Domain Name Registration : Review.gif)
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| I
rather spend time here than battling with my Registrar
over domain name problems, so be sure to choose a good
domain name registration company when you select your
domain name! |
There
are a large number of companies that provide domain name registration
services. The prices to register a domain name for a web site
vary widely, from the budget domain name registration outlets
to the premium companies that charge quite a bit more. All
too often, people new to the world of registering domain names
make the mistake of choosing the first domain name registration
company (known as "registrars") that comes along
- not fully realizing the importance of it all. I've learned
a few lessons the hard way in registering domain names and,
thus, will pass along some things to look for and avoid when
registering a domain name.
If you
would like to spare all this reading and just want a recommended
domain name registration comapny to use, I recommend Domain
Bank for all domain name registrations. By using Domain
Bank, you won't ever have to worry about problems with your
domain name in the future.
 Register
a Domain Name at Domain Bank
How
Domain Name Registration Works
First,
though, it's important to understand the role a domain registrar
plays. How it works is that you pay for your own domain name
(such as bigskyfishing.com). The registrar then "holds"
the domain name for you. You then assign what are known as
DNS numbers to the particular domain name (these DNS numbers
are provided by your web host - a web host is where your actual
web site is stored). These DNS numbers point the way to where
your actual web site is located - and are used throughout
the entire Internet to locate your site. If the DNS numbers
are incorrect or something else doesn't work, your site cannot
be found - even by typing in the domain name of your site.
So why
do you need DNS numbers to point the way to your actual web
site? The reason is because the Internet locates web sites
by IP addresses (or the DNS number) and not by actual domain
names. Thus, when you type in, say, www.bigskyfishing.com
into the address bar of a browser, a very quick lookup is
then launched behind the scenes that finds what DNS numbers
that bigksyfishing.com is associated with. This is done because
it is far easier for users to locate web sites by domain names
(bigskyfishing.com) instead of DNS numbers (which is what
the computers use).
 Thus,
any problem with the DNS numbers will lead to a web site that
cannot be found by anyone - including you! As such, registering
a domain name with a company that will not mess things up
is crucial. If they mess up the DNS numbers or something else
related to it, your web site is essentially out of business.
My first
domain names, including bigskyfishing.com, were registered
with the cheapest registrar I could find. For "holding"
domain names, known as "parking" (where you buy
a domain name but do not right away associate a web site to
it), this is ok, since if the domain name registration company
messes things up, you're not really out anything. However,
I learned a painful lesson soon after bigskyfishing.com went
live that sold me on using a quality domain name registration
company.
Soon
after launching bigskyfishing.com, the registrar messed up
the DNS numbers that pointed the way to the web site. My web
site was down for nearly 2 full weeks while I got things straightened
out behind the scenes. And during this process, I learned
a lot more than I really wanted to about the differences between
a good registrar and bad registrars.
Criteria
for Good Domain Name Registration Companies
Phone
Number - It is absolutely essential that you be able to
reach your domain name registration company by telephone.
Problems that arise with domain names are not always easily
explained by email, and in any event using email is much slower.
Hopefully, you'll never need to call your domain name registration
company. But should problems develop, the ability to call
the registrar is of absolute importance. Remember, if something
strange happens to your DNS numbers, your web site won't work!
When
the problems with the DNS numbers for bigskyfishing.com arose,
my registrar only offered email support. They did not have
a phone number anywhere - not even a hidden back door number
in the telephone directory! As such, I was forced to rely
on emails, which also did not solve the problem (read why
below).
Email
- Generally, except during emergencies, you communicate with
your registrar via email. However, before running out and
signing up with a company, send them an email asking some
sort of generic question - even if you already know the answer.
The reason for this is to gauge how quickly they reply. If
they are very slow to reply - or do not reply at all - find
another registrar.
While
it seems strange that a registrar would not reply to emails,
it happened to me when I tried to fix my DNS problems for
bigskyfishing.com. I sent numerous emails (totaling 20 in
all) to every single email address listed by my registrar
(which was Namesecure.com at that time). I sent emails to
the tech support address, to the sales address and to the
general information address in hopes that at least one would
answer me. But I never got an answer. And two weeks later,
I discovered why. Every single one of the emails I sent to
Namesecure was actually returned, even though my email was
working just fine! Not a single email was ever even read by
them because their email bin was too full!
So, unable
to reach my registrar to fix this problem, I delved into the
world of domain name registration companies. I ended up fixing
this problem by going with a new domain name company called
Domain
Bank. They then arranged for the transfer of my domain
name from Namesecure to Domain Bank. Once the domain name
had been fully transferred, I input the necessary DNS numbers
and the web site was up and running in a matter of hours.
Security
- There are many horror stories on the Internet about peoples
domain names being either