Can I Transfer My Domain Name To A Different Website Builder/host/domain Registrar
Yup!
Domain name registrars usually enable a transfer lock on domains you buy so someone else can snag them from you without your permission .
But, as long as you’re the paid-in-full registered owner of the name, you can unlock any name for transfer, get a security code to confirm its being transferred to the right person , and move er on over.
It usually takes somewhere between a day and a week for the transfer to complete and the DNS system to finish propagating the change.
Why would you want to transfer?
If you switch website builders or from a builder like Wix to WordPress , it can be handier to just have your domain name registered and managed from the same place your website hosting/files are.
Also, a lot of hosts offer free domain names for a year when you sign up for a year of hosting.
BUT some of them charge more than the usual $8-15 renewal fee , so you might just want to get that free domain when you can then transfer it to a registrar that doesnt charge as much as your builder/host.
Domain Name Registrars And Registries
We’ve gone over what domain names are, how they work, and why you should have one, but how do you actually get your own domain name? If you think of a catchy name for your personal site or business, how do you get it recorded in the DNS so that people can start using your domain name to access your website?
The truth is that having your own domain name is easier than ever before. Registration fees are only $10â$15 a year, and the registration process is quick and simple. And once you have your own domain name, you have immediate access to all the advantages that come with it.
To understand that better, let’s first go over domain name registrars and registries.
Launch Your Domain With Shopify
If youre setting up your own website, you need a domain registrar, a server to host your domain, a website design, and email and customer support functionality, among other ecommerce software features. Thats why its important to choose tools that simplify and centralize business management as much as possible.
When you register your domain with Shopify, it immediately connects to your online storeso you dont have to worry about third-party apps or complex setup processes. Everything is ready to go so you can focus on what matters most. No additional website builder needed.
Ready to create your first business? Start your free 14-day trial of Shopifyno credit card required.
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What Is A Domain And How Does It Work
When youre setting up a website, you need to choose an address name for it. Its first goal is to help people to access your webpage. It is also important for SEO because search engines use it for ranking.
In this article, we will explain what is domain name, how it works, and how to choose the right one for your business!
Keep Your Domain Name Locked
Whenever your domain name is locked, it prevents anyone, including you, from making any changes to the information associated with it. If you do want to make any changes â for example, change the IP address that the domain points to after switching web hosting providers â then you need to unlock your domain name.
The problem is that an unlocked domain name can potentially be transferred to another registrar or third party and picked up by someone else. That’s why it’s important to unlock your domain name only when you absolutely need to.
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Try To Stick With Com Domain Extension
Most of the popular websites end with the .com extension which prepares our mindset to believe .com as an obvious extension of every domain. Statistics show that approximately 47% of the website today use the .com extension.
Rare but sometimes even the search engines prefer .com domains over other domains. This is not always true, but it has been found that .com as a universal domain does well instead of regional domains such as .us, .in, .uk, etc.
So, its wise to stick with a .com domain.
Domain Names Versus Web Hosting
If you want to start your own website, you’ll need to do two big things: register your domain name and find a place to host your website.
A web host provides a place for you to securely store your web content: your home page, photos, articles, and any other files that people see on your website. Whenever someone visits your website, they’re accessing the information on the servers of your web host. Like everything else connected to the internet, your web host’s servers are assigned their own IP addresses.
It’s technically possible for you to host your own website on your own home computer or office server, but that’s becoming less and less common.
When you register your domain, you’re adding your domain name to the DNS so that people know it exists. Whether you use a web host provider or host your own website, you’ll need to register your domain name. Otherwise, there’ll be no way for the public to access your website except by using an IP address.
Think of it like starting a physical business. First, you need to register your business â apply for a business name, make sure that no one else is using your business name, and get a Tax ID number. But, you still need a place to do business, whether you’re designating some space in your home or renting an office.
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Make It Easy To Remember
Making it easy to remember how to get to a website is what GOOD domain names are all about.
