Domain Name Registration
Domain Name Registration
When you purchase a domain name, you become the legal registrant of it since you actually register it as your when you purchase it. Domain name registration is a service that is now being provided by a large majority of web hosting providers available, although there are still separate entities that offer specialist domain name registration and management separately from hosting. Domain name registration has become increasingly popular as people have realized that they can now setup their own personal website hosting, or if they are running a business they can take advantage of the internet by setting up an online shop which you can sell your goods or services through. Domain name registration is fairly cheap, but the price which you pay for any domains that you purchase depends on the domain registrar of web hosting provider you use as well as the TLD/country code which you choose to register your domain name under. As well as the domain name, web hosting providers and domain name registrars also provide you with access to other services related to your domain name once you have registered it; this means that you don’t necessarily need to have access to a web hosting package in order to use the basic functions of your domain name. The good thing with domain name registration however is that you are able to register any domain of your choice, just as long as it hasn’t already been purchased by someone else.
When you register a domain, the domain registrar or web hosting provider that you have chosen to register your domain name through will normally provide you with access to certain services so that you can use your domain name in a basic way without the need to pay for a web hosting package. All domain name registrars and web hosting providers however need to provide you with a way in which you can create and change the nameservers related to your domain name. Examples of such services that may be provided for free with your domain could include:
- email forwarding – email forwarding is where you create alias email accounts under the domain concerned, and then forward any emails that are sent to these aliases to email accounts that physically exist – the account(s) that emails are forwarded to can be under any domain name
- website forwarding – if you have purchase your new domain name just to forward it to an existing website of yours, then all you need to do is enter the URL that you want visitors to be redirected to into the domain name control panel provided by your domain registrar or web hosting provider
- framed forwarding – framed forwarding allows you to show the contents of an external domain name under the address that you have just registered, meaning that the address that shows in visitors address bar doesn’t change regardless of the pages that they visit.
Because of the features that are included with a majority of basic domain name registrations, you probably won’t need to consider a professional web hosting package if you already have an existing website that is running on a separate domain. On the other hand, your web hosting provider may allow you to host more than one domain on your web hosting package.
Like a web hosting package, domain names have to be managed after they have been registered to ensure that they function correctly at all times. There are several factors that always need to be correct about your domain name otherwise it is likely to cease functioning correctly, which is something that you certainly don’t want. Managing a domain name is easy since it doesn’t require much technical knowledge, but you still need to know what you are doing. Factors which need managing may include:
- whois information – the whois information of a domain is the contact point for the owner of the domain, and this information must be kept accurate and up-to-date since the management of the TLD which you purchase your domain name under has the right to suspend your domain name without any notice
- name servers – you need to ensure that your domain name is using active nameservers since nameservers are where all the records are stored for the whereabouts of all the servers and services related to your domain name – if your nameservers go down then none of the service for your domain name will work (i.e. your website and email)
- DNS records – if you are using your domain name registrar’s or web hosting provider’s nameservers then you should ensure that the DNS records that they contain for your new domain are up to date and that your domain is able to function correctly on its own or with a web hosting package you have purchased.
If you are able to keep all the above factors up to date, then you should find that your newly registered domain is able to run smoothly without any problems. However, if you don’t keep any of the information regularly updated then you may find that your domain doesn’t function properly.
When registering your domains, you should ensure that you choose domain names that your visitors will be able to remember easily. Because of this, it is recommended that you choose domains which are short in length but still contain keywords and phrases which reflect the purpose of your website, and the name of your business if necessary. Domain names can only be alphanumeric, but web hosting providers do allow you to use certain other characters in your domain name choice such as hyphens. You can also register one domain then make sub-domain names out of it at a later date meaning that you are able to get more than one usable domain out of the single domain name that you have registered. By using keywords and phrases related to the content of your website in your domain name, search engines are more likely to rank your website higher in keywords that you have featured more in the overall content on your website. If you achieve a higher search engine ranking because of your domain name, you are bound to receive a large amount of visitors.
When registering a domain name, you are given a choice of TLD for which you can register your domain under; if you don’t already know it, each country has its own domain TLD which domains can be registered under. Although there are international level TLDs such as ‘.com’ and ‘.net’, there are country level TLDs such as ‘.uk’ which you are able to register your domain names under. In some cases, you can only register a domain under a country specific TLD if you are actually a resident of the country concerned. A majority of domain registrars and web hosting providers can provide internal TLD domain registration and domain name registration for certain country specific TLDs, although it is recommended that you only register a domain name under the TLD of the country that you are going to be aiming your website at – or an international TLD in the case that you are after a worldwide audience. If you want to register a domain under a country specific TLD in which you are not a resident, then some web hosting providers do provide such private registration services in these cases.
If you don’t want to use a domain name for your website or don’t need one for now, then you can always purchase a dedicated IP address from your web hosting provider that will allow you to use the IP address on its own to access your website instead of having to use a registered domain name. However, it may not be easy for your websites visitors to access your website if it doesn’t have a domain name attached to it since IP addresses can be hard to remember. Domain name registration provides you with a way in which you can have an easy to remember name which can be given to anybody wishing to visit your website, and they are more likely to remember a domain name than an IP address. A dedicated IP address could be useful though if you are looking into adding an SSL certificate to your website for extra security, although unless you are running a risky website such as an online shop, you won’t require an SSL certificate for your requirements.
In conclusion, domain name registration allows you to register a domain name for your website so that you can get it started. Basic domain name registrations come provided with many features that allow you to make the most of your domain name without the need to purchase a costly web hosting package if you don’t want to host a proper website. If you are able to keep the information about your domain name updated on a regular basis, then you should find that your domain name will run smoothly along with your website if you have purchased a reliable web hosting package. If you are only testing a website then you may not require a domain name and instead can consider a dedicated IP address.
