Should I Get Private Registration For My Domain
The only one who could provide a satisfying answer to this question is the customer or web owner himself. You need to weigh in the pros and cons that private registration does to your contact info and how it translates to your website or business.
While the domain name is great, some websites dont need it. For instance, if you feel that there is little to no danger in exposing your contact info on the Internet then it becomes optional. However, if you feel that you value your privacy and dont want to get annoying calls or messages, then private registration is a must.
What Is Private Registration And Do I Need It
Also known as WHOIS Privacy, Private Registration offers a premium service to domain name registrants to protect their personal information from being displayed in the public Whois.
Typically when you register a domain name, your contact information is publicly available. Private Registration offers a premium service to domain name registrants to protect their personal information from being displayed in the public Whois. You control who reaches you and when.
Some TLDs do not allow you to add Private Registration. We restrict you from adding Private Registration to the domains that don’t support it.
What Information will be displayed for your domain name?
When you choose our Private Registration Service, your personal contact information will be private and your Whois information replaced with Digital Privacy Corporation’s information. This will stop all unwanted emails from spammers and advertisers, and still keep you in touch with potential customers and partners!
| Private Registration Will Help You | Private Registration Will Protect |
|---|---|
|
Do I Need Domain Privacy
Its really up to you. Without domain privacy, someone can look up your domain on WHOIS to find your name, your address, and even your phone number. Maybe you dont mind if someone finds your business address and business phone linebut if you run a home-based business, you probably have some bigger concerns.
If you opt for private registration, anyone who looks you up on WHOIS will just see the name and address of your registration companynot yours. So while GoDaddy does charge extra for privacy protection, the cost might be worth it if youre worried about privacy.
You May Like: Io Domain Registrar
Should I Make My Domain Registration Private
When you register a domain, you can choose to make your contact information public or private but what are the advantages and disadvantages to this?
When you register a domain name, whether or not it’s a personal or business site, you’re asked to provide personal information. You can either publicly register the domain, which is what most people do, or you can privately register it. A public registration allows for anyone on the web to do a WHOIS search for any domain names you own, and the search results will return your street address, e-mail address, name, and any other information you’ve entered in. A private registration hides all of that information, but it can have certain drawbacks as well.
Access Domain’s Dns Manager
The DNS manager of a domain is a panel where you can add, edit, and/or access the DNS records of the respective domain. You will need access to the DNS manager to setup protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC among other requirements.
To access the DNS manager of your domain registered via Zoho,
You can launch the Domain Manager URL in a browser and use the credentials to log in and access the DNS.
You May Like: How Much Should A Domain Name Cost Per Year
Godaddy Free Private Registration Loophole
If you use GoDaddy as your domain registrar than this post is going to show you a loophole/workaround for getting free private domain name registration to not only your new domain name purchases but also your existing domain names:
The Loophole Breakdown:
My Savings:
In my example, I added private registration to 4 of the brand new domains I was purchasing and 8 of my existing domains. For these 12 domains using the above loophole I was able to receive free private registration on these domains for an average of 3.5 years! This translates to a savings of $377.58!
So what are you waiting for? Head on over to GoDaddy and get your free private registration before they close this little loophole down!
The reason why I added free private registration to my domain names is because I almost lost it all when someone gained access to my GoDaddy account. Now if youre looking for even more ways to protect yourself from would be thieves Ive compiled a list of 9 ways to protect your online assets.
Im always writing about practical ideas for success online so be sure to to learn more.
Why Might You Not Want To Get Private Registration
1. Can be seen as shady or otherwise untrustworthy
As a business or entrepreneur, you always want to maintain the highest level of trust and rapport. For new visitors to your site, the best you can hope for is to convey a trustful image on your website and wherever else they may look. Unfortunately almost every scam and spam site uses private registration to hide from the law, so visitors may see private registration and subconsciously attach those attributes to your site.
2. May prevent some legitimate business contacts
While not a common practice, someone trying to reach a decision maker at a particular company may get the idea to contact the owner of the domain on whois. Someone interested in buying a domain would also likely contact the registrant showing on whois to express their interest and/or put forth an offer. Private registration discourages this contact, which may cause it to not happen at all.
3. Costs money, which can add up if using it on hundreds of domain names
Almost every domain registrar charges for whois privacy if not for the first year, they typically charge for every year thereafter. At some registrars it can be as much as $8-$15 per domain per year, which costs as much as registration fees themselves at some registrars. While this isnt a serious expense if you only use a couple domains, get into the hundreds and youre looking at possibly thousands of dollars per year to simply keep your contact information from showing on your domains.
Recommended Reading: How To Transfer Squarespace Domain To Godaddy
Transfer Domain To A Different Registrar
Things to note before domain transfer,
- You need to unlock your domain, at the time of ‘actual’ movement of the domain from Zoho. The domain will get automatically locked again within 30 minutes from the time you unlock it.
- The domain should be in the ‘unlocked’ state when you provide the authorization code to your new provider for changing the hosting setup.
Concerns Regarding Registering A Domain Name With A Home Address
If I purchase a domain, I’m usually required to enter an address. Usually, the address can be accessed publicly by any sort of WHOIS lookup. I’m uncomfortable publishing my real home address what do people usually do? Lie? Purchase a P.O box?
