How To Register A Domain Name: 4 Options
To get a domain name, youll need to call dibs with ICANN. ICANN is a global non-profit authority that maintains records on which domain and IP address belongs to whom and manages access to them.
But ICANN doesnt provide registration services, it only maintains records. Thats where domain name registrars come into play.
The primary role of a register is to:
- Coordinate claims on different domain names.
- Match specific domain names with Domain Name System nameservers.
- Ensure that there are no duplicate domain names.
Technically speaking, you are not buying a domain name from a registrar company, but reserve its usage for a specified time. You can pay to reserve a domain for 1-10 years at a time, depending on the registrar. After your initial subscription expires, youll need to renew it and pay a fee again. You can re-purchase your domain name over and over again.
When registering a domain name, you sign a long-term lease of your domain . You can read more about the domain costs here.
In practice, all of the above is much simpler than you think as we will show below.
Adding Https To Route 53 Domains On Aws
In this post we will be covering how to apply an SSL certificate for HTTPS access, to a domain registered with Route 53 on AWS, using the AWS Certificate Manager.
In our example we will be applying the SSL against a web application running on AWS Elastic BeanStalk. Delivering content over HTTPs is best practice and is required for various purposes, most often it is required to access the user webcam and other input devices such as a microphone.
While this process is covered well in the official AWS documentation I thought it would be good to centralize the process in a more easy to follow manner for my future reference. This will not cover domain purchasing on Route 53 as that process is fairly straight forward.
Overview
To apply an SSL certificate against a domain on AWS the following steps must be followed:
- Register or transfer domain on AWS Route 53
- Acquire SSL certificate on AWS certificate manager
- Domain verification via DNS or email
- Apply HTTPS ports on Elastic Beanstalk
- Apply HTTPS for Static Websites on S3
Purchase or transfer domain on Route 53
On Route 53 register your desired domain name to use. This only requires the name of the URL, contact details and verification and purchase. This will create the URL as a hosted zone in Route 53. For transferring domains refer to the official documentation
Acquire SSL certificate on AWS certificate manager
Only certificates registered in AWS Certificate Manager in the US East Region will be enabled for use in CloudFront
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SSL/TLS certificates enable visitors to connect to your site with HTTPS, a secure protocol for exchanging information on the Internet. An SSL certificate will add a layer of secure encryption to your website, so any information transferred by your website is encrypted. In this article we will explain how to obtain an SSL certificate for your website on the WP Engine platform.
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What Happens If I Dont Renew My Domain Name
If you didnt set auto-renewal or forgot to manually do so despite the reminders from your domain registrar, your domain name will expire. This means several things:
- Your website will no longer be accessible by anyone who types your URL.
- The domain name will be available for sale again, typically in 30-days or so after expiration.
- It can also be auctioned on a website domain auction.
In essence, failure to pay a renewal fee means lost access to your domain.
Update All Hard Coded Links To Https
It is always best practice to use relative URLs, but there will always be times when someone has hard coded a URL and so you will want to do a full sweep on your site and database during an HTTP to HTTPS migration.
The following will differ from platform to platform. In this example, we will show you how to update your link in WordPress. We recommend using a free tool from Interconnect IT called Database Search and Replace Script in PHP. You could run update queries yourself, but there are a lot of tables and metadata fields you will probably miss unless you have an exact list.
We recommend doing this on a dev server and moving it back, or at least backing up your database first to be safe as this script does grab your local database credentials. Simply drop their program into the root of your site via FTP.
Then browse to it in your browser .
You can then insert what you want to replace. Make sure you enter all of the formats you have mixed and matched over the years such as:
- http://mydomain.com to https://mydomain.com
- http://www.mydomain.com to https://www.mydomain.com
We then recommend running a dry run first to see what it will be updating/replacing. Then when you are ready run a live run. This will update all of your entries in your database, including your WordPress Site URL, hardcoded links on pages and posts, canonical tags, etc.
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Generate Csr And Private Key
A CSR will be needed by the SSL provider to create/sign the certificate file. For generating a CSR and RSA key , please complete this form: Online CSR and Key Generator.
We recommend filling out every field, but at a minimum, you should fill in the following, as seen in the example below:
- Common name
- State / County / Region
- Country
Note: For the common name field, if youre generating a wildcard certificate, youll need to input your domain name like *.domain.com.
The form will generate the private key file and the CSR. Save both of those, as the certificate will be unusable without them.
How To Force Https
After installing an SSL certificate, youll have the option to force HTTPS in MyKinsta. This feature allows you to automatically forward all incoming requests to HTTPS.
Our force HTTPS tool gives you two options Force all traffic to the primary domain and Use requested domain. For normal WordPress sites, we recommend using the first option, which will force a 301 redirect to the HTTPS version of your canonical domain. The second option is useful for WordPress multisite, which may have multiple domains assigned to the same site.
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Test Your Ssl/tls Certificate
Testing your freshly-installed secure certificate is easy. Just visit your websites main URL in a browser and look for the lock icon and https in the address.
If your certificate doesnt appear to be working, you can revisit your user panel for more information, or contact DreamHost support for assistance.
Join A Windows 10 Pc Or Device To A Domain
On the Windows 10 PC, go to Settings > System > About, then click Join a domain.
Enter the Domain name and click Next. You should have the correct domain info, but if not, contact your Network Administrator.
Enter account information that is used to authenticate on the Domain and then click OK.
Wait while your computer is authenticated on the Domain.
And then, youll need to restart to complete the process.
