Web Domain Spot

... The goal of this section is to dispel some of the most common misconceptions about domain names and their use.

1. When I register a domain name, I become the owner of that domain name.
When you register a domain name, you are actually paying for the right to use that domain name for a defined period of time, usually between 1 and 10 years. You will have to pay a renewal fee, after your initial registration period expires, to continue using the name or face losing control of the domain name. You do not automatically have the right to keep the name forever, although in practice, as long as you continue paying the annual fees and the name does not infringe on a trademark or service mark, it is essentially yours until you decide that you no longer want it.

2. I have to be a US company or resident to register a domain name.
No, you do not have to be a US company or resident to register a domain name. Anyone can register a domain name under most top-level domains. However, some countries impose additional rules on people trying to register domain names under that country’s ccTLD. For example, in the case of .asia domain names, you must show a presence in an Asian country, although many Registrars can help you around this issue by acting as your representative.

3. I can ‘get rich quick’ by purchasing and then reselling domain names.
Yes, you can make money by purchasing and reselling domain names and there is an entire industry of domainers that make a living from this practice. However, the single most common misconception is that a single domain name will make you rich. While some domain names have sold for very large sums of money and a few have changed hands for over $1 million, well over 90% of names offered for sale never find a buyer.

This is the reality that most domain name owners often forget: unless a domain name is truly exceptional or otherwise desirable, it may never sell in the aftermarket. At the same time, most domain name owners place high, somewhat unrealistic prices on their domain names, which encourages the perception that all domain names are valuable. It’s important to keep in mind that most of these names are failing to sell at the prices asked.

You can make money in the domaining industry, and as a matter of fact, many people do. The key is to study the industry and invest wisely. As with any business or investment, it requires a tremendous amount of research and work to be successful. For a starter’s crash course, check out the Domain Investment Guide.

4. I need a website to own a domain name.
No, you do not need a website in order to own a domain name. You can register domain names for a planned website, or you can register domains and just hold on to them. In fact, domainers generally register domain names and park them with a parking service, then make money off the ad revenue. If you purchase a domain name and later decide that you’d like to use it for a website, you can point the name to your new website.

5. When I register a domain name, I get a website too.
No, you do not automatically get a website when you register a domain name. A website requires a web host (a company that will store your website files on their servers and make the site accessible to the internet). Most domain Registrars offer web hosting as an optional extra service when you register your domain , but you don’t need to host with your Registrar even if they do offer this. The beauty of the domain name system is that you can use the name you registered with just about any web hosting company you like!

Another thing to note is that many web hosting companies are also domain resellers. A lot of them will offer the domain name registration for free when customers sign up for their hosting plans. If you’re planning on using your new domain name for a website, you may want to look into your hosting options prior to registering your domain.

Congratulations - you’ve reached the end of the basic domain guide. Click here to see the advanced section where you’ll discover more about how to choose domain names and how to enter the secondary domain market.

... A domain name can contain the numbers 0-9, the letters a-z and the dash or hyphen character (“-“). It’s important to note that while domains can contain a hyphen, they can not begin or end with one. Additionally, the domain name system is not case sensitive, so you can register and write your domain name with both lowercase and uppercase letters.

Prior to December 1999, most domain names could only contain up to 26 characters including the extension. At that time, the current Registry for com/net/org domain names (InterNIC) increased the limitation to a total of 67 characters. This 67 character limit includes the “dot” and the TLD. So in the case of a “.com” name, for instance, you’ll be able to specify up to 63 characters yourself.

For the most common TLDs the minimum length of a domain name is 2 characters, although some lucky companies managed to register single character domains before that restriction was put in place (e.g. q.com was registered by Qwest). As of July 2009, there are a couple of Registries planning to offer single character domain names on auction basis. Stay tuned to our domain news section for any new developments.

Some top level domains from specific countries have additional limitations on length and on the number of characters in a domain. Some even specify a minimum length for a domain name of 3 characters or more. Be sure to check with your Registrar for the specific rules on your chosen TLD prior to registering your domain.

