Leaving Weebly does not have to mean losing your domain or taking your site offline. Whether your domain is registered directly with Weebly/Square or simply pointed at Weebly from an outside registrar, this guide walks you through the two things you can do with it - transfer the registration to a new provider, or just repoint the DNS - and shows you exactly which records to change so your website and email keep working through the cutover with zero downtime.
- Two Scenarios: Registered AT Weebly vs Registered Elsewhere
- First, Decide: Transfer the Registration or Just Repoint DNS?
- Scenario A: Domain Registered With Weebly/Square
- Scenario B: Domain Registered Elsewhere, Pointed at Weebly
- DNS Option 1: Point Nameservers at Ultra
- DNS Option 2: Keep DNS at Your Registrar, Change the A Record
- Do Not Forget Email and Other Records
- Timing and Propagation
- Verify the Cutover
Keep Weebly Live Until the New Site Is Verified
The single most important rule when moving a domain off Weebly: do not tear anything down until your new site is built, tested, and confirmed working on the new host. DNS is just a set of pointers - your Weebly site keeps serving visitors right up until the moment the new records propagate. Build first, point second, and you will never have a broken page in front of a customer.
01. Two Scenarios: Registered AT Weebly vs Registered Elsewhere
Almost every question about moving a domain off Weebly comes down to one thing: where is the domain actually registered? There are only two possibilities, and the entire rest of this guide branches on which one is yours.
- Scenario A - The domain is registered with Weebly/Square. You bought (or renewed) the domain through Weebly, and Weebly/Square is your registrar of record. To leave cleanly, you will usually want to transfer the registration to a new registrar so you are not dependent on a platform you are exiting.
- Scenario B - The domain is registered somewhere else (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains / Squarespace, eNom, etc.) and only pointed at Weebly. Weebly is just where your DNS sends visitors. You keep the registration exactly where it is and only change the DNS to send traffic to your new host.
How to tell which one you have
- Check your Weebly/Square dashboard - Look under Domains (or Settings > Domains). If you see the domain listed with an expiration date, renewal price, and options like "Manage" or "Transfer," it is very likely registered with Weebly/Square (Scenario A).
- Run a WHOIS lookup - Search "whois yourdomain.com" or use any WHOIS lookup tool. The Registrar field tells you the truth. If it says Square, Weebly, or a partner registrar Weebly uses (such as Tucows/OpenSRS), that is Scenario A. If it names GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google, etc., that is Scenario B.
- Check for a separate registrar login - If you remember logging into a different company to buy the domain, and you have a separate billing relationship with them, that is your registrar (Scenario B).
The WHOIS Registrar line is the authoritative answer - dashboards can be misleading. Do not rely on where the site "feels" like it lives; look at who is listed as the registrar of record.
02. First, Decide: Transfer the Registration or Just Repoint DNS?
These are two different operations and people constantly confuse them. Understanding the difference will save you a lot of grief.
Transfer the registration
Transferring means moving the domain from one registrar to another - for example, from Weebly/Square to Ultra Web Hosting. You change who your domain is billed through and controlled by. This is the clean break if you want to be free of Weebly entirely. A transfer requires an unlock and an authorization code, takes 5-7 days, and (per ICANN rules) adds one year of registration to the domain.
Just repoint the DNS
Repointing means leaving the domain registered exactly where it is and only changing where it points - the nameservers or the A record. Your registrar does not change; your billing does not change. This is faster (usually live within hours) and is all you need when the domain is already registered somewhere other than Weebly.
| Question | Transfer Registration | Repoint DNS Only |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | Your registrar (and billing) | Where the domain points |
| Best when | Domain is registered AT Weebly/Square | Domain is registered elsewhere |
| How long | 5-7 days | Usually hours, up to 24-48h |
| Adds a year of registration | Yes (ICANN rule) | No |
| Needs EPP/auth code | Yes | No |
If your domain is registered with Weebly/Square (Scenario A), you can technically just repoint the DNS and leave the registration at Square - but then you are still paying Square and depending on them to keep the domain active. Most people leaving Weebly want the registration out too. If the domain lives at an outside registrar (Scenario B), there is no reason to transfer at all - just repoint.
03. Scenario A: Domain Registered With Weebly/Square
Your domain is registered through Weebly/Square and you want a clean exit. The move is to transfer the registration to a new registrar. Here is the full sequence.
- Unlock the domain - In your Weebly/Square dashboard, open the domain's settings and turn off the registrar lock (sometimes called "transfer lock" or "domain lock"). A locked domain cannot be transferred.
- Disable WHOIS privacy if it blocks the transfer - Some registrars will not release a domain while WHOIS/domain privacy is switched on, because the confirmation email is sent to the masked contact address. If your transfer stalls, temporarily disable privacy protection so you receive the approval emails, then you can re-enable equivalent privacy at the new registrar afterward.
- Get the authorization (EPP) code - In the domain settings, request or reveal the authorization code (also called the EPP code, transfer code, or auth-info). This is a short string that proves you own the domain. Copy it exactly - it is case-sensitive.