If you make your domain name easy to remember, youll get more people coming back to your website again and again. And its easier for those people to tell their friends about you!
To help make your domain name easy to remember, try to come up with a catchy name that describes what you do.
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Web Hosting Basics: How Web Hosting Works
Getting web hosting is a crucial part of having a website live on the internet. The hosting aspect of web hosting is a service that companies offer where theyll store your websites files, which can then be accessed by a web browser.
These files are essentially stored on a giant computer, known as a server.
If that sounds a little complex, dont worry by the end of this post youll have a better understanding.
Below youll learn about web hosting basics, the benefits of using web hosting, the different kinds of hosting available, and finally, the things you should look for when choosing a web hosting company.
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So What Happens When You Send An Email
All email services work in a similar way, but lets describe here what happens when you send an email through the Runbox mail servers.
1. Your computer sends the email you want delivered from your computer or other device to our SMTP server.
2. Our SMTP server looks at the address for delivery and works out which mail server on the Internet handles email for that domain.
3. Our SMTP server contacts the recipient server directly and asks it if it will accept email for that email address. If the answer is yes, then the message is handed over and the recipient server is now responsible for delivering it.
4. The recipient server looks at the local-part of the address and delivers the message to the appropriate email account.
What Does A Domain Look Like
A domain typically consists of two or three words separated by dots. For example, blog.hubspot.com is a domain.
A domain is one part of a complete web address, or URL. A URL typically consists of a protocol, domain name, and path. For example, the URL of this blog post is: . It’s made up of the following parts:
We’ll cover the parts of a domain name in more detail below. First, let’s cover why domains are important.
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Other Domain Name Types
There are a couple of other domain types that are worth a mention
- Second Level Domains A second level domain sits directly below a TLD in the DNS hierarchical system. These are often used in conjunction with country code TLDs, for example .co.uk, gov.uk, or ac.uk.
- Subdomains A subdomain is an extra part of a domain name. Subdomains are viewed as separate websites by the search engines, so, amongst other reasons, creating subdomains can help improve your sites SEO. A good example of when to use a subdomain is if you want to keep your blog separate from your website. In that case, your subdomain for your website might look like this https://blog.mysite.com.
So, now you know about the domain extensions that are available. Lets next look at how to choose a domain name for your website
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What Is A Website
To make sense of what a website is, its important to understand how web pages work.
A web page is a text file displayed to users in a web browser. These web pages can be used for various purposes. For example, you can create web pages to sell your product or service. Alternatively, you can create a web page to explain the difference between a domain and a website.
A web page can be accessed through a special application, called a browser. A browser takes all of the code from the text file of a web page, analyzes it, and draws a web page on the users screens. Heres an example of how a browser makes it possible for you to view web pages without having to see the source code.
Screenshot source:
Multiple web pages that are linked together make up a website. A website depends on the site files , web host, and a domain name. If these three components arent in place, a website will fail to display properly.
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Domain Names Can Communicate Expectations
Sometimes you cant find a great branded domain name or your market is too competitive to earn business through brand recognition. In these cases, you can strategically use your domain name to set consumer expectations and increase click-through rates.
For instance, if you operate a lawn care service in a large city like Tampa, you might find it difficult to grow a brand identity due to the amount of competition. Rather than choosing a branded domain name that few people would recognize, you might get more value by picking a domain name like TampaLawnCare.com.
While you cant trademark the name because it is a general term, it does help you clearly set expectations to your website visitors. Moreover, choosing targeted keywords in your market or industry can help you improve your local SEO.
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How Do Domain Names Enable Users To Access Website Content
So, you have the address for your friends new house which he is currently building on a certain plot of land . How do you actually use this information to get to his website? What happens behind the scenes when you type in the domain name for his website?
When you first enter in a website name, your computer likely does not have information about it in their database or cache. This triggers your computer to send a message to a DNS Server. This is a list of all the registered domain names on the internet, similar to the database of registered home addresses you might find in the Yellow Pages.
