Domain Names FAQ

A domain name is the label used to identify your Web site, for example yourdomain.com. It usually describes some aspect of your site and is easier for your visitors to remember than your Web address, also known as your IP address.

For visitors to access your site on the Internet, you must select a unique domain name and register it with an accredited domain name registrar. We can register your domain name for you.

Because your domain name will represent your business, you should make sure that the name you choose is memorable, descriptive and that it instills confidence, particularly if you plan on selling goods and services on your site.

Generally, your domain name can between 3 and 63 characters long and can include any combination of letters, numbers and dashes (although it cannot start or end with a dash). A domain name must end with a domain extension, such as .net, .com, .org or .info. The letters “www” at the beginning of a name are not considered part of the domain name.

What kind of domain name extensions can I use? Can I use international domains such as .cn, .tv, .ca, .us or .de?

You can use common domain extensions such as .com, .net and .org as well as international domain extensions such as cn, .fm, and .us. We can provide hosting for any of these domain types.

We can register domains for you in all the most popular extensions such as .com, .net, .org, and .info. We also offer a large selection of country-code domain names. While most of the country extensions offered by we can be registered by anyone, some extensions may have certain requirements or restrictions.

You can quickly check to see if a domain name is available on our web site. Use one of the many domain name search boxes located throughout the site, type the domain name you are interested in, select the extension, and then click "search". We will search to see if that name is currently available. For your convenience, we will also check to see if your domain name is available in other extensions or if popular variations of your domain name are available.

Remember, the domain extension is part of the domain name—mydomain.com is not the same as mydomain.net.

Someone else is already using the domain name I want. Is there anything I can do?

Once a domain name is registered, it belongs to the person or company that registered it. If you are really interested in having a domain name that is already registered to someone else, you can contact the owner of the domain name to find out if the name is for sale or you can wait for the registration to expire.

You can have as many domain names as you like. You can have each domain name point to a different site, or you can have multiple domain names point to the same Web site (but not to different pages within the same Web site). Many companies register several domain names and have them all point to the same central Web site. This is known as a “domain alias.”

Registering multiple domain names for the same site not only brings the largest draw to your site but it also can prevent competitors from poaching your potential customers. When picking multiple domain names—or aliases—for the same site, consider variations of your name such as common misspellings as well as both singular and plural versions of the name.

Once you have decided on a domain name and have checked that it is available, you will need to register it. We can register your domain name for you. See How do I register my domain name.

I want to reserve my name, but I'm not ready to post my site yet. What are my options?

You have a number of different options. If you think you may want to get your site up and running in the near future, you can go ahead and register your name and sign up for a hosting plan now. You will receive a parking page that all your site's visitors will see until you are ready to publish your site.

If you think it may be a while before you are ready to publish your site, or if you want to reserve your name "just in case," you can select a plan that offers only domain name registration. With this plan, your domain is registered so that no one else can use it, but you do not have to pay for a complete Web hosting plan. This is sometimes referred to as "parking" your domain. You can also select a domain name registration plan that provides you with several email accounts. If you decide you want to go ahead and publish a Web site later, you can quickly upgrade your plan.

Once you have decided on a domain name and have checked that it is available, we can register your new domain name for you. You can register a domain name on our web site, or, if you are already a customer, within your Web-based control panel by selecting Domain Name > Register New Domain Name. Simply enter in the domain name along with the extension that you would like to register and complete our simple step-by-step registration process.

If you have already registered a domain name with another domain name registrar and would like to host it with us then you can still transfer the domain name. See I already have a registered domain name. How do I transfer it?

ICANN, the international governing body for domain names, requires every Registrar to maintain a publicly accessible "WHOIS" database displaying all contact information for all domain names registered.

Whois Protector service provides you with a way to keep your personal name and contact information hidden in the public WHOIS records, which are available on the Internet for anyone to see, including spammers, identity thieves, and telemarketers. When you register a private domain name with us and select to add the WhoisProtector service, our partner WhoisProtector.com provides its contact information in the WHOIS database in place of yours. Your contact information is kept private and you still retain full control over your domain name. WhoisProtector is available for all of our most popular extensions such as .com, .net, .org, and.info.

The costs for registering your domain name vary depending upon your plan and the domain name extension. For questions regarding your account billing, you can contact our billing department or visit our web site.

We register your domain name immediately after receiving payment. You will be able to manage your domain name from your control panel shortly thereafter. Your Web site may take a while longer before it can be viewed on the Internet due to propagation. The propagation process normally requires 48 to 72 hours.

If you want to transfer your registration from your current registrar to us, you can request that we transfer your domain name for you using the control panel.

If you are leaving your registration with your current registrar but want to move your domain to us and use our Web hosting services, you will need to change your current nameserver information to our information. You can log on to your registrar's systems and transfer the domain name yourself using the user name and password they assigned you.

You can find our nameserver information by logging in to the control panel and selecting the Domain Name section.

Information such as the domain registrant's contact information and the name of the registrar are usually part of the WHOIS record. ICANN, the international governing body for domain names, requires that all registrars maintain a publicly accessible WHOIS database. Our database is maintained by our registration partner, DomainPeople. You can visit their WHOIS database at whois.domainpeople.com, enter your domain name, and search for the registrar on record.

