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General Domain Related Questions
Q: What is the cheapest and/or best registrar (or reseller)?
A: None. The market is always changing and defining price can vary. Some places say ‘free domain WITH widget’ and others say ‘free domain if you do such and such’ and others just claim $6 domains. Quality also varies from user’s experience. Some find an interface they like and advocate the user of a particular registrar for that reason. Some people find support to be the most important feature in domain registrars, and feedback on support quality will vary from person to person. You have to either listen to the general public and their advice or try various registrars until you find one you like.
Q: How do I transfer my domain name?
A: This process varies by TLD (Top Level Domain - .com/.net/.org/.biz/.us/.info/etc). The domain MUST be unlocked in any case. For .com/.net/.cc domains there is a loose process in place where the registrar requests a transfer to another registrar for a domain name. The domain name in question then needs to be authorized by the administrative contact on the domain name (this process varies from registrar to registrar). For many other TLDs the EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) process is used where an authorization key is provided with the transfer request. The entire process is seamless and fast. The transfer requires nothing more than the key, the administrative contact will not be contacted.
Q: How do I make sure my domain is not hijacked and is safe?
A: There is no 100% secure way to do anything online. You can take measures to make it very difficult for anything to happen such as using a strong password (long, alphanumeric passwords tend to be some of the strongest). Remember to change your password regularly. Other things that can be done to help secure the domain is to turn on ‘Registrar-Lock’ feature.
Q: I want to sell domains online, where do I start?
A: You need to work with a registrar or reseller of a registrar. The official registrar list can be found at http://www.internic.net/alpha.html. Look for a reseller or affiliate program to begin selling domains online. Be sure to do a lot of research about different programs before you commit yourself to one.
Q: Where can I find a script to perform WHOIS lookups on my website?
A: Many free scripts are available at such resources as http://www.hotscripts.com or http://www.resource-index.com.
Q: When does a domain name ‘expire’?
A: Domain names are leased for 1-10 years by a registrant. After they hit the expiration date listed in the whois they either enter ‘on-hold’ period or directly into the ‘Redemption Grace Period.’(RGP) The ‘on-hold’ periods means that the registrar has paid for the name and gives the owner the opportunity to renew at a low cost for up to 45 days approximately (afterwards the domain enters the Redemption Grace Period). The RGP period is a grace given by the registry to renew the domain name for a higher cost (often around $200) and lasts 30 days. If the domain is not renewed during these grace periods it enters the ‘Pending Delete’ cycle and will be deleted in 6 days for .com/.net domains and 5 days for .org domains.
Q: What is the best way to capture an expiring domain name?
A: Many companies and registrars offer services to catch expiring domain names. A list of some of the larger players:
http://www.pool.com(com/net/org/info/biz/ca/co.uk/me.uk/org.uk/net.uk)
http://www.snapnames.com(com/net/org)
http://www.namewinner.com(com/net/org/info)
http://www.thefirstname.com(com/net/org/info)
http://www.dropwizard.com(com/net/org/ca/co.uk)
http://www.godaddy.com(com/net)
http://www.enom.com/resellers/(com/net)
http://www.namefox.com(com/net)
http://www.dropcatcher.com(com/net)
http://www.detagged.co.uk(co.uk)
There are also many other smaller catching services and the listed drop services may catch more extensions than listed. The pricing is based on bidding or first-come-first-serve basis. Prices can vary from service to service, some cost under $10, while others start at $120. If you want the domain badly enough, cover as many bases as possible.
Q: Someone owns the domain name I want, how do I buy it/get it from them?
A: Perform a WHOIS lookup and contact the administrative contact via email/phone/fax and ask to buy the domain name. Your other alternative is to hope they do not renew the domain name and you can have services try and capture the domain name for you the instant it expires.
Q: Which is better: a hyphenated or unhyphenated domain name?
A: Depending on who you ask you will get a different answer.
The arguments against hyphens are: people do not type hyphens into domains. They carry less resale value in the aftermarket.
The arguments advocating hyphens are: search engines sometimes rank higher with hyphenated keywords. Another popular argument is that they are easier for a user to read.
