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I've always used GoDaddy for my domain registration. However, I find it really annoying that they make me jump through a bunch of hoops every time a register a site. I hate having to click no thanks to all their extra "features" they want to sell me. I'm also pretty annoyed with the way they run their advertisements.

For this site I registered the domain with namecheap.com after a friend recommended it to me. I really did find it a wonderful experience and I love how fast and how many features they give me free of charge. Because of this great experience, I decided to transfer my other domains over. It was a bit of a process, but I am documenting it here:

First I initiated the transfer request at name cheap (this was easy as they want my business). After a few minutes name cheap sent me an email asking for my sites EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) code from my old registrar. The problem is GoDaddy doesn't easily tell you how to get your EPP code. However, the solution is quite simple once you know where to go. Here's what you do. Login to GoDaddy. Go into the domain management section and select your domain. Then you will see down in the bottom left corner of the screen a line that says Authorization Code: Send By Email. Click the Send by Email link and follow the onscreen prompts. Then GoDaddy will send you your EPP code to the email address you have registered as your Technical Contact for your domain. Next I cut and pasted that EPP code into the namecheap.com domain transfer status screen.

This is also a good time to make sure that your domain is unlocked at GoDaddy. When your domain is locked GoDaddy has a good excuse to not let the transfer to go through.

After submitting the EPP code to namecheap I got an email confirming the transfer. This took a few hours before I got the email (I think sometimes it can take up to a couple days). The notice told me that a domain transfer was requested and asking me to click a link to approve it. I still never got a notice from GoDaddy. Once I confirmed the transfer to namecheap I finally got an email from GoDaddy.

The GoDaddy email told me to reconsider and gave directions on how to cancel the transfer. It also said if I didn't cancel the transfer it would go through in three days. However, what it doesn't tell you is that you can also force the approval through GoDaddy's control panel and cause the transfer to go through faster.

How to force GoDaddy to transfer your domain

• To do this, log in to your GoDaddy account.
• Click on the Domains tab and select Pending Transfers. You should see your site listed.
• Select the check box next to your site and click the Accept/Decline button a the top toolbar.
• Choose accept and click the OK button.
• Now your transfer will continue without waiting the three days!