Help Files

An "A" Record, also called an "address" record or "subdomain," ties a domain name to an IP address. If there is a server on the Internet that is configured to handle traffic for your domain, you can create a record (like "www.WebHelps") and the IP address of the server (like "209.81.71.236"), and almost immediately, anyone surfing to that domain name will connect to the correct server. You may create up to 50 subdomains for free. More subdomains may be created for an additional fee.

"MX" ("Mail Exchangor") records are used to specify what server on the Internet is running email software that is configured to handle email for your domain name. If you want your ISP to handle email routing for your domain name to you, you need to specify the domain name or IP address of your ISP's mail server. In addition, you can specify the rank or priority of each mail server when you have more than one--currently we allow you to specify 1 (higher priority) and 2 for a lower priority. Make sure your ISP knows that you are using their servers to route your domain names email, or all of your email will respond with "return to sender".

"CNAME" records, short for "Canonical Name", create an alias from a domain name to another. You could create an alias from "WebHelps.mydomain.com" to "www.WebHelps", and every reference to "WebHelps.mydomain.com" would go to the specified location, regardless of how WebHelps.com changed their IP addresses. However, CNAMEs will not work everywhere. If you create an MX record and the name used for the mail server was defined using a CNAME, you might lose email. You may create up to 50 CNAME Records for free. More records may be created for an additional fee.

A "TXT" Record is used to associate some text with a host or other name. You may create up to 50 TXT Records for free. More records may be created for an additional fee. The "TXT" record can be used to define the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) information record which may be used to validate legitimate email sources from a domain--for more information about this protocol please visit http://spf.pobox.com. Multiple "TXT" records are permitted but their order is not necessarily retained. A "TXT" record may only contain up to 255 ASCII characters.

"TTL" is the "time-to-live" value and refers to the period of time a DNS value is cached at a name server. This value is usually set 4 hours or more since a higher value reduces the traffic on a DNS server. By default, WebHelps sets this value to 2 hours--you may ask us to set this value between 5 minutes and 48 hours. Once your DNS TTL value is set for a resolving domain it should not be changed unless you anticipate changing DNS settings for your domain.

You may have us create two "A" records with the same domain name and different IP addresses, and your visitors will be load balanced between the two servers.

URL Redirection creates a hidden "A" record (subdomain, such as www.webhelps.com or hosting.webhelps.com) pointing to our web server. You may create up to 50 subdomains for free. More subdomains may be created for an additional fee. When our web server gets a request for your subdomain from a visitor, our web server is designed to forward the visitor to the URL (link) of your choice.

Our URL Redirection service is very useful when attempting to generate traffic to another site already in place. For example, you registered a new, shorter domain name that you thought might be easier for users to remember than an existing website address or domain name you already have. With our URL Redirection service, visitors to your new domain name would be automatically redirected to your pre-established website or domain name and your old website address would be visible in the address bar of your web browser. Please see the examples below for a clear illustration of Redirection.

URL Redirection: (User Enters) http://www.xyz.com/

Redirected address: http://www.somesuccessfulbusiness.com/users/xyz/index.html

Address bar displays: http://www.somesuccessfulbusiness.com/users/xyz/index.html

Also known as Stealth Forwarding or URL Masking, URL Framing creates a hidden "A" record (subdomain, such as www.webhelps.com or hosting.webhelps.com) pointing to our web server. You may create up to 50 subdomains for free. More subdomains may be created for an additional fee. When our web server gets a request for your subdomain from a visitor, our web server is designed to forward the visitor to the URL (link) of your choice. This is equivalent to URL Redirection EXCEPT that the destination URL is not revealed to the site visitor. Rather, your subdomain displays in the web browser's address bar.

URL Framing allows you to invisibly forward your web site to your current web host. Our URL Framing service is also an invaluable money saving tool. Many of customers choose to forward and frame their domain name to their free web space with us.

URL Framing: (User Enters) http://www.xyz.com/

Framed address: http://www.somesuccessfulbusiness.com/users/xyz/index.html

Address bar displays: http://www.xyz.com

URL Parking creates a hidden "CNAME" record (alias) pointing to our web server. When our web server gets a request for your alias from a visitor, our web server forwards the visitor to one of three selected "parked" pages.

