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How
to register your domain
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by:
Ted Prodromou
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When
you launch a new website you must register a unique
domain name with an authorized registrar. When the
internet was first starting, all domain names and IP
addresses were registered through one organization,
Internic. Eventually Network Solutions took over the
role as “keeper” of the internet domain names.
Today, there are hundreds of websites where you can
register your domain name but Network Solutions still
maintains the main database of domain names. Some
websites charge as little as $2.95 per year for your
domain name while others charge as much as $35 per
year for the exact same service. Some even offer one
year free if you register your domain name with them
and host your website on their servers. Why pay $35
when you can register your domain name for much less
at another website?
So why does Network Solutions charge $35 a year if
they are the keeper of the database and their
resellers charge a fraction or even nothing? Who knows
and who cares! Register your domain with one of the
cheaper providers and you'll be fine. A word caution -
be care who you choose to host your website. Getting a
free year of your domain name isn't worth it if your
webhost is unreliable and your website is down more
than it's up.
You pay for your domain name on a yearly basis. It's a
separate charge from your webhosting bill. When you
register your domain name choose the autorenewal
option if it's available. This way your domain name
will not expire if you forget to renew it. If your
domain name expires, it's free for anyone else to
register so you need to stay on top of when it's
expiring. Also registering your domain name for a 3 to
5 year term will often save you money. For example,
godaddy.com charges $8.95 a year for your domain name
but only $7.25 a year if you register for a 5 year
term.
When you register your domain you can create different
contact names. The three contacts are Administrator,
Technical and Billing. Most of the time the same
person is all 3 contacts. If you web designer
registers your domain name for you, make sure you are
designated as the Administrative contact. This gives
you control over the domain name and you must be
notified if someone is trying to make changes to your
record. If you aren't one of the contacts then someone
can transfer ownership of the domain name without your
permission.
To see a record of your domain name, go to
www.networksolutions.com and use their WHOIS utility
which is located in the bottom left corner of their
home page. Simply enter your domain name and click
Search. You'll see the complete record of your domain
name, where it's registered and where your website is
hosted. For a complete video of how to use WHOIS,
visit www.valiss.com/video/whois/whois.html.
When you register your domain name you'll have to the
option of making it a private registration. I highly
recommend paying the additional fee to make your
information private. If you leave your registration
public anyone can look up your domain information
which includes your home or business address and your
email address. Many spammers scan public domain
registration records to find valid email addresses to
spam.
I always use a yahoo or hotmail email account when
registering my domains. This way if spammers to find
my email address, I can just get a new “throwaway”
email address and I won't receive spam at my primary
email address.
Always make sure your domain record remains locked.
Locking your domain name is a feature implemented a
few years ago. When you want to transfer your domain
name to a different registrar you must unlock it. Once
it's unlocked the new registrar can “pull” your
domain name from your current registrar. Once the
transfer is complete, the domain name will be locked
to prevent anyone else from “pulling” your domain
away from you.
About the author:
Ted Prodromou spent over 25 years in the computer
industry working for IBM, Digital, and Cellular One.
Today he's the owner of Valiss IT, a consulting firm
that provides personalized web design and small
business marketing solutions. Visit
http://www.valiss.comfor lots of free “how to”
articles about marketing your business online.
Copyright 2005 Valiss IT, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This article may be reprinted only if it remains
unchanged. |
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