Frequently Asked Questions - Domain Registration

Domain Name Registration What is a domain name? Why do I need to register a domain name? How will I be able to tell if my desired domain name is already taken? What are the valid characters for a domain name and how long can it be? Do I need to register .com, .net and .org? How do I change my domain name? Domain Name Registration What is a domain name? A domain name is essentially a signpost on the Internet. Every website you've ever been to, and every e-mail you've ever composed, has used a domain name in its address. People register domain names in order to 'stake a claim' to a particular name - whether for business or personal reasons. Once a domain name is registered to a person or company, it is that person's to use exclusively as long as they continue to pay the yearly renewal fee. Our domain name is domaindirect.com, and we also own domaindirect.net and domaindirect.org Why do I need to register a domain name? Most Internet providers offer you a directory on their own domain. Most of the time, they look like this: http://www.domain.com/~yourname. In addition to having to explain the little squiggle mark (~ which is called a tilde) to your less net savvy customers, this can prove cumbersome on business cards and letterhead, and it does not reflect the unique nature of your business or homepage. Registering a domain name for your business or organization is essential to your marketing efforts. A domain name gives your business a unique identity on the World Wide Web. How will I be able to tell if my desired domain name is already taken? When you begin registering a domain name, we will search the domain name database (which is known as "WHOIS") to see if your requested domain name is available. If the domain request comes up with "no match" you will then be able to register that domain name. What are the valid characters for a domain name and how long can it be? The only valid characters for a domain name are letters, numbers and a hyphen "-". Other special characters like the underscore "_" or an exclamation mark "!" are NOT permitted. Example: your name.com (not correct, No spaces allowed). Example: your-name.com (is correct). A domain name can be up to 67 characters long - including the 4 characters used to identify the Top Level Domain (.net, .com, or .org). Do not type the www. before your domain name when registering. Do I need to register .com, .net and .org? The expense of registering and supporting a domain name is minor compared to the expense of marketing your domain name and your business. The last thing you want is for someone else (usually your competitors) to benefit from your efforts to establish your identity. You will see competitors registering names close to yours, trying to benefit from typos your visitors may make. For example, someone registered internik.net to try and benefit from typos by visitors to internic.net. DNLWeb is a good example, too. In order to protect dnlweb.com, we have also registered: dnlwebservices.net, dnlwebservicesweb.com, dnlwebservicesweb.net, and several others. How do I change my domain name? Once a domain name is registered, it is unchangeable. Instead, you can register the different domain name you want and stop using the one you don't.