Trying to sell a domain? To get your domain live and online quickly choose one of three customizable parked pages! Need to point your domains to a temporary page while your new site is being built? If you are not yet ready to create and put your web site online, we will "park" your domain on our servers absolutely free. With our parking service, your domain will be visible to the world instead of visitors receiving an error message. When you are ready to get your site online you may do so at any time by updating your name server information.

EMail Forwarding creates a hidden "MX" record pointing to our mail server. When our mail server gets a request for your email address from a visitor, our mail server is designed to forward the email to the email address of your choice.

A Name Server, or Domain Name Server, maintains the cross-reference between domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. Name servers are used so that people don’t have to remember long numerical IP addresses. In order for your domain to function (for instance, to take visitors to your web site), you must "point" it to a Name Server. The Name Server with then direct traffic for your domain to the appropriate IP addresses. For instance, it may direct browsers asking for http://yourdomain.com to the IP address of the server that is hosting your web site. And it may direct email sent to you@yourdomain.com to the IP address of the server that is hosting your email. The Name Server stores all of the Records for your domain, such as A, MX, CName, and TXT information.

• Administrative Contact. This is the person responsible for the legal affairs regarding your domain. This is the person who should be contacted in the event someone has a complaint about the way your domain is being used, such as if it is used for an illegal web site or to send spam email. This is also the person who should be contacted if there are disputes regarding the ownership of the domain, or if someone is claiming your domain is infringing on their trademark or copyrights. Often this is the same person or entity that registered (owns) the domain (the "Registrant"), although it does not have to be.
• Technical Contact. This is the person responsible for the technical aspects of your domain. This person is responsible for supplying the Name Server information to the registrar and the A, MX, CName, and TXT information to the domain host.
• Billing Contact. This is the person responsible for paying the annual registration fee for the domain.

Registrant Data is the name, address, and telephone number of the individual or entity that has registered (owns) the domain. Often this is the same information as the Administrative Contact for the domain, although it does not have to be.

If the Auto Renew feature is available for your domain, it will be enabled by default and your domain name will automatically renew thirty (30) days prior to expiration. Your credit card will be charged thirty (30) days before the domain registration's expiration date, for which you will receive a payment receipt. You may "enable" or "disable" the auto-renew feature at any time via your Account Manager. Please note it can take up to 48 hours for changes to take effect. There are no refunds on auto-renewals.

If the Registrar Lock feature is available for your domain, it will be enabled by default. Domains covered by Registrar Lock are safeguarded against domain hijackers or others who may attempt unauthorized transfers to another registrar, leading to possible loss of your domain and costly downtime of your web site. Domains protected by Registrar Lock are still fully and easily managed with your Domain Manager.

If you want to transfer your domain to a different registrar, you will first need to "disable" Registrar Lock. Please note it can take up to 48 hours for changes to take effect.

Important: In accordance with ICANN regulations, if you initiate a transfer request while Registrar Lock is enabled (blocking transfers), you will be sent an email instructing you to click a provided URL to disable Registrar Lock for the domain. You will then need to resubmit the transfer request with your new registrar.

Frequently Asked Questions about Registrar Lock
1.	What is the cost of Registrar Lock? Absolutely nothing! Registrar Lock is a value added service available to all WebHelps domain registration customers at no charge.
2.	What happens if a non-Registrar Lock domain is transferred without my authorization? In the event that a domain is incorrectly transferred to another registrar without the authorization of the administrative contact, please contact us and we will assist you in contacting the gaining registrar. Please note that the domain retrieval process is not instantaneous.
4.	Will new registrations be affected? Yes, Registrar Lock will automatically protect your new domain registration as long as you have not requested to have Registrar Lock turned off.
5.	What domains extensions are affected? All gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, biz, .info, .name) are covered by these new ICANN procedures and by Registrar Lock as well.
6.	How can I transfer a domain to another registrar? If you notify us prior to submitting the transfer request with a new registrar, we will turn off the Registrar Lock for that domain.