The system gets further complicated when using Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). Do you remember how we said that a domain name can only consist of letters, numbers, and hyphens? Well, this isn’t entirely true when it comes to IDNs. What is true is that the Registry databases will only accept such characters. However, in cultures where people do not use the English alphabet, this could get confusing and remember, the whole purpose of the domain name system is to make remembering a website easier.

With IDNs, the non-English letters are translated into a set of English letters, then preceded by an ‘xn—’. So a domain spelled with Chinese characters would be translated to xn—longseriesofnumbers.com when stored in the Registry database. You can read more about IDNs here.

Did you know? You can include two consecutive hyphens in a domain name (“—“) in a domain name, except when the hyphens follow ‘xn’, which is reserved for IDNs. Although, you should consider that this will make it more difficult for people to remember your name and type it correctly into their browsers. It’s time to move on and dispel some of the most common misconceptions about domain names.

... Once you have decided on the domain name(s) you want, the next step is to choose a Registrar and actually register the domain name. You will find a good selection of Registrars in the Company Reviews section.

While each Registrar may want slightly different pieces of information from you, most domain registrations require 5 things:

1. Registrant Name - This is the company or individual to whom the domain name actually belongs.
2. Administrative Contact - This is a person authorized to make certain changes to the domain name, such as alter the Registrant name or approve a transfer of the name to a new Registrar.
3. Technical Contact - This is a person authorized to make certain changes to the domain name, such as changes to the DNS servers associated with that domain name.
4. Billing Contact - This is the person to whom all bills and other correspondence will be sent.
5. DNS Server Settings - This is where you specify the primary and secondary name server you would like to associate with the domain name, typically provided to you by your hosting or parking company.

It is possible to specify the same person or company for each of 1-4 above. You can (and people most often do) specify the same company or individual as the Administrative, Technical and Billing contact. Since there is very little to distinguish the roles of 2 & 3 in practice, this usually isn’t a problem.

Some Registrars choose to streamline the registration process by not providing the ability to enter certain information (some do not require Billing Contact information, for instance).

BE CAREFUL: If a Registrar does not ask for Registrant information, you should be cautious and read over their terms and conditions carefully. Some Registrars set their clients up as the Administrative, Technical and Billing contacts, but put themselves as the Registrant. This effectively results in the Registrar “owning” all the domain names belonging to its customers rather than the companies or individuals that actually registered the names.

You will also be asked for payment information, but payment procedures vary widely between Registrars. Most offer secure online credit card payments with recurring payment options. Some will also accept PayPal or standard checks.

Most Registrars will also ask you for additional information, such as a user name and password that you can use to make online changes to your domain registration information. Be sure to keep this information in a safe place as you will need it to make any changes to your domain name.

Now that you know what information you’ll need to provide, let’s find out where it is stored.

Whois Information

The information that you provide your Registrar when registering your domain name goes into a record that is tied with your domain name. Certain parts of the information become a part of the central database, which is stored and maintained by the Registry (see the Domain Registration Facts section for a detailed explanation of the roles of Registries and Registrars), while other parts are kept and displayed directly by the Registrar. All of the information is compiled into a searchable public database of domain records. When you perform a search of this database, you are performing a WHOIS (pronounced “who-is”) search.

Verisign, the .com Registry, is an example of a Thin Registry. This means that the information being stored in the central database is very limited. When you run a WHOIS query on a domain name in the Registry database (for example, a .com domain as Verisign is the .com Registry), that site first looks up the Thin Registry from the central database, and then next finds the Registrar and displays the rest of the information supplied by them.

While it may seem very tempting to use a false name and address when registering a domain name (to maintain your privacy and keep your personal details out of the reach of direct marketers) there are a number of downsides to this approach.

First of all, it is against the registration rules of most Registrars and Registries. There have been several cases in which domain owners have been forced to provide accurate contact information at short notice, or risk losing their domains.

