How to move your Domain from Another Registrar to Porkbun

Recently I have moved my domain from Squarespace to Porkbun, so I am doing to tell you how I transferred my domain to Porkbun without DNS downtime and the key terminologies like DNS, Nameserver, DNS records behind this transfer.

How to move your Domain from Another Registrar to Porkbun


Table of contents:


How DNS Works behind the Scenes:

When you type a website address like example.com in your browser, your computer cannot understand that name directly.

It needs an IP address, and that’s where DNS (Domain Name System) comes in.

DNS works like a phonebook of the internet, converting human-readable domain names into machine-readable IP addresses.

DNS Resolution Flow (Simplified):

Here’s what happens behind the scenes:

  1. Your browser asks a DNS resolver for the IP address.
  2. The resolver checks:
    • Root DNS server
    • TLD server (like .com)
    • Authoritative nameserver
  3. The authoritative nameserver contains DNS records such as:
    • A record (IPv4)
    • AAAA record (IPv6)
    • CNAME, TXT, etc.
  4. The IP address is returned.
  5. Your browser connects to the server and the website loads.

Domain Registrar vs Nameserver:

Now let’s understand an important concept.

Domain Registrar:

  • A registrar is where you buy and register your domain name.
  • Example: Squarespace, Porkbun, Namecheap.
  • A registrar does not manage DNS records unless you use its nameservers.

Nameserver:

  • Nameserver are servers.
  • Those are responsible for hosting DNS records.
  • DNS records are always added where the nameservers are hosted.

Examples:

Example 1: Squarespace Registrar + Squarespace Nameservers

  • Domain registered at Squarespace.
  • Using Squarespace nameservers.
  • DNS records (A, AAAA, CNAME) are added inside Squarespace.
  • Everything works normally.

Example 2: Squarespace Registrar + Porkbun Nameservers

  • Domain registered at Squarespace.
  • Nameservers changed to Porkbun.
  • DNS records must be added in Porkbun dashboard.
  • Squarespace will not manage DNS anymore.
Porkbun supports DNS hosting, so this setup works perfectly.

How Porkbun Knows the Domain Is Yours?

  • You can either change nameservers to Porkbun in another registrar or add a TXT verification record in your current DNS provider.
  • Once verified, you can manage DNS from Porkbun.

What DNS Records Should You Add?

That depends on where your website is hosted:
  • Blogger → Google provides A / AAAA records
  • Hostinger → Hostinger gives A / CNAME records
  • AWS / EC2 / Lightsail → AWS provides IP details
You must add exactly what your hosting provider gives.

Important Note About Google Nameservers:

  • Google Domains is now merged with Squarespace.
  • If your domain in porkbun and using google nameserver but you are not able to add DNS records for google nameserver because squarespace now not allowing for DNS hosting for domains not registered in Squarespace.
  • So If you have domain in squarespace, you can add Google nameservers and add your DNS records in Squarespace itself.
  • You cannot use Google nameservers if your registrar is Porkbun.

Domain Transfer: Squarespace to Porkbun (No Downtime):

Method 1: Transfer While Using Porkbun Nameservers

  1. Start transfer in Porkbun with your domain locked in another registrar.
  2. Enter any random auth code initially.
  3. Complete payment.
  4. Copy all DNS records from Squarespace to Porkbun.
  5. Change nameservers in Squarespace to Porkbun.
  6. And also check Porkbun is using porkbun name server.
  7. Unlock domain in Squarespace.
  8. Get correct auth code.
  9. Complete transfer in Porkbun.
Since DNS records stay the same → No downtime.

Method 2: External Domain First

  1. Add domain as external domain in Porkbun.
  2. Add TXT verification record in Squarespace.
  3. Copy DNS records.
  4. Change nameservers to Porkbun.
  5. Unlock domain and transfer.
Porkbun now supports Amazon Pay for India.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Content last updated on 16th Jan 2026, 11:15 PM IST

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Arul Prakassam

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