- Start the transfer at the new registrar - Log in at the registrar you are moving to and begin a domain transfer, entering your domain and the authorization code. If you are moving to us, follow how to transfer your domain to Ultra Web Hosting.
- Approve the transfer email - You will receive a confirmation email at the domain's registered contact (administrative) address. Click the approval link. Ignoring this email is the number one reason transfers stall.
- Wait for completion - Transfers typically finish in 5-7 days. The losing registrar (Weebly/Square) may also send its own "are you sure?" email; approving it there can speed things up.
ICANN imposes a 60-day transfer lock after a domain is first registered or after it was last transferred between registrars. If you bought or transferred this domain within the last 60 days, you cannot transfer it again yet - you will have to wait out the remaining days or repoint the DNS in the meantime (see Section 05). Changing the registrant contact/owner can also trigger a 60-day lock at some registrars.
Per ICANN rules, transferring a domain to a new registrar automatically adds one year to its registration term (and you pay for that year at the new registrar). You are not losing the time already on the clock - the new year stacks on top of your current expiration date. So a transfer is never wasted money; it is effectively a renewal plus a move.
04. Scenario B: Domain Registered Elsewhere, Pointed at Weebly
Your domain lives at GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains (now Squarespace), eNom, or any other registrar, and you only used Weebly to host the site. Good news: you do not need to transfer anything. You keep the domain exactly where it is and simply change the DNS so it points to your new Ultra Web Hosting account instead of Weebly's servers.
There are two ways to repoint the DNS, and you only pick one:
- Option 1 - Point the nameservers at Ultra (Section 05). Simplest for most people. Ultra becomes the authoritative DNS host and manages the whole zone for you. Recommended if you do not have a lot of custom DNS records you need to preserve at your registrar.
- Option 2 - Keep DNS at your registrar and change only the A record (Section 06). Leaves nameservers where they are and just edits the records that decide where the website points. Use this when you have other services (email, subdomains, verification records) already configured at your current DNS host that you would rather not move.
Not sure which to choose? If your email and other services are wired up at your current registrar and working fine, choose Option 2 and change just the website records. If you would rather have one place (Ultra + cPanel) manage everything going forward, choose Option 1 and move the whole zone.
05. DNS Option 1: Point Nameservers at Ultra
This is the cleanest option. You tell your registrar to hand DNS authority to Ultra Web Hosting, and from then on you manage all your records inside cPanel. To do it, log in to wherever your domain is registered, find the nameserver setting (often under "DNS," "Nameservers," or "DNS Management"), and replace whatever is there (Weebly's nameservers, or your registrar's defaults) with Ultra's:
ns1.ultranameservers.com
ns2.ultranameservers.com
ns3.ultranameservers.comBefore you switch, note what Weebly's nameservers looked like so you can recognize the change. They typically look something like this:
ns1.weebly.com
ns2.weebly.comOnce you save Ultra's nameservers, DNS authority moves to your Ultra account. Your website will resolve to your hosting as soon as the change propagates, and you manage all future records - A, CNAME, MX, TXT - from the cPanel Zone Editor.
When you move nameservers to Ultra, the entire DNS zone is now served by Ultra. Any records that used to exist at your old DNS host (email MX records, SPF/DKIM/DMARC, subdomains, third-party verification TXT records) do not come along automatically. You must recreate them in cPanel's Zone Editor or those services will break. See Section 07 before you flip.
06. DNS Option 2: Keep DNS at Your Registrar, Change the A Record
If you want to keep your DNS exactly where it is - because your email and other records are already set up there - you can leave the nameservers alone and change only the two records that control where your website points.
- Find your Ultra server IP address - It is shown in your cPanel account (look for "Shared IP Address" in the sidebar / General Information) or in your welcome email. It will look like
203.0.113.45. - Edit the root A record - In your registrar's DNS management, find the A record for the root/apex (usually shown as
@or the bare domain) that currently points to a Weebly IP, and change its value to your Ultra server IP. - Point www - Set the
wwwrecord. The cleanest option is a CNAME fromwwwto your root domain (yourdomain.com), or an A record forwwwpointing to the same Ultra IP. - Remove leftover Weebly records - Delete any old A or CNAME records that still point at Weebly (for example a
wwwCNAME to aweebly.comorweeblysite.comhostname), or they will keep sending some visitors to the old site.
A typical Weebly setup uses a CNAME on www and forwarding on the root. After the change, your records should read roughly:
Type Name Value
A @ 203.0.113.45 (your Ultra server IP)
CNAME www yourdomain.comChoose Option 2 when your mailbox, SPF/DKIM, and any verification records already live at your current DNS host and are working. You touch only the website records and leave everything else untouched, which is the lowest-risk change for a domain with a lot of existing configuration.
07. Do Not Forget Email and Other Records
This is where most Weebly moves go wrong. A domain is not just a website pointer - it also routes email and carries verification records for all sorts of services. If you move DNS authority (Option 1) without recreating these, your email and other services will silently break.