Second, you run the risk of not finding out about important changes that could affect your domain name. For instance, if you do not supply your real address, your Registrar will not be able to alert you when it’s time to renew your domain name registration and you could risk losing your name.

Finally, you can not be contacted for legal challenges. While this may sound like a positive benefit, you actually run the risk of losing your domain name by default if you do not respond to a complaint against the domain, not to mention the fact that you could suffer possible court costs and legal fees because you were not around to defend yourself.

Whois Privacy

Many Registries now offer WHOIS privacy services. While your Thin Registry is still stored the same, your Registrar keeps any other information from being shared by their servers to the general public. This service is the best alternative to submitting fake contact information. Aside from the fact that it allows your Registrar to reach you, it gives you a higher level of security (would-be name hijackers won’t have access to your personal contact information), and it helps stop spammers from sending unsolicited email using your WHOIS contact information.

Choosing the Right Registrar

When searching for the right Registrar, you’ll have several things to consider: value, security, service, convenience, and stability.

• Value – There’s no reason to pay more for the same services, but at the same time, that doesn’t always mean you should go for the cheapest price. You can measure the value of the Registrar’s service by knowing what you get in exchange for your money. You could probably find an extremely cheap Registrar, but they may not offer the convenience of a good hosting package, excellent customer service, or the security that a more established Registrar could offer.
• Security – Your Registrar should have password security to restrict access to your domain account. Your Registrar should have a reputation of diligently restricting access to your account based upon defined rules, including handling of phone calls from people you purport to be you. Your Registrar should have a screening system that is either systematic or involves human review of account transactions to catch unusual activity within your account. The bottom line is that your domain’s safekeeping relies on the Registrar’s ability to keep your information secure.
• Service – The best way to gauge the quality of a Registrar’s customer service is to call them. Find out if anyone actually exists on the other side of that phone number and see how they handle your questions and concerns. A good Registrar will, at a minimum, answer their phones during normal office hours, if not 24/7.
• Convenience – Find out how easy it will be for you to change information on your account (without compromising the security of your domain). Also see if the Registrar has a user control panel demo available that you could check out. Also, you may want to see what other services (such as web hosting, email, and/or website promotion services) the Registrar offers and how competitive their prices are. It’s almost always more convenient to bundle services from a single company.
• Stability – Do your research on the Registrar before registering your name. Find out how long they’ve been in business and check out reviews from current customers online. If you don’t see the Registrar as a stable, secure company with a successful past and a future, you’re better off not doing business with them. Buying a domain name is a long-term commitment and you don’t want to lose your name because the Registrar went out of business.

Now that you know what to look for in a Registrar, let’s get into a little more detail about what limitations you have when actually registering your domain name.

... As we’ve said previously, when you buy a domain name, you are actually “registering” it (since all your details are being registered, or recorded, in the DNS). This is why the companies that let you buy domain names are called “Registrars”. As an end user, or “Registrant”, this is all you would ever have to know about the structure of the domain Registry industry. But for those who want the details, here is the basic layout:

• ICANN: This is the organization that has ultimate control over the entire domain naming system. They make the policies, decide how to enforce them, and decide who will be Registries for which TLDs.
• Registry: The Registry controls their specific TLDs. VeriSign, for example, maintains all of the .com domain names (along with several other TLDs). In most cases, they delegate the ability to add and update information to Registrars.
• Registrar: The Registrars, for the most part, interact directly with the end users (Registrants). If a company decides they want the domain your-domain.com, they go to the Registrar, who then adds the domain name to DNS and stores the company’s information, connecting it to that domain name.
• Reseller: Some Registrars, instead of marketing their services directly to the public, use resellers to sell domains for them. The resellers do not have direct access to the DNS, but rather use the Registrars as portals. Resellers are often hosting companies or webmasters who find it easier to market their own services when they are able to register names for their clients themselves.
• Registrant: The Registrant is the end user, the person or organization who ”owns” or registers a domain name.

