What is a domain name?
How are domain names registered?
How do I get my domain out of client hold or registrar
hold status?
What is a sub domain?
What is domain parking?
Are domains case sensitive?
What is a TLD?
What can I do if the domain name I wanted is taken?
How do I change my domain name servers to another
web hosting provider?
What is a domain name?
A domain name is nothing more than a web address. Minimally,
a domain name is made up of a name and an extension. Extensions include
.com, .net, .org, .gov, .edu, .tv and hundreds of others. Often, a host
name will precede the domain name, forming a web address like www.web-hosting-directories.com.
http:// is NOT a part of any domain name. Rather, http references the
protocol used to transfer web content.
How are domain names registered?
Domain names are registered through services we call registrars. Some
domain name registrars include:
GoDaddy.com | Dotster.com | NameCheap.com | Register.com
All registrars offer a search utility. Enter your desired domain name
into their search utility and check its availability. If it is not registered,
then that domain is fair game and can be registered by anyone. Please
note that some domain extensions, like .gov, .mil and country codes are
reserved for particular kinds of web sites, and domain names under those
extensions may not be available.
Most registrars offer each user a term length choice, 1-year being the
most common default term length. Estimate the number of years that you
want your domain name for; all domains can be renewed after the initial
registration period has expired.
How do I get my domain out of client hold or registrar
hold status?
A registrar hold or client hold means that your domain has
expired. Regardless of what the expiration date shows, it has expired.
You must contact your domain's registrar in order to renew the domain
name.
Failure to renew during a client/registrar hold will result in a status
of "redemption period". The fees to renew under registrar/client
hold are the normal fees you pay. To renew under redemption period will
cost considerably more.
What is a sub domain?
A subdomain is a domain that is part of a larger domain
name. The domain admin.web-hosting-directories.com would be a subdomain
of web-hosting-directories.com.
What is domain parking?
Domain parking lets you buy a domain and then have a 'coming
soon' page on it. This is usually a good thing to have as it does allow
for some traffic to build to your site as users type in searches.
Most domain registrars provide this by default.
Are domains case sensitive?
No. www.Domain.com is the same as www.domain.com and www.DOMAIN.COM. They
can never point to different websites.
What is a TLD?
Top Level Domain. The part of the domain name after the very last period
"." The responsibility for operating each TLD is delegated to
a particular organization.
There are several types of TLDs within the DNS:
- TLDs with two letters (such as .de, .mx, and .jp) have been established
for over 240 countries and external territories and are referred to
as "country-code" TLDs or "ccTLDs". They are delegated
to designated managers, who operate the ccTLDs according to local policies
that are adapted to best meet the economic, cultural, linguistic, and
legal circumstances of the country or territory involved. For more details,
see the ccTLD
web page on the IANA web site.
- Most TLDs with three or more characters are referred to as "generic"
TLDs, or "gTLDs". They can be subdivided into two types, "sponsored"
TLDs (sTLDs) and "unsponsored TLDs (uTLDs), as described in more
detail below.
In addition to gTLDs and ccTLDs, there is one
special TLD, .arpa, which is used for technical infrastructure purposes.
ICANN administers the .arpa TLD in cooperation with the Internet technical
community under the guidance of the Internet Architecture Board.
- Top Level Domains are divided into two categories: gTLDs: General
TLDs such as .com, .org, .net and .info, which are not associated with
a particular country or region and ccTLDs: TLDs such as .us, .de, .co.uk,
.ie, .ca, etc. These TLDs were assigned to geographic locations, however,
some, as in the TLD .tv, were sold by their owners (in this case the
island of Tuvalu) to corporations to market and sell outside of the
country. The TLD .tv has now come to stand for "television"
in the Internet.
What can I do if the domain name I wanted is taken?
You can offer to buy the name off its current owner, or look for an alternative
domain name. If your company holds a trademark on the terms in the domain
name, it may be worth seeking legal advice about the possibility of recovering
your domain name.
How do I change my domain name servers to another web hosting
provider?
Every time you change a web hosting provider, you need to change the
DNS information for your domain name.
Each domain name generally has 2 DNS servers associated with it, the
Primary and Secondary DNS servers. Sometimes, additional Secondary servers
can also be associated with a domain name for additional reliability.
When a domain lookup is carried out, the Primary DNS server is consulted
first, and then the Secondary server or servers.
A DNS entry will look something like this:
Primary DNS: ns.nameserver.com
Secondary DNS: ns2.nameserver.com
Your web hosting company will provide you with the exact format for the
DNS entries appropriate to the services it offers. Armed with these DNS
entries, you can then log in through your Registrar's control panel and
update the DNS settings for your domain name.
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