There is a lot of work involved in renaming a domain that has web and/or mail service, mostly related to communicating the change to outside users. If you are considering changing your third-level domain name please read the following procedures and notes:
Procedure for transitioning to new domain name:
- Submit your subdomain registration request to the Domain Registrar for approval
- Submit a ticket to the IT Service Centre with your transition request
Tips and notes for transitioning to your new domain:
- Create your new web page and set up automatic forwarding to your new page. When users browse to the old page, a message should be displayed for a few seconds prior to forwarding, which says "Web page has moved to - please update your bookmark"
- After one month replace the automatic forwarding with a static message requesting users to click on a link to the new domain name. The purpose of having a static link to the new page instead of automatic redirection is to further encourage users to update their bookmark/favorites before the old page becomes unavailable
- Add a cross-reference page mentioning keywords from the old website so that Google searches will find it
- Ensure content owners of web pages and documents are made aware of the changes
- Update any advertising of the old domain name, such as business cards, letterheads, directories, leaflets and any other marketing material
- Having a CNAME alias or additional A record for the same IP address hides which site is the official one
- We recommend a total transition time of approximately 2 months, by which time the old domain name should be decommissioned and only the new name in use. This time-frame can be reviewed and agreed on a case-by-case basis. If you require a time extension please provide reasoning (i.e. widespread marketing material to be phased out) when you request the new domain name