More On Registrars

Historically, Network Solutions was the only company authorized to register domain names. In 1999, ICANN approved five additional companies as Registrars for the competitive Shared Registry System. Since then, the domain name market has completely opened up to competition, with hundreds of companies now acting as ICANN-accredited Domain Name Registrars.

Domain Name Registrars must pay the Registries a fee for each domain name they register, but beyond that fixed cost they charge different amounts to cover their own costs and make a profit. This means that while a few years ago the price and duration of a domain name registration was fixed at $70 for 2 years, now different companies offer different registration rates, for periods from 1 to 10 years.

The requirements that must be fulfilled to become a Domain Name Registrar are not particularly stringent, which sometimes leads to trouble as some Registrars do not have the robust technical infrastructure necessary to handle and process large volumes of domain name registrations. Some Registrars have also cut corners by not implementing certain technical functionality in their local databases, such as the ability to transfer names to another party.

Now let’s look at how you can register your own domain name.

... One of the best things about domain names is that they are unique. The owner of a domain name can relax in the knowledge that nobody else can use that domain name at the same time. This is because all domain names are recorded in a database, and each record in the database must be unique. This uniqueness is also what makes some domain names quite valuable, which we will address later in this guide.

Always remember that when we talk about “owning” a domain name, we really mean the exclusive right to use that name. It is not possible to own a domain name outright, and you will have to pay a periodic (generally an annual fee) renewal fee to keep this “right to use” your domain name. Also, since you don’t own the name itself, under certain circumstances, a court (or a committee with authority over the Registry database) can take your “right to use” a domain name away, particularly if you are involved in a trademark infringement case.

Finally, let’s talk about the registration of domain names.

... Although sub domains are not technically a part of the core domain name system, their increasing popularity deserves a mention in this section.

The term sub domain refers to when an additional prefix is added to an existing domain name and separated by a period. An example of a sub domain is “yourname.uk.com”. In this example, the domain “uk.com” belongs to a company (CentralNIC) who in turn charges a fee for a user to register and use the sub domain “yourname.uk.com”.

Although sub domains are not handled technically in the same way as regular domains (on the backend), for the most part they work the same way so far as the end user is concerned.

There are two significant reasons that sub domains are used: to allow users to register otherwise unavailable domain names or to organize large websites. In the first instance, a sub domain is created when an existing domain owner allows you to register and use a new domain directly under their existing domain name, similar to how a regular Registry works.

In the first instance, a sub domain is created when an existing domain owner allows you to register and use a new domain directly under their existing domain name, similar to how a regular Registry works.

These sub domains give the end user an opportunity to register a great sounding domain name that would otherwise be unavailable at a regular Registry. Having been widely recognized and accepted by the Internet community, sub domains are being used by many as their main website URL and are now being sold in the domain aftermarket as well.

In some cases, sub domains are also used for organizational purposes. For example, if you go to microsoft.com, you arrive at the main Microsoft website. However, the company has separated various Microsoft services into sub domains. If you to office.microsoft.com, you arrive on their Microsoft Office site. This is particularly useful if you have a need to create a separate website for specific data or company departments, but need to keep it all connected within the main domain name.

Let’s take a closer look at exactly why domain names are so special (and what makes them sometimes so expensive).

... In the case of yahoo.com, “yahoo” is the Second Level Domain (SLD) or in layman terms, the part directly in front of the last dot in a domain name.

The Second Level Domain (SLD) can contain only English letters, numbers, and hyphens, except in the case of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) which we will address later in the guide.

In most domain names, the SLD and the TLD are the only two parts. But some countries have split their ccTLDs into multiple parts, giving industry specific organizations their own ccSLDs (Country Code Second Level Domains). For example, in 1996 .uk ceased registrations directly under .uk and users are now required to register a domain name under .co.uk (for general and commercial uses), .ltd.uk (for UK Limited companies), .me.uk (for personal websites), and so on.