Make your own decision based on these arguments (which can be further researched on any search engine). Another option is to register both domains and redirect one to the other.
Q: What is the best way to find a good available domain name?
A: One popular method of finding ‘good’ domains is checking and searching an expired domain name database. You can visit a free list at http://www.deleteddomains.com. Another popular venue is using name generators which most registrars have when you search for a domain name.
Q: What are these .shop, .xxx, .mp3, .law, etc domain names?
A: These are new.net domain names. They are not official domain names and cannot be seen be a large portion of the internet. Users must have their browser ‘enabled’ with a special plug-in to see new.net domain names. Some ISPs resolve new.net domains as well, but not a significant number. Most users see domain.extension.new.net (i.e. ohashi.shop.new.net) instead of a real domain (search engines also see this). A majority of users will advise you against using these domains for business due to the fact that most internet users will not be able to access your website.
Q: What are .us.com and .uk.com domain names?
A: These ‘domains’ are in fact subdomains being sold off to users with DNS functionality. They are not ICANN recognized, but unlike new.net domain names, they will resolve for any user.
Q: What registrars/resellers accept PayPal?
A: Enom.com reseller accounts can be funded by paypal. DirectI.com also accepts paypal payments. OnlineNic.com has offered paypal as a payment option now. NameCheap and RegisterFly both accept paypal but are both enom resellers, not registrars.
Q: What is Registrar-Lock?
A: Registrar-Lock is a status a domain can be put in. It means the domain cannot be transferred from one registrar to another.
Q: What registrars offer free API?
A: Enom.com, DirectI.com, ******.com, DotRegistrar.com offer free API (list not comprehensive).
Tucows.com (OpenSRS) offers API free with an account which costs around $500.
Q: BuyDomains.com/DomainDeluxe/UltimateSearch/NameAdminInc/etc owns the domain I want, what should I do?
A: Pay their asking price or make an offer to them. These large companies will not sell cheap, so if they do not respond, take it as a ‘no.’ These companies are earning hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars by maintaining a strong domain portfolio, they have no reason to sell their domains for cheap.
Q: What is the cheapest and/or best registrar (or reseller)?
A: None. The market is always changing and defining price can vary. Some places say ‘free domain WITH widget’ and others say ‘free domain if you do such and such’ and others just claim $6 domains. Quality also varies from user’s experience. Some find an interface they like and advocate the user of a particular registrar for that reason. Some people find support to be the most important feature in domain registrars, and feedback on support quality will vary from person to person. You have to either listen to the general public and their advice or try various registrars until you find one you like.
Q: How do I transfer my domain name?
A: This process varies by TLD (Top Level Domain - .com/.net/.org/.biz/.us/.info/etc). The domain MUST be unlocked in any case. For .com/.net/.cc domains there is a loose process in place where the registrar requests a transfer to another registrar for a domain name. The domain name in question then needs to be authorized by the administrative contact on the domain name (this process varies from registrar to registrar). For many other TLDs the EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) process is used where an authorization key is provided with the transfer request. The entire process is seamless and fast. The transfer requires nothing more than the key, the administrative contact will not be contacted.
Q: How do I make sure my domain is not hijacked and is safe?
A: There is no 100% secure way to do anything online. You can take measures to make it very difficult for anything to happen such as using a strong password (long, alphanumeric passwords tend to be some of the strongest). Remember to change your password regularly. Other things that can be done to help secure the domain is to turn on ‘Registrar-Lock’ feature.
Q: I want to sell domains online, where do I start?
A: You need to work with a registrar or reseller of a registrar. The official registrar list can be found at http://www.internic.net/alpha.html. Look for a reseller or affiliate program to begin selling domains online. Be sure to do a lot of research about different programs before you commit yourself to one.
Q: Where can I find a script to perform WHOIS lookups on my website?
A: Many free scripts are available at such resources as http://www.hotscripts.com or http://www.resource-index.com.
Q: When does a domain name ‘expire’?
