What Happens After I Buy My Domain
The first thing to know is that your domain is not a website, its just the name of your website on the Internet. Youve reserved the name, but youll still need the actual site. If youve bought your domain through your hosting provider, you should already have it set up, but if youve just bought the domain, youll need to point it to a hosting provider by changing the DNS settings.
If you dont know how to build a site, you can read our guide on the best code-free website builders. These services let you build your site without coding, often just by applying a premade template. Weebly and Wix are easy to use, and both have free plans to get started.
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If youre planning on building a blog, youll probably want to use WordPress, which is a content management system that handles all of your blog posts with a nice editor and powerful templates. Youll still need to host it, so you can read our guide on the best-managed WordPress hosting providers to find whats right for you.
Cctld: Country Code Top Level Domains
ccTLDs use just two letters and are based upon international country codes, such as .us for the United States and .jp for Japan. Theyre often used by companies that are building dedicated sites for specific regions and can be a good way of signaling to users that theyve arrived at the right place.
Dont Let Your Domain Expire
While this might seem like an obvious one, youd be surprised by the amount of people who let their domains expire without even realising it has happened and we dont just mean hobbyists and small business owners either.
Back in 2003 software giant Microsoft forgot to renew its Hotmail.co.uk domain name. Luckily for Microsoft the guy that re-registered it after expiry was kind enough hand it back. Disaster averted just.
The chances are, whatever happened, a huge company like Microsoft would have got their domain name back eventually anyway, but for hobbyists and small business owners this could prove a lot more difficult and stressful especially if you havent gone through the proper copyright and trademark procedures.
The easy way to avoid all this is to just remember you need to renew your domain, and do it nice and early. Most domain registrars, like us at LCN, give you 90 days notice prior to expiry.
Not only that, but in most cases you can register or renew your domain name for up to 10 years, usually whilst making some big savings for renewing over a longer period.
As well as setting up auto-renewal, you can make sure your contact details are always up to date, this way we can always reach you to notify you of any services close to expiry.
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Top 15 Domain Registration Providers
In the present-day technology, owning a domain is so easy such that it has become a prerequisite rather than a necessity especially for online businesses. In other words, a domain name is a gateway to the online market. Why is it so? Your online presence is better felt if you can identify yourself with a website where you post your blogs as well as share your ideas across the globe with ease.
Most businesses nowadays operate through their website, and as such, it is necessary to understand what is involved in setting up a domain. You also need to identify domain registration provider who will assist you with the process of setting up a functional domain that meets your requirements.
Domain Registration is the process of acquiring a domain name from a domain name registrar. A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet.
Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System . The registration of these domain names is usually administered by domain name registrars who sell their services to the public. The domain name registrar is an organization or commercial entity that manages the reservation of Internet domain names and is accredited by a generic top-level domain registry and/or a country code top-level domain registry.
What are Domain Registration Providers
What Is A Domain Name
Domain name is the term used to refer to URLs such as a2hosting.com or wordpress.org. When you type in a domain, your browser looks up what site its assigned to and then takes you there.
Its important to understand that domain names are fluid. You can register a new one at any time and use it to replace all of your sites URLs. Along with enabling users to access your site, domain names offer several other benefits, such as:
- Reinforcing your branding. Chances are youll use a URL that includes your sites name or a variation on it, which means its a vital part of your branding efforts.
- Making your website easier to remember. In most cases, people tend to prefer shorter URLs that are easier to type, probably because theyre easier to recall.
- Letting people know what your sites about. You can use your domain name to let visitors know what to expect from your site.
The process of registering a domain name is quite straightforward. All you have to do, in most cases, is look up any URLs youre interested in and check out which of them are available:
If the domain you want is already occupied, you can either try a different name or use a separate Top-Level Domain . Once youve landed on the perfect name for your website, youll need to provide some personal information to claim ownership of it, and of course pay for your new domain.
Also Check: How To Determine Who Owns A Domain
Intellectual Property And Domain Names
Intellectual property is a term that encompasses several legal issues like trademark dilution, copyright claims and patent infringement, among other things. With regards to your domain and website, there are intellectual property considerations to understand before moving forward with your site.
The last thing you want to do is invest time, money and other resources into registering a domain and building a website that infringes on anothers legal rights.
Moreover, when building out your business, you must be diligent about protecting your own assets including your domain and website.
Editors note:This content should not be construed as legal advice. Always consult an attorney regarding your specific legal situation.
Gtld: Generic Top Level Domain
A gTLD is essentially a top-level domain that doesnt rely on a country code. Many gTLDs are intended for a specific use-case, such as .edu which is aimed at educational institutions. That said, you dont have to meet any specific criteria to register a gTLD, which is why a .com domain might not necessarily be used for commercial purposes.
Other examples of gTLDs include .mil , .gov , .org , and .net, which was originally designed for internet service providers but is now used more widely.
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Difference Between Registering Domain And Hosting Domain
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To a web developer, tasks like registering domains and domain hosting are self-explanatory. However, if youve never set up a website before, not understanding the difference between these concepts can make it harder to get started.