Technically, in a name like igoldrush.co.uk, .uk would be the TLD, .co would be the SLD, and igoldrush would be a Third-Level Domain (there is no acronym used for this). But for the sake of easier understanding, the online world has begun generically labeling names like .co.uk as a ccTLD all in itself, instead of splitting the names up. So, don’t get too confused if you see people (or even this site) refer to .co.uk as a ccTLD. Remember, the reason for domain names is to make it easier for people to remember things, so the simpler the language used to define things, the better.

Read on to learn more about sub-domains.

... .com is the Top-Level Domain (TLD) under which the domain name igoldrush.com is registered. You’ll find lots of different top-level domains out there, from the most recognizable (.com) to industry-specific (.mobi), and even country-specific top domains such as United Kingdom (.uk), Germany (.de – derived from Deutschland) and Italy (.it). Every domain name is registered under a TLD of some kind, and the following section describes those TLDs in more detail.

• gTLD – Generic Top-Level Domains are the most common and the most sought after names. These include .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and several others.
• ccTLD – Country Code Top-Level Domains that were created specifically for a single country’s use. That country can put any sort of restrictions on it that they choose. Some countries only allow citizens to register domains under their ccTLD. Other countries ‘rent’ their TLD out for use by the global public, as in the case with .cc, the official ccTLD for the Cocos Islands, .ws, the official ccTLD for Western Samoa, and .tv, the official ccTLD for Tuvalu.
• sTLD – Sponsored Top-Level Domains are actually a subdivision of gTLDs. These names are controlled by specific agencies within an industry. For example, .museum is a sTLD regulated by the Museum Domain Management Association. They reserve the TLD for museum websites.
• uTLD – Unsponsored Top-Level Domains consist of all the gTLDs that aren’t sponsored. That would include .com and .info. This term is very rarely used. Generally, when someone refers to a generic TLD, they are talking about the unsponsored ones.

For more information about specific TLD’s, check out our TLD guide or our list of Domain Registries.

TLDs are also sometimes referred to as domain extensions. So, if someone asked what domain extension you currently have or want to purchase, they are referring to your TLD (and vice versa).

Pronunciation of TLDs is fairly intuitive. The .com TLD is pronounced “dot-com”. Other gTLDs, such as .net or .org are pronounced “dot-net” and “dot-org” respectively. ccTLDs on the other hand, tend to get spelled out. .jp is pronounced “dot-jay-pee” for instance. And then there are some that use both methods, such as .co.uk which is pronounced “dot-co-dot-you-kay”.

Now that we’ve discussed the extension, let’s take a look at the rest of the domain name - the SLD (Second Level Domain)…

... Let’s take a more detailed look at the different parts of a domain name, using this site as an example. This site’s domain name is igoldrush.com - you can check this easily by looking at the URL or location bar of your browser.

The first part (igoldrush) is the Second-Level Domain (SLD) and .com is the Top-Level Domain (TLD), also commonly known as the “domain extension”. Together they make up what is called the domain name.

Now let’s take a closer look at the different types of TLDs.

... Take a detailed look at the different parts of a domain name, using this site as an example. This site’s domain name is igoldrush.com - you can check this easily by looking at the URL or location bar of your browser. There you should see the entire URL, which should look like this: http://www.yahoo.com/ .

The “yahoo.com” portion is the actual domain name. Anything listed after that is used to identify specific content within that site. Much like the organizational system of a filing cabinet, website content is arranged in a hierarchical system. For example, if you wanted to direct someone to a specific document in room full of filing cabinets, you would direct them to a specific filing cabinet, a folder within that cabinet, and finally the desired paper. So your directions could look something like this: English Cabinet 1/2007 Folder/Page 2.

In this analogy, “English” is like the “http://” in a URL. “English” tells the reader that the language used in the ‘directions’ is English. Similarly, the “http://” tells your computer what language or ‘protocol’ to use when communicating with a website. Websites generally use http which is the ‘hypertext transfer protocol’. The : simply separates the protocol from the rest of the address and the // indicates that a connection is being attempted.

