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 DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION
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| Overview of the Domain Name Registration Process |
 The Domain Registration Process
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* 2-year minimum registration required
** 10-year registration only
*** additional fees may be required (e.g. application fees)
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Domain registration is the process by which you can secure a domain for your web site, such as yourdomain.com. Once you have registered the domain, it becomes yours for the period of the contract, usually one year. Before the registration expires it must be renewed, or the domain reverts back to being available to the general public.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) manages the international Domain Name System (DNS) database. ICANN ensures that all registered names are unique and map properly to a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. The IP address is the numerical address of the web site that tells other computers on the Internet where to find the server host and domain.
Domain registration is available to the public via registrars. Fees and services vary from company to company, but the process is generally inexpensive. Before a domain registration can be approved, the new name must be checked against existing names in the DNS database. The online registrar provides a field into which you can enter your desired name and extension (a/k/a hierarchy) -- that is, the letters that come after the "dot." Familiar extensions are .com, .net, .org, .name, .info and .biz. If the name is not already taken, it is available for registration by you.
During the domain registration process, you will be required to give contact information that will be publicly available through the WHOIS database. Anyone can go to a WHOIS search engine and enter a domain name to see who has registered it. Registrars require this information to be accurate and complete. If you feel uncomfortable providing personal information, there are some registrars that will act as your proxy, supplying their information in place of your own as the contact for the domain. There may be a small fee for this service and some potential drawbacks to consider, so read the Terms and Conditions carefully before deciding to register your domain by proxy.
Be certain you will own the domain name, as some registrars maintain control over the domains they register. And make sure you retain the option to transfer the domain to another registrar. Look for any fees that might be incurred as a result of transferring the domain. This could become important down the road if you wish to take advantage of another registrar's products or services.
Upon completing the domain registration process, it will take a period of hours to a few days to be able to see the domain online. The domain can be "parked" with an "under construction" page that acts as a kind of placeholder. Parking a domain is very inexpensive and most registrars offer this service for a small fee to give you time to develop your site's content. Once you are ready to put up your web pages, a web server must host the domain. Your registrar might also provide hosting services, or you may decide to transfer your domain to a web hosting company that also provides domain registration and hosting services. Although not required, it is generally most convenient to have your domain and your web site's content hosted by the same provider. |
| Common Domain-Related Terminology |
WHOIS Lookup
(.aero, .arpa, .biz, .com, .coop, .edu, .info, .int, .museum, .net, and .org):
Domain (eg, webhelps.com)
Registrar (eg, Bulk Register, Inc.)
Nameserver (eg, ns1.carrierzone.com or 64.29.144.67)
For Whois information about country-code
(two-letter) top-level domains, try
Uwhois.com. |
Registration. The process by which you can secure the use of a specific domain name for a specified period of time, from one year to ten years in length.
Registrar. Provider of domain registration services.
Name Server or DNS Server. A name server is a computer that contains a list of domain names and the associated IP addresses. When a name is typed in a web browser, the name server associates that with the IP address and the correct web site opens in the browser.
The DNS information from the hosting company is required at the time of domain registration. If you do not have a hosting provider yet, you can still register a domain name. It will just not be hosted anywhere. After that, you can notify your hosting provider about your domain so it can set up its computers, and then you can log into your registrar and enter the DNS information.
Domain Transfer. There are two different types of transfers:
- From one hosting provider to another
- From one domain registrar to another
Transferring your name from your current hosting provider to another is a relatively simple task, and can usually be performed for you by your new hosting provider. Name server updates usually take somewhere between 24 and 72 hours to fully propagate throughout the Internet.
If you want to get your existing domain name to work with your new hosting account, you need to update the name server information. This is done through your registrar, or the company you purchased the name through.
If you've decided to transfer your domain to a new registrar, you should know that while no registrars will refund any fees you have already paid, some registrars will give you a credit for any remaining time when you transfer a name to them.
For example, suppose you performed 1-yr. domain registration with registrar 1 on January 1, 2002. If you transfer your name to registrar 2 on June 1, 2002, registrar 2 will require you to pay an additional year's registration fee, but will extend your new registration until January 1, 2004. To see whether a particular registrar offers this program, check the registrar's web site.
If you do decide to change, many registrars have an on-line system, which allows you to transfer your name to a new registrar in less than two minutes.
Conditions for changing domain registrars...
- No outstanding bills or payments to original registrar.
- Domain is older than 60 days.
Suppose you already have a hosting account and the domain name "mydomain.com." If you register the .net and .org versions and park them to your main account, you would have "mydomain.com," "mydomain.net," and "mydomain.org," pointing to the same IP address, so that no matter which one you typed in, it would still go to the same site.
Domain Extension. This is the group of letters that follows the dot [.] in your domain.
The most common and most widely used domain extensions are .COM, .NET, and .ORG, but there are hundreds of other extensions you can choose from when you register your domain. Each extension was developed by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) for a specific purpose. Some extensions have restrictions on registration and use. Some extensions are more expensive to register than others. For more complete information on the various domain extensions, click hereSome registrars offer a discount if you register domain names for a multi-year period. That way, you don't need to reregister them as often, but if your current registrar goes out of business, you'll probably have to move them to a different registrar and pay a new fee. |
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