When the sign-in screen appears, you will notice the DOMAIN\User account is displayed. Enter your password, and you will now be logged onto your Domain.
You will notice that once you are connected to the Domain, your About setting no longer lists options presented before. This is because the server centrally manages your computer.
Leaving the Domain or log into your local account
If a need arises where you need to leave the domain or log into your local account, you can easily do so. Log into your local account while your computer is joined to a Domain. Sign out of your machine at the sign-in screen, select Other user.
Enter the machine name followed by a backslash and then your local user account, as shown below.
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Provision A Certificate For Domain1 In Aws Certificate Manager
- Login to your AWS Management Console, and open up the Certificate Manager.
- Provision a public certificate, for the domain name enter domain1.com, and optionally, *.domain1.com so you can use this certificate for all subdomains as well.
- Choose to use DNS validation, you will be displayed two DNS CNAME values to copy to the DNS of domain1.com. Both of them are the same, so you only really need to add 1 of them. The CNAME record it instructs you to add will look like:
- Name: < random alphanumeric> .domain1.com
- Value: < random alphanumeric> .< random alphanumeric> .acm-validation.aws.
Getting An Ssl/tls Certificate
Get an SSL/TLS certificate if you dont already have one. For more information, see theapplicable documentation:
-
To use a certificate provided by AWS Certificate Manager , see theAWS Certificate Manager User Guide. Then skip to Updating your CloudFront distribution.
Note
We recommend that you use ACM to provision, manage, and deploy SSL/TLS certificates onAWS managed resources. You must request an ACM certificate in theUS East Region.
-
To get a certificate from a third-party certificate authority ,see the documentation provided by the certificate authority. When youhave the certificate, continue with the next procedure.
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Generate New Certificate Signing Request
This section will help you generate a CSR and import your matching certificate file to WP Engine. Generate a CSR and follow these steps if you dont have a certificate file, dont have a key file or if you do not have a matching certificate and key file.
Remember, WP Engine needs both a key file and a certificate file that match each other to successfully install an SSL. Generating a CSR will complete the key portion of these requirements for you, so all you have to do is retrieve the matching certificate from the SSL issuer and provide it to us.
NOTE
NOTE
Our system by default generates 256 bit CSR files, if you need a higher bit CSR reach out to our Support team.
We suggest leaving this page open in a separate tab or window so you can easily return to it later.
Ssl Web Hosting: How To Add Https To Your Domain
Cybersecurity is a non-negotiable element of your website. This is true for the sole principle of keeping you and your customers data safe. But security also makes your business look professional and trustworthy.
Google Chrome makes it clear to a user when they visit an unsafe website. The address bar will display Not secure before the domain name, which tells users that their information is vulnerable to being stolen.
But when a website takes its safety seriously by using HTTPS and installing an SSL certificate, Chrome shows a padlock to signify the website has a secure connection.
HTTPS is a pillar of a safe internet experience. It shows your customers youre committed to security and that you care about their data and keeping it private.
An insecure website looks bad to customers, and it can hurt your search engine optimization ranking in relevant searches.
Wondering how to add HTTPS to your domain?
Heres the good news:
Its a simple process.
Some hosting providers, like Bluehost, offer free SSL certificates for dedicated IP addresses. This way, its easy to protect every custom domain and subdomain with HTTPS.
Once you learn how to add HTTPS to your domain, you can secure your information from hackers and increase your customers trust in your business.
Keep reading to learn about:
- What HTTPS and SSL are
- Why you need to use HTTPS
- Setting up HTTPS
- Installing SSL Certificates from third parties
- The best SEO practices for HTTPS
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What Is Domain Forwarding
Domain forwarding , allows a domain admin to forward all visitors to the domain name to another address, usually a different URL and website.
In its basic form, domain forwarding redirects all visitors to any page on a domain name to a single forwarding address. It is commonly used when pages are reorganized on a website or if a website is moved to a different domain, for business acquisition, SEO or rebranding purposes.
It is also possible to be more selective and redirect specific URLs to an alternate location, and this is commonly called URL Forwarding or URL redirection and is used when landing pages are deprecated or modified to alternative URLs.
Update Cdn Url To Https
If youre using a CDN , youll likely need to update your URL in your CDN settings as well. Because the exact process will depend on the specific CDN youre using, I cant give you specific instructions.
You should contact your CDN or review your CDNs support documents to determine if/how you can update your URL to HTTPS.
If you have no idea what a CDN is, you can totally ignore this step!
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Installing An Ssl Certificate With A Third
Once you learn how to add HTTPS to your website, you might realize that you need to install an SSL certificate with higher security or different specific features. In that case, you can add SSL to your website using a third-party provider with the TLS/SSL Manager.
Consider if you need to purchase an SSL certificate from an authority like SSL.com that better suits your needs.
You can also upgrade your certificate through the Bluehost Marketplace.
What You Should Know About Secure Certificates
Website security is an essential aspect of conducting any kind of business or data exchange online. If you want to tighten up your sites security, the first step is to make sure its information is transmitted over the secure HTTPS protocol, rather than the older HTTP protocol.
This can be accomplished by adding an SSL/TLS certificate to your website. That way, your visitors can be assured that any information they submit through your site is protected. Plus, , and even warns users that they might not be safe.
If youre planning on accepting payments through your website, youll want to investigate all of your SSL/TLS options. Fortunately, here at DreamHost, we provide easy ways to safeguard your site, including a free certificate from Lets Encrypt.
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