“Cabinet 1” is like the domain name igoldrush.com, a specific location amid millions of other websites.

Each step after Cabinet1 tells the reader how to locate the specific page they need. Everything after yahoo.com tells a computer how to find specific data (or content) to display.

Many URL’s have ‘www’ at the beginning of them. For instance, the YahooURL would be http://www.yahoo.com. The ‘www’ is simply another level to the domain name (also known as a subdomain), but from a server standpoint is not actually necessary. For instance, if you went to http://yahoo.com, you would still arrive at the website. ‘www’ stands for World Wide Web and someone at some point thought it was beneficial to include it. For some time there were rumors that www2 indicated that a web site was using the new Internet when in fact it was simply a different subdomain. So long as you set it up correctly on the server, you could have anythingyouwant.yourdomain.com and point that to wherever you want. For example, to go to the English version of wikipedia, you would go to http://en.wikipedia.org/

Let’s take a closer look at exactly why domain names are so special (and what can make them so expensive)…

... Imagine that everyone in the world were known by their telephone number instead of their name. Sounds like a nightmare, right? You’d never be able to remember the numbers of every single person you know.

If names didn’t exist, you’d be forced to invent them, or you’d never be able to identify your closest friends, let alone casual acquaintances you’d met only a couple of times!

Domain names were invented to fill a similar need on the Internet. Computers connected to the Internet are identified by a unique series of numbers called an IP address (for example, 216.195.78.26). IP stands for “Internet Protocol”, and they are not easy to remember (you can prove that by glancing away from this page then trying to recall the IP address in the above example!).

If you type an IP address into the URL bar of your browser you will be connected to the computer it represents. But since IP addresses are so difficult to remember, the Domain Name System (DNS) was invented in 1983 to help people connect to specific computers and content.

It may help to think of an IP address like your physical home address. If someone sends you a letter by postal mail, they must have your physical address. Similarly, an IP address is the physical address of a website online. When someone connects to your website, their computer finds it by looking up the IP address associated with your domain name.

Some websites, particularly larger websites, have dedicated IP addresses. This would be similar to having a single family home: 1 family with 1 home, but in this case, it is 1 website with 1 IP address. Most of the time however, multiple websites share an IP address, which, if thought of in a real world address situation, would be similar to an apartment building with a single address but many families living there.

As well as being hard to remember, IP addresses are generally fixed to the web hosting provider you’re using. If you move your website to a new web hosting provider, they’ll assign a new IP address to your website. While this presents no problems for a computer, the system just isn’t feasible for the average person (unless you have a photographic memory). It would be hard enough to have to remember one IP address, but to remember a constantly changing address would be impossible.

In a nutshell, domain names were launched to be easy to remember aliases for otherwise meaningless strings of numbers (IP Addresses).

Now let’s look at the different parts of a URL and how that differs from a domain name.

... With over 100 million domain names registered to date, including over 80 million names ending in .com, the market for domain names is massive and continues to grow significantly! An entire industry developed around the buying and selling of domain names, with its own rules and regulations, an eclectic cast of characters, and even a few con artists.

If you are trying to run an online business, you’ll need a domain name to build your credibility. You can also use a domain name to make a statement, or simply to give yourself a unique identity on the Internet. You can use domain names to collect a residual income, or you can buy and sell domain names as investments.

This domain guide will:

• Explain what domain names are and why you should buy one.
• Help you to choose the best names and select a good company to register those names with.
• Teach you to avoid the snares and traps of unscrupulous organizations.

Plus, you’ll get a unique view of the domain name industry from the point of view of website owners, domain name sellers, Registrars, Registries and online marketers.

Let’s start at the beginning by taking a look at what a domain name is and why you need one.

... The Domain Name Basics Guide walks you through the beginning steps of understanding, selecting, and registering your domain name. As you read, you’ll gain a better understanding of what a domain is, how they work, and where you can get one for yourself.

If you’re familiar with domain names, skip ahead to our advanced guide. Otherwise, choose from the links below to begin learning more about domain names.