your URL.

Connect your existing domain automatically:

From your Shopify dashboard go to settings -> domains
Click connect existing domain -> enter your domain name -> next -> choose connect automatically.

You’ll now be taken to your domain provider’s website where you’ll be able to confirm the connection.

You can also choose to connect a domain name manually. This process will vary depending on the domain provider that you have.

But here are the steps you need to follow to connect your existing domain name manually from Bluehost to Shopify.

1. Log in to your Bluehost dashboard
2. Click domains -> choose my domains
3. Click the dropdown menu next to your domain -> select DNS

4. Select add record next to A record -> input @ as the host record -> point it to Shopify’s SIP address (223.227.38.65) and leave the TTL set as default.

5. Click add record again -> add a CNAME record -> input www as the host record -> point it to shops.myshopify.com and leave the TTL set as default.

After you connect your domain to Shopify it doesn’t mean that Shopify takes care of it. Your domain will just take people to your store. However, you will still need to log in to your third-party domain provider to manage domain settings, pay for it, and renew it.

3. Unlock Your Domain With Bluehost

Next, we’ll need to unlock the domain name in order to prepare it for transfer.

Go to your Bluehost dashboard and click your domains -> my domains -> click the manage drop-down -> select security -> uncheck the transfer lock checkbox.

4. Find Your EPP Code on Bluehost

Next, you will have to find and copy your EPP code in order to transfer your domain from Bluehost to Shopify.

An EPP code is an authorization code generated by your current Domain registrar and it’s needed when transferring a domain name to a different registrar.

To find your EPP code go to Bluehost -> select domains on the left -> go to my domains -> click manage drop-down menu -> select security -> and under transfer authorization choose send code.

Your EPP code will be sent to you via email.

5. Transfer domain to Shopify

There are a couple of steps that you need to take in order to transfer your domain to Shopify once you’ve unlocked it.

Head to your Shopify admin pane -> settings -> domains. Then click connect existing domain.

Enter the domain name that you want to transfer without the www. at the beginning of it and click transfer to Shopify.

Enter the EPP code that you got sent to your email in the Authorization code field and press verify domain.

On the next page, you can select Auto-renew this domain every year if you don’t want to manually renew it.

Finally, review if your information is correct, accept the terms, and click approve.

Once you’ve done that you should get an email asking you to confirm that you want to initiate the domain transfer from Bluehost to Shopify.

Once you confirm that you want to start the transfer it will typically take up to 7 days for it to complete.

But you can speed it up.

Look for an email from Bluehost where you’ll find a link that lets you speed up or cancel the transfer. If you click the link your domain will be transferred faster.

And there you have it. My guide on how to transfer your domain name to Shopify.

I’ll leave you with some related articles that will help you start and grow your online store:

Thanks for reading 👋.