There are a number of steps to setting up a fully functioning WordPress website and getting it running. Understanding those steps and what they entail can make your life as a website owner simpler. For example, you might not know that you can register a domain without having a website to go along with it yet. You can also find web hosting and create a fully working website before you ever register your domain.
In this article, well go over the difference between registering URLs and hosting a website, and explain how both aspects affect your site. Lets get started!
Are Io Domains Safe
There are rules and security restrictions put in place for all domains to confirm registrant authenticity, and .io domains are no exception.
According to registry regulations, No .io domain may be used directly or indirectly, for any purpose that is sexual or pornographic in nature or violates the statutory laws of any nation. If a registrant were to break this regulation, the nic.io registry has the right to immediately deactivate the domain.
When it comes to keeping your .io domain safe for your own needs as well as the needs of your users, there are safety measures that you can take.
At Namecheap, we offer free Domain Privacy for life. This service protects your data from potential spammers and fraudsters and ensures that your contact information is hidden from the public Whois database.
We also offer Premium DNS which offers uptime and site security at an affordable price. Our service provides security features that can help protect your business from potential cyber criminals and is one of the fastest DNS services on the market.
Plus, with DNSSEC providing greater DNS security with an extra layer of validation paired with two-factor account authentication, you know your website is safe with us.
While were on the subject of safety, its important to make sure youre safe when purchasing anything online.
Treat a domain purchase like you would when buying anything from the internet.
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What Is Domain Name Registration
Domain name registration is the act of reserving a name on the Internet for a certain period, usually one year. It is important to know that this domain will remain yours for as long as you renew it and there is no way to purchase a domain name forever.
Domain name registration is necessary for a website, an email or another web service. However, you dont have to always register a new domain name. Many companies allow you to use subdomains of their domain names for a website, or you can have an email with their primary domain .
The most important thing about a domain name registration is that it gives you personality and recognized identity. Once you register a domain name, the information about its owner is publicly available.
The price for a domain name registration varies greatly on its extension. For example, the most common .com is the most affordable one, while some country-specific domain name extensions are 5 times more expensive.
If youd like to register a domain name with SiteGround, check out our offers.
For detailed information about domain name prices, contact our Customer Care via phone or chat, or check out the prices in your Client Area.
Buy Them Bundled Together
With this path, you buy your domain, hosting, website software, and website services in a single bundle from a single company.
This path is otherwise known as going with a hosted website builder.
This path is common among website owners. Its convenient. Its simple and it makes a lot of sense for many website owners.
What is important is to recognize that you are still paying for the same elements as the first two options. You are simply paying for a bundle with everything included.Sponsored Links
Provider Examples
- GoDaddy Website Builder focused on basic, simple sites.
- Weebly focused on small shops & projects w/ usable editor.
- Shopify focused on growing online stores.
Advantages
- Unified support for a single, proprietary product.
- Integrated functionality so everything just works.
- Professional speed, security, and maintenance.
Disadvantages
- Loss of total control & access to server.
- Usually more expensive over long-term.
- Inability to customize specific features/edits.
- Hard to troubleshoot without customer support.
- Hard to leave the company for a different option.
Once youve chosen and activated your plan, youll have to follow the companys steps to get started. They have usually laid out a clear path to get your website in place and live.
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Secure Your Social Media Accounts
Before you get too involved with one particular social media network it makes sense to secure all the relevant social media accounts for your website/business.
In the short term you may only plan to use Twitter or Facebook, but whos to say later down the line you might not look to use other platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram as you expand your social media footprint?
For branding purposes its wise to ensure your social media accounts all have the same username/handle. Theres nothing more frustrating than going to sign up to a social network only to find someone else has beaten you to the punch.
When you find out all the best usernames are taken
For instance, at LCN.com we use the handle lcndotcom for all our social networks
- com/lcndotcom
- com/user/lcndotcom
- you get the idea
While this sounds like a terribly laborious task, its actually pretty easy to check the availability of your preferred name without signing up to each network individually.
Check out a tool called namechk , then just pop in your desired username/handle and hit enter. All of the social networks that are available will show in green.
This kind of preparation at the beginning of a website and/or business launch is vital for your long-term branding prospects. Get it right from the get-go.
Circular Dependencies And Glue Records
Name servers in delegations are identified by name, rather than by IP address. This means that a resolving name server must issue another DNS request to find out the IP address of the server to which it has been referred. If the name given in the delegation is a subdomain of the domain for which the delegation is being provided, there is a circular dependency.
In this case, the name server providing the delegation must also provide one or more IP addresses for the authoritative name server mentioned in the delegation. This information is called glue. The delegating name server provides this glue in the form of records in the additional section of the DNS response, and provides the delegation in the of the response. A glue record is a combination of the name server and IP address.
For example, if the for example.org is ns1.example.org, a computer trying to resolve www.example.org first resolves ns1.example.org. As ns1 is contained in example.org, this requires resolving example.org first, which presents a circular dependency. To break the dependency, the name server for the top level domain org includes glue along with the delegation for example.org. The glue records are address records that provide IP addresses for ns1.example.org. The resolver uses one or more of these IP addresses to query one of the domain’s authoritative servers, which allows it to complete the DNS query.
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