Before you switch nameservers, inventory every record that currently exists at your old DNS host, then recreate the ones you still need in the cPanel Zone Editor on your Ultra account:
- MX records - These route your email. If you use Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or another mail provider, copy their exact MX records over. If you plan to use Ultra's cPanel email instead, cPanel sets up the correct MX for you when you create mailboxes.
- TXT / SPF records - The SPF record (a TXT record starting with
v=spf1) tells the world which servers may send mail as your domain. Miss it and your outgoing mail lands in spam. - DKIM records - A TXT record (often on a selector subdomain like
default._domainkey) that signs your mail. Copy it from your mail provider, or let cPanel generate one if you switch to cPanel email. - DMARC records - A TXT record at
_dmarcif you have one; carry it over to keep your mail policy intact. - Subdomains - Any A or CNAME records for subdomains (
shop.,blog.,mail., a staging subdomain, etc.) must be recreated or those subdomains stop resolving. - Verification TXT records - Google Search Console, Microsoft, email providers, and others drop a TXT verification record on your domain. Recreate any you still rely on.
If you use email on this domain, treat the MX and SPF/DKIM records as mandatory, not optional. The most common failure after a Weebly DNS move is "my website works but my email stopped." Recreate every mail-related record in the cPanel Zone Editor before you change nameservers, so mail keeps flowing the moment the switch propagates. For the record types and how to add them, see the DNS knowledgebase category.
08. Timing and Propagation
DNS changes are not instant. Every DNS record has a TTL (time to live) that tells other servers how long to cache it. Until that cache expires around the world, some visitors still see the old (Weebly) answer.
- Lower the TTL beforehand (if you can) - A day or two before your planned cutover, drop the TTL on the records you are going to change (say from 3600 or 14400 seconds down to 300). This means the internet re-checks your records every 5 minutes, so when you flip, the change spreads almost immediately. You can only do this if you control the current DNS host.
- Keep Weebly live until the new site is verified - Do not cancel or unpublish your Weebly site until you have confirmed the new site is fully working. DNS overlaps gracefully - old and new coexist during propagation - so there is no reason to take Weebly down early.
- Make the change - Update the nameservers (Option 1) or the A/CNAME records (Option 2), or approve the transfer (Scenario A).
- Allow time to propagate - Full worldwide propagation can take 24-48 hours, though in practice most people see the change within a few hours (faster still if you pre-lowered the TTL).
You can watch your change roll out at upordown.ultrawebhosting.com. For a deeper explanation of how caching and TTLs work, see our guide on DNS changes and propagation.
09. Verify the Cutover
Once you have made the change and given it time to propagate, confirm that both your website and your email resolve to the right place before you consider the move done and retire Weebly.
Check the website records
From a terminal, look up your domain. On macOS/Linux use dig; on Windows use nslookup:
dig yourdomain.com +short
dig www.yourdomain.com +short
# Windows:
nslookup yourdomain.comThe answer should be your Ultra server IP (from Section 06), not a Weebly address. If you moved nameservers (Option 1), also confirm the nameservers themselves:
dig NS yourdomain.com +short
# should return ns1/ns2/ns3.ultranameservers.comCheck email routing
Confirm your MX records resolve to your mail provider (or your Ultra server, if you moved to cPanel email):
dig MX yourdomain.com +shortFinal checks
- Load the site in a browser and click through the pages - make sure you are seeing the new site, not a cached Weebly page (try a private/incognito window or a different network to bypass local caching).
- Send a test email to and from the domain to confirm mail is flowing.
- Use an online checker - if command-line tools are not your thing, an online DNS/propagation checker or the upordown propagation checker shows the same answers from locations worldwide.
- Only then retire Weebly - once the site and email are verified working on the new host and propagation has settled, you can safely unpublish or cancel the Weebly site.
This article is the domain-and-DNS deep dive from our larger Weebly migration guide. For the full picture - exporting your content, rebuilding on WordPress or static hosting, and preserving your SEO - see our complete guide to migrating from Weebly.
Want Us to Handle the Domain Move for You?
Our support team can transfer your domain, set up your DNS records, and make sure your email keeps working through the cutover - all without downtime. Open a ticket and tell us your domain and current setup.
Open a Support TicketQuick Recap: Moving Your Domain Off Weebly
If you only remember five things from this guide:
- Find out where the domain is registered - Run a WHOIS lookup. Registered AT Weebly/Square means transfer; registered elsewhere means just repoint DNS
- Transfer needs an unlock and an EPP code - And watch the 60-day ICANN lock; a transfer adds a year of registration
- Repointing is either nameservers or the A record - Point ns1/ns2/ns3.ultranameservers.com at Ultra, or just change the root A record to your server IP
- Recreate email and other records - MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, subdomains, and verification TXT records do not move themselves
- Keep Weebly live until verified - Lower TTL first, flip, confirm site and email with dig/nslookup, then retire Weebly
