Moving from 123-Reg to a better host — a practical migration guide

123-Reg is one of the UK's largest domain registrars and hosting providers. It's also one of the most common starting points for businesses that later outgrow it. The combination of reliability issues, dated cPanel infrastructure, opaque pricing, and support that routes through scripts rather than engineers makes it a natural first-to-leave.

If you're moving a client off 123-Reg — or yourself — this is the process we follow for zero-downtime migrations.

Step 1: Audit what you're actually moving

Before touching DNS or transferring anything, document exactly what's on the current account.

Log into 123-Reg's control panel and note:

• Domains registered here vs domains that are just pointed here. These are different. A domain registered at 123-Reg requires an EPP transfer code to move the registrar. A domain pointed here (nameservers at 123-Reg but registered elsewhere) just needs nameserver changes.
• Email accounts: list every mailbox, alias, and forwarder. Get the size of each mailbox — 123-Reg's webmail shows this in account settings.
• Web hosting contents: databases, WordPress installations, custom PHP versions needed. Check phpinfo() output on the current site to confirm the PHP version the site is actually using.
• DNS records: export the full zone. In 123-Reg this is under DNS Management. Copy every A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, and SRV record. Don't guess — copy the exact values.
• SSL certificates: note whether SSL is via Let's Encrypt or a purchased cert. Let's Encrypt will be re-issued on the new host. Purchased certs can usually be transferred.

Step 2: Lower DNS TTL in advance

This is the most important preparation step and the one most often skipped.

Before you migrate anything, log into 123-Reg's DNS management and reduce the TTL on every record to 300 seconds (5 minutes). Most default TTLs are 3600 (1 hour) or 86400 (24 hours). If your TTL is 86400 and you flip DNS, the old records can stay cached for up to 24 hours.

Lower TTLs 48 hours before you plan to cut over. This gives existing cached records time to expire before you make the switch. When you actually flip nameservers, propagation becomes a 5-minute problem rather than a 24-hour one.

Step 3: Set up the destination environment

On the new host, set up everything before you touch DNS:

Web hosting: Create the site using the temporary staging URL or IP. Upload files and import databases. Test the site fully — forms, payment gateways, any integrations that use the live domain. Note that some things (payment gateways with domain validation, some API keys) may not fully work until the real domain points there.

Email: Set up every mailbox on the new mail server with the same usernames. Set temporary passwords — you'll communicate these to users post-migration.

DKIM and SPF: Configure DKIM on the new mail server and add the public key to your new DNS zone before you go live. Set your SPF record to include the new mail server. Don't add DMARC enforcement yet — do that after you've confirmed mail flows correctly.

Step 4: Migrate email content

This step is often optional depending on how much historical mail your client needs to keep, but for most clients you'll want to migrate the mailbox contents.

Use imapsync (Linux) or a tool like AidaIM or MailStore (Windows) to do an IMAP-to-IMAP migration. The process is:

1. Connect to the source mail server (123-Reg's IMAP)
2. Connect to the destination mail server (new host's IMAP)
3. Sync all folders, keeping message flags (read/unread, starred)
4. Run the sync again just before DNS cutover to catch anything that arrived after the initial sync

imapsync is the most reliable tool for this. The command looks like:

imapsync \
  --host1 mail.123-reg.co.uk --user1 user@yourdomain.com --password1 oldpassword \
  --host2 mail.newhost.com --user2 user@yourdomain.com --password2 newpassword \
  --automap --synclabels

Run this with --dry first to verify what it will move.

Step 5: DNS cutover

With TTLs already lowered, DNS cutover is straightforward.

If you're moving nameservers (most common for a full migration): Log into the domain registrar and point the nameservers to the new host's nameservers. All DNS records now serve from the new host's zone — make sure that zone is complete and tested before you flip.

If you're keeping the same registrar but moving nameservers: Some clients want to keep their domain at 123-Reg but host elsewhere. That's fine — change the nameservers in 123-Reg's domain settings to point to the new host's nameservers. All DNS control moves to the new host.

If you're just changing individual records (less common, more surgical): You can update individual A, MX, or CNAME records without moving nameservers. This is useful if you only want to move the mail hosting or the web hosting but not both at once.

After DNS changes, the TTL you lowered ensures propagation happens quickly. Monitor with dig yourdomain.com NS and dig yourdomain.com A to confirm the new records are serving.

Step 6: Verify before closing the old account

After DNS cutover:

• Confirm the website loads from the new host (check with the new host's IP directly via /etc/hosts if DNS is still propagating in some locations)
• Send a test email from an external address (Gmail, Outlook) and confirm it arrives in the new mailbox
• Send a test email from the new mailbox and confirm it arrives at an external address
• Check the SPF and DKIM results on the received email header
• Check MX record resolution: dig yourdomain.com MX

Keep the old hosting account active for at least 48 hours after cutover. Don't delete anything until you're certain everything is running on the new host.

Domain transfer (if needed)

If the domain is registered at 123-Reg and you want to move the registrar, that's a separate process. You'll need:

1. EPP/auth code from 123-Reg's domain management
2. Unlock the domain — 123-Reg locks domains by default
3. Disable WHOIS privacy if enabled (some registrars require this for transfers)
4. Initiate the transfer at the new registrar
5. Confirm via email sent to the registrant contact

Domain transfers take 5–7 working days and have no effect on your DNS if you've already moved nameservers. The domain just moves registrars — nameserver changes you've already made stay in place.

FXRM handles migrations for every client that moves to us. The first 5 sites migrate for free. Book your free migration →