Switch a third party-domain connection from one Shopify store to another one.

[Jheroen]

We have two Shopify stores:

• an old store my-old-store.myshopify.com  and
• a new store my-new-store.myshopify.com. 

Both stores use the Basic plan.  We have a third-party domain called my-store.com provided by register.com that is manually connected to the old store.  (Hence the third-party domain is already connected to Shopify.) 
We want to switch the domain connection from the old Shopify store to the new Shopify store.  [We don’t want to transfer the domain to Shopify, because of associated email addresses].

Can this switch be done as follows?

1. With the old store admin: Settings > Domains: Primary domain my-store.com  > remove
2. Don’t do anything at the domain provider
3. With the new store admin: Settings > Domains: Connect existing domain > Enter domain my-store.com : Next

Additional question:

Currently Shopify is connected at the domain-provider with IP address 23.227.38.32
However, the current Shopify instructions say to connect to Shopify IP address 23.227.38.65
Do I have to change the IP address at the provider or can I continue to use the old one ending in .32?

[Imogen · Accepted solution]

Hey there, @Jheroen. Thanks for asking your domain question here in the Shopify Community! I'm happy to take some time to chat with you about your question. 

The steps that you've outlined above in terms of moving a third party domain between stores should work for you! Going into the older store and disconnecting the domain from there, and then connecting it automatically to the new store should work! Of course, you'd want to allow 48 hours to pass after the initial connection attempt, so you can properly see if the domain verifies as it should. After that, you should be a-ok! 

As with anything third-party, and therefore external to Shopify, there is a potential that you may need to go into the DNS settings of the domain provider account and scrub things there to ensure a proper connection. This doesn't happen all of the time, but it may, so I wanted to pass along that warning! 

In reference to your additional question, listening to the recommendations regarding what IP your domain should be pointed to is always a step we suggest taking. Usually, you can get away without having to edit the pointed IP address, as the site should still be accessible, but if you find that after your connection in your new store that you run into some issues past that 48 hour window, it would be worth changing that IP to the recommended value. 

Hopefully you find the above information helpful! Do you mind me asking about this new store? What was the reasoning behind opening up a new store, instead of continuing on with the currently existing one? I'd love to know about the context here, as I may be able to provide you with some further advice or information that could be helpful! 

[Jheroen]

Hello Imogen,
Thank you for your quick and helpful response. (and for Shopify's extensive documentation)
Here is some information about the context.  We have one physical store (a restaurant) that uses Shopify to sell takeout, event tickets, etc.  The store is changing owner, bank, payment method, etc soon, and the switch should be done overnight.   We started a new store so we can make  and test the changes before the switch.  It is also a nice opportunity to clean up some old date without breaking the old Shopify store.  With a little luck all we have to do for the switch is to remove the password on the new store, switch the domain and add some forwarding notices at the old store.
By the way, exporting the theme, the customers, and the products from the old store and importing them into the new store was real smooth.  All we had to do is define a few categories. The custom app we developed continues to work nicely with the new store.   Compliments to the Shopify developers and to the folks who provide the documentation!

[Imogen]

Hey again, @Jheroen!

I'm so happy to hear that the data movement between the stores was so seamless, and that all of our support documents on the subject have been helpful to you in getting the new store set up! 

I noticed that you mentioned 'exporting the theme' - is the theme you're using a free, Shopify theme? Or, is it a paid-for, third party theme? The reason why I ask is because, if it's a third party theme, you'll want to speak to our Live Support Team regarding having the Theme License moved over to the new store, as well. If you have any questions about this, just let me know!