About Domain Names
What information do I need to provide?
At a minimum,
you will need your contact details including a valid
email address. For registering a com.au domain, you will
also need to provide additional information including
your organization name and registration details(such
as
ABN or ACN or RBN).
What characters
can I use when registering a
domain name?
You can use the characters a-z and 0-9 (in any combination). You can also use
hyphens (-), although your domain name cannot start or end with a hyphen. You
cannot use any other
characters, nor should you use punctuation.
Can I register an all-numeric domain
name?
Yes.
What's the minimum number of characters
in a
domain name?
Most domain name extensions require a minimum of 2 characters for a domain name,
although a few countries have set higher minimums for names registered under
their extension.
What information will I receive when ordering
a
domain name?
Some registrars will mail you a paper record of your domain name registration.
Others send you an email confirmation. Others simply display a confirmation screen
in your web browser upon completing an order. It is always
a good idea to print out any information supplied by your registrar during
the registration process so that you will have access to it
later.
What extra services can I expect when I
register
a domain name?
Some registrars offer "name only" services, where they do nothing
more than register the domain name for you. Others offer a wide variety of other
services (but they may charge a higher registration price to reflect these additional
services). The most common such services include:
Which Registrar do you
recommend?
Spec-Net recommends and uses either Internet Names Australia or Internet
Names Worldwide. Any other companies should be treated with caution. If you are
unsure please contact us on 1300 656 126.
Somebody else has already registered the
domain
name I wanted. What can I do?
You can offer to buy the current name off its owner, or look for an alternative
domain name. If your company holds a trademark on the terms in the domain name,
it may be worth seeking legal advise about the possibility of recovering your
domain name.
I registered a domain name, but I made
a mistake while registering and registered the wrong name/changed my mind about
registering it after paying. Can I cancel my registration?
Under the current Domain Name Service Agreement that all accredited Registrars
operate under, all sales are final. If you want to register a different domain
name,
you'll have to pay again.
I'm thinking of registering the ".org" of
a
well-known .com domain name. Is that a good idea?
While this tactic may
get you some "free" traffic, it's also a great recipe for a lawsuit.
If the .com domain is trademarked, it's better to steer clear of trouble. If
the .com domain
is "generic" (that is, it is a dictionary word which is not trademarked)
then
you're safer. Ultimately, it's your decision.
I'm thinking of registering a misspelling
of a popular site's domain name (example: Yahhoo.com, AOLL.com). Is that a good
idea?
This is commonly known as "typosquatting" i.e. buying a domain name
with the expectation of siphoning traffic off of the legitimate site by snaring
people who can't spell well. There have been a number of court cases as a result
of this kind of behavior - most were decided in favor of the site owner. Ultimately,
it's your decision.
I want to buy a domain, but I don't want
to move my existing site from its current location at [long URL]. What can I
do?
Make sure that the registrar you buy the domain name through offers "website
forwarding" - i.e. a service that will automatically redirect visitors from
your new domain name to your existing URL.
I want to "point" more than one
domain name at my site, so that it can be reached via several different domain
names. Is this
possible?
Certainly, though there may be an additional fee to pay to your hosting company.
Hosting companies typically charge a one-off fee to set up DNS services for an
additional domain name, though some hosting companies include multiple domain
packages free of charge.
What are the "hidden costs" of
domain name
ownership?
It's important to remember that a domain name is only "yours" for as
long as you keep paying the renewal fee. If you keep a domain name for 5 years,
you'll have to pay 5 separate fees (although some registrars will let you purchase
names for several years up front, sometimes at a substantial
discount).
What happens if someone else has applied
for the
same domain name as me, and their application is pending?
Although the information returned by a Whois search is only updated once or twice
a day,
domain names that have been purchased are essentially "locked" instantly
so that they cannot accidentally be sold to two separate parties. In other words,
even if somebody beat you to a domain name by just 1 second, you're out of luck
- and in a day or so you'll be able to see their ownership details through the
Whois
tool.
Changing Technical or Billing
contacts
You may wish to change the Technical or
Billing contacts associated with a domain name. The Technical contact is usually
the person who will receive copies of email notifications issued to document
changes to your domain name record, such as a change of DNS servers or a change
to the contact details (this varies slightly from Registrar to Registrar). The
Billing contact is the person or entity to which the domain name renewal invoice
will go.
Most Registrars will let you change this information fairly readily through their
domain name control panel - after all, Technical and Billing contacts do not
exert control over a domain name. Control rests with the Admin contact, which
is the subject of the next
section...
Changing Admin
contact
The Admin contact is the person/entity
entrusted with the ability to make significant changes to a domain name such
as transferring ownership of that domain name to a different party. As such,
many Registrars implement additional security steps when processing Admin contact
change requests. These may range from requiring a response to a confirmation
email to requiring a fax on company header or an official change instruction
notarized by a lawyer.
Renewing a domain name registration
When you purchase a domain name, what
you're actually purchasing is a series of rights associated with a name, for
a finite and defined period of time (typically one or two years). You'll be
able to use the domain name for a web site, simply keep it in reserve for future
use, and transfer it or control over it to a 3rd party (i.e. sell or lease
the domain name).
Once the subscription
to that domain name runs out, you either have to pay a renewal fee or relinquish
control over the domain name (at which point ANYONE is free to re-register
it!)
Most registrars will send you an EMAIL invoice shortly before it is time to
pay the renewal fee. Some kindly jog your memory by sending you a whole series
of reminders leading up to the final warning that you have to pay or lose the
domain name.
Some registrars will let you pay even after the official renewal date has come
and gone, during an additional "grace period". Since this varies
from Registrar to Registrar and is not an official practice, you're much better
off paying to renew your domain name well before it expires.
Many registrars deal with their customers
entirely electronically, to the point that you'll never receive any paper documentation
from them. You
must therefore ensure that the email addresses associated with your domain
name are reachable AT ALL TIMES since that's generally the only way you'll
receive a renewal invoice. It's no good complaining to your Registrar if you
lose a domain name because you did not receive an invoice (well, you can try
but you generally won't get anywhere) since their Terms of Service usually
include a provision requiring functional email contacts.
Still
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