A: Domain names are leased for 1-10 years by a registrant. After they hit the expiration date listed in the whois they either enter ‘on-hold’ period or directly into the ‘Redemption Grace Period.’(RGP) The ‘on-hold’ periods means that the registrar has paid for the name and gives the owner the opportunity to renew at a low cost for up to 45 days approximately (afterwards the domain enters the Redemption Grace Period). The RGP period is a grace given by the registry to renew the domain name for a higher cost (often around $200) and lasts 30 days. If the domain is not renewed during these grace periods it enters the ‘Pending Delete’ cycle and will be deleted in 6 days for .com/.net domains and 5 days for .org domains.
Q: What is the best way to capture an expiring domain name?
A: Many companies and registrars offer services to catch expiring domain names. A list of some of the larger players:
http://www.pool.com(com/net/org/info/biz/ca/co.uk/me.uk/org.uk/net.uk)
http://www.snapnames.com(com/net/org)
http://www.namewinner.com(com/net/org/info)
http://www.thefirstname.com(com/net/org/info)
http://www.dropwizard.com(com/net/org/ca/co.uk)
http://www.godaddy.com(com/net)
http://www.enom.com/resellers/(com/net)
http://www.namefox.com(com/net)
http://www.dropcatcher.com(com/net)
http://www.detagged.co.uk(co.uk)
There are also many other smaller catching services and the listed drop services may catch more extensions than listed. The pricing is based on bidding or first-come-first-serve basis. Prices can vary from service to service, some cost under $10, while others start at $120. If you want the domain badly enough, cover as many bases as possible.
Q: Someone owns the domain name I want, how do I buy it/get it from them?
A: Perform a WHOIS lookup and contact the administrative contact via email/phone/fax and ask to buy the domain name. Your other alternative is to hope they do not renew the domain name and you can have services try and capture the domain name for you the instant it expires.
Q: Which is better: a hyphenated or unhyphenated domain name?
A: Depending on who you ask you will get a different answer.
The arguments against hyphens are: people do not type hyphens into domains. They carry less resale value in the aftermarket.
The arguments advocating hyphens are: search engines sometimes rank higher with hyphenated keywords. Another popular argument is that they are easier for a user to read.
Make your own decision based on these arguments (which can be further researched on any search engine). Another option is to register both domains and redirect one to the other.
Q: What is the best way to find a good available domain name?
A: One popular method of finding ‘good’ domains is checking and searching an expired domain name database. You can visit a free list at http://www.deleteddomains.com. Another popular venue is using name generators which most registrars have when you search for a domain name.
Q: What are these .shop, .xxx, .mp3, .law, etc domain names?
A: These are new.net domain names. They are not official domain names and cannot be seen be a large portion of the internet. Users must have their browser ‘enabled’ with a special plug-in to see new.net domain names. Some ISPs resolve new.net domains as well, but not a significant number. Most users see domain.extension.new.net (i.e. ohashi.shop.new.net) instead of a real domain (search engines also see this). A majority of users will advise you against using these domains for business due to the fact that most internet users will not be able to access your website.
Q: What are .us.com and .uk.com domain names?
A: These ‘domains’ are in fact subdomains being sold off to users with DNS functionality. They are not ICANN recognized, but unlike new.net domain names, they will resolve for any user.
Q: What registrars/resellers accept PayPal?
A: Enom.com reseller accounts can be funded by paypal. DirectI.com also accepts paypal payments. OnlineNic.com has offered paypal as a payment option now. NameCheap and RegisterFly both accept paypal but are both enom resellers, not registrars.
Q: What is Registrar-Lock?
A: Registrar-Lock is a status a domain can be put in. It means the domain cannot be transferred from one registrar to another.
Q: What registrars offer free API?
A: Enom.com, DirectI.com, ******.com, DotRegistrar.com offer free API (list not comprehensive).
Tucows.com (OpenSRS) offers API free with an account which costs around $500.
Q: BuyDomains.com/DomainDeluxe/UltimateSearch/NameAdminInc/etc owns the domain I want, what should I do?
A: Pay their asking price or make an offer to them. These large companies will not sell cheap, so if they do not respond, take it as a ‘no.’ These companies are earning hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars by maintaining a strong domain portfolio, they have no reason to sell their domains for cheap.
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