Here are some links to domain manager interfaces for some registrars:

Namesecure:	http://www.namesecure.com/customercare/index_updatecenter.cfm
Register.com:	http://mydomain.register.com
MelbourneIT:	https://direct.internetnamesww.com
DomainBank:	https://www1.domainbank.net/domainmanager/
Tucows/OpenSRS:	https://manage.opensrs.net

My registrar requires that I go online to transfer my domain. What information do I need to give them to successfully transfer my domain name to us?

You will need to provide your current registrar with our nameserver information. You can find your nameserver information by logging in to SiteControl and selecting Domain Name. Next, click "Edit" next to any of your domain names.

Typically the transfer should be completed within about 48 to 72 hours. You may want to check with the regstrar that you are transferring your domain name from to see exactly how long it should take to complete the transfer.

There may be a brief delay between the time your domain name registration or transfer is completed and the time when your domain is active and can be accessed by everyone over the Internet. This is due to the propagation process.

When visitors type your domain name into their Web browsers, their request is referred to a nameserver that indicates the physical location (the IP address) of your domain on the Internet. When your site location changes to a new IP address, or when you deploy a new site with a new domain name, nameservers around the world must be notified of the change. This process of notification is referred to as propagation.

Propagation typically takes 48 to 72 hours. During this time, if you are transferring your domain, some nameservers will still refer to your site’s old location while nameservers that have already been notified of the change will refer to the new location. As a result, visitors accessing your site may be directed to either the old or new location, depending upon which nameserver they connect to.

If some visitors are still being directed to your old site location after 72 hours have elapsed, you should contact your previous Internet Presence Provider and request that they update their DNS and delete your domain from their servers. Once this has been done, and this change has been completely propagated, the transfer to your new location will be complete.

If your site is new, your site may not be recognized by all nameservers until the propagation period has completed.

During the propagation period, you will need to use your Temporary URL to upload files and view your site. You can find your temporary URL by logging in to SiteControl.

How can I avoid downtime while I wait for the new information to propagate throughout the Internet?

While waiting for the new nameserver information to propagate throughout the Internet, we recommend maintaining your site at your current host to avoid down time for your site. During this time, you can use the temporary Web address (URL) that we gave you to mirror your Web site on our servers until the transfer is complete.

If your site is new, you can use your temporary URL to begin publishing your Web site while you wait for the propagation period to complete.

If you have recently set up your account, this probably means that your domain name has not been propagated to all of the possible domain nameservers.

Test your domain by typing your temporary Web address in a Web browser. If you can access your site using the temporary Web address (URL), wait a day or two for the propagation period to complete. If after 72 hours the domain name still does not resolve correctly, please contact our Support team .

You should also check that you have given your home page a valid file name (such as index.htm or default.htm) and that you uploaded the files to the correct directory. For more information on these types of problems, see the Publishing Your Web Site FAQ.

A domain name Authorization Code is a 6 to 16 character code assigned to domain names as an added security measure, to prevent unauthorized transfers. The authorization code is unique to each domain name and is assigned by the Registrar when the domain name is registered. Authorization codes must be provided during the transfer authorization process at the gaining Registrar. The Authorization Code is needed to transfer .com, .net, .org, .biz, .us, .info and .name domain names. The Authorization Code is also known as an "Auth Code," "Auth Info Code," or "EPP Password."

You can renew your domain name by logging into SiteControl with your login and password and following these simple steps:

1) Select Domain Name from the left-side menu. Your Domain Name Renewal Report will show you your active domain names along with the days remaining before they expire.

2) Select the domain names you wish renew and click Next. You will then need to select how many years you would like to renew your domain name for.

You can view how many days remain before your domain name is up for renewal in SiteControl in the Domain Name section under the Domain Name Renewal Report. We will also send an email renewal notice to the account contact in the period before your domain name expires. Please ensure that your email address information is up to date.

After your domain name expires, we will attempt to hold it for you for up to 30 days from the expiration date. During this time you may renew your domain name at the regular renewal price from within SiteControl.

At the end of these 30 days the domain name will be deleted from our database. The domain is then held by the registry for an additional 30 days. This is known as the Redemption Grace Period and applies only to .com, .net, and .org, .info, .biz, and .us. You can renew your domain name while it is in Redemption but you will have to pay a redemption fee in addition to the regular renewal prices.

You must contact customer support to renew your domain name if it is in Redemption.

No. You can renew your domain name any time before it expires. You will not lose any remaining time on your domain registration. We will simply add the renewal years to the end of your existing registration term.

This gives you the flexibility to renew your domain name when it is convenient for you. We highly recommend renewing your domain name as soon as possible to avoid unintentional expiration.

The Auto-renew feature, if activated, will automatically renew any domain name 30 days before the expiration date. To use the auto-renew feature, your Payment Method must be set to Credit Card in SiteControl. If your domain is auto-renewed then your account will be charged the current 1 year renewal price for the domain name.