The DNS Server finds the IP address that corresponds to the name server for your website and then communicates this to your computer. Although this whole process occurs very quickly, your computer will cache this address for future requests to cut down on website loading times. For example, if your website is hosted on Openprovider, the name server information might look something like this:
ns1.openprovider.com
ns2.openprovider.com
The name servers will refer to the web servers from your hosting company that hold the information about your website. The files that comprise the website will then be sent back to the internet browser. The user can then access the website.
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Search For Your Desired Domain Name
After you have chosen your domain registrar, you will need to search for your domain name and see if its available. For this part of the process, you will want to keep the domain naming tips in mind:
- Keep it short and simple.
- Consider combining what you do with your location for a unique domain name.
- Consider registering additional domain extensions.
- Avoid domain naming mistakes such as choosing a name thats too specific and doesnt allow you to grow, not checking the domain name spelling, or trying to save money by not buying a premium domain.
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What Is The Dns
Domain names are part of a much larger network called the Domain Name System . The DNS is managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers . This non-profit organization is responsible for the on-going maintenance and management of the DNS, creating policies and regulating domain registrars.
The DNS is a large network of servers that are located across the globe. These servers contain a distributed database of IP addresses and act like an address book, transferring domain names into IP addresses. Servers can then be located, and websites requested and served to browsers.
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The Difference Between A Url And Domain
A websites URL will always include the sites domain name. However, as you can see, there are several other sections of the URL that are required to access any resource or page of a website.
The domain name directs users to the homepage of the website, and it wont include the protocol, file name, directory or subdomain if one exists.
While there is only one domain name for a website, there can be an endless number of URLs.
Every page, image and other media on your website has a unique URL. As the name suggests, Universal Resource Locators are used to pinpoint and render your websites unique assets.
Domain Name Registration And Copyright Infringement
One thing to consider prior to registration is whether or not there are any conflicts with trademarks or any form of copyright infringement. The best method for verifying the availability is by searching through a trademark database, which gives you all the pending or registered trademarks. ICANN is responsible for regulating and enforcing domain name copyright issues, and they can take away your domain name if they find you to be in violation of any of the following things:
- You do not actually run a business registered under that name.
- Your company purposefully chose a name that is analogous to a different trademark or domain name, and that could lead to consumer confusion.
- You created the name with plans to peddle that domain to a competitor for monetary gain.
- No one in the company carries a name that is the same as or similar to the registered name.
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What Is The Difference Between The Domain Name And Website Hosting
As you know now, the domain is the address of your website. The website hosting is the home, from which your website live on the internet and reach your audience. The website is the computer where all files and data is located that often known as a server.
Website hosting offered by website hosting companies. It is crucial to understand both these terms are different and work separately. For instance, there are several different types of hosting such as WordPress web hosting, VPS, reseller, and so on. Make sure you are taking the domain name and website hosting service form the same company.
Why Do You Need A Domain Name
Are you still wondering why you need a domain name? Well, if you want to make your own website, youll need a domain name so that other people can visit your website from their computers.
People want to start websites for a number of different reasons, which is why there are millions of register domain names. Its becoming more common today for people to have personal websites, for personal or promotional reasons, so many people register their name as a domain name. For instance, if your name is Catherine Smith, you might want to register the domain name CatherineSmith.com. That way when someone searches your name online, youll be easily found.
The popularity of blogging has also led to more people registering domain names for a hobby or to make money.
Plus, if you want to start a business, you need a website with its own unique domain name. Having a website for your business today is as necessary as having a phone number or FAX number in the past. You need a website so that your customers can get in touch with you online and browse your products and services from the comfort of their own homes. Your website needs a memorable domain name, typically that matches your business name, so people can easily find you online. Furthermore, youll want to register a domain name for your business to protect your name from being taken by your competitors.
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