- 2Related indeed. However that question and its answers are focused on whether it’s OK to provide “fake” information or not, while this one is concerned with “privacy”. danJun 18 ’13 at 18:26
- This will depend on the Registry, but… if you are registering a UK domain as a private individual then it is free to opt-out of the public whois database.Jun 18 ’13 at 22:08
- 1Today, with GDPR it will be private. As for specific domain registrar, check out the review: StasDec 22 ’18 at 23:32
- The medium.com URL points to a post for an account that has been removed. web.archive.org does not have an entry for this URL.
Not disclosing your personal contact information is a common concern, since as you state, it’s otherwise publicly available at domain registrars, and any site that implements WHOIS lookups.
There are Domain Privacy options available at most domain registrars however, for example: Private Registration
These will prevent the public from seeing your home address and contact information , while staying within ICANN guidelines since the registrar will act as the administrative contact and forward important emails regarding the domain to you.
Don’t Miss: How To Make Money With Domains
The Benefits Of Whois Protection
If youre considering whether private domain registration is worth it, lets go over the reasons why you benefit.
1. Protect your personal information
Identity theft is a serious problem online, and personal information is needed when registering a domain name. If someone were to gain access to this data, it could cause serious problems for you or your business. Whois protection conceals this information. Domain privacy is necessary to help prevent your data from getting into the wrong hands.
2. Prevent unsolicited marketing outreach
Listing your contact information alongside your domain invites unwanted attention from salespeople, spammers, telemarketers, and fraudsters. Some individuals scan the Whois database for contact information, trawling newly registered websites in particular. Soon after registration you may be targeted with emails and calls about trying to offer online marketing, SEO, making domain privacy protection worth getting just to avoid such communications!
3. Minimize spam
Private registration for a domain name is necessary if you want to protect your email, and cut down on unsolicited emails from spammers. Your domain registrar will include an alias email in place of your own within the Whois database cutting down the likelihood of phishing emails. Such phishing emails wont reach your true email if you use domain privacy protection.
4. Greater control over your personal information
What Is Private Registration For A Domain Name
Private registration for a domain name allows you to remain anonymous and helps to increase the privacy and security of your website. Whenever you purchase a standard domain name, your registrar is required to pass on your personal information to ICANN . This is then associated with your domain and registered within the WHOIS database. The personal information contained within the WHOIS database including name, postal address, email address and phone number is then available to members of the general public.
However, a private domain gives you the benefit of removing your personal details from the WHOIS database and replacing them with those of the registrar. In essence, it works in the same way as removing your telephone number from any publicly available listings allowing you to keep your contact details out of the hands of strangers. In this case, IONOS replaces your registrant details, administrative contact details, and technical contact details with our own. This anonymity is particularly important to ward off threats to online security. A private domain gives you the peace of mind to continue operating online without sharing personal information with would-be hackers or other would-be threats.
Recommended Reading: What Is Io Domain Used For
Should You Buy Domain Privacy
Yes, you should get domain privacy. But you shouldnt have to pay extra for it.
Check out our domain records. See our contact info there?
If youre dead set against transferring your domain names to a registrar that includes privacy, then yes pay for it. The annoyance isnt worth the money youll save. But if youre willing to transfer your domain registration you can keep your info private without the extra charges.
Changes Made By These Updated Requirements
Because management of the .gov top-level domain has been transferred from GSA to CISA, references to GSA and their processes have been removed. A number of updates have also been made for clarity and comprehension. Key substantive changes are the following:
When government organizations use a .gov domain name to serve the public on the internet, they make it easy to know that their services are official. Thats because every request for a .gov domain name is carefully examined by the DotGov program to ensure it is from a genuine U.S.-based government or public sector organization.
We have rules that minimize the risk that .gov domain names could mislead users about the source or purpose of a given government organization or activity, and we require registrants to carefully maintain a .gov domain name after registration.
This document outlines the general requirements that apply to all .gov registrants, as well as the specific requirements that apply to certain types of government organizations. These requirements may be updated in the future. Registrants will be provided advance notice of updates.
You May Like: Io Domain Cost
Renewal Of A Domain Name: Which Registrar
Should you decide to keep your domain name, and you did not set it to auto-renew, you will have to return to the sameregistrar you used before to pay the next year’s fee.
This doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with a single registrar for life. You’re free to change registrars if you like.However, don’t wait till the last minute to change registrars, or you may run into problems. Transfers take a bitof time to take effect, and often require you to take action on both your new registrar’s site as well as your old.I suggest that if you want to transfer your domain, play safe and transfer it long before the expiry date.
What Is Private Domain Name Registration
The WHOIS database includes contact details for the owners of all domains. It is used by domain name providers to verify transfers, by companies looking for whether a name is available and by law-enforcement bodies but is also viewable by members of the general public.
When registering domain names you acknowledge by agreeing to a registrar’s terms and conditions and applicable policies to inclusion of your details.
.com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .asn.au, .id.au
Viewable details: domain name, registrant name and identifier , contact name, email address. In line with Australian privacy legislation the street address, telephone and facsimile numbers of registrants are not disclosed.
.com, .net, .org, .info, .biz
It is a requirement of ICANN that every domain owner has accurate, up-to-date full contact details available.
Viewable details: domain name, registrant name and identifier , contact name, contact address, email address, telephone number.
Private Registration
Private Registration is a new service offered to shield your Registrant Contact Information. It means the contact information displayed in the public WHOIS database for your domains is replaced by Registrar details.
How Private Registration works
Also Check: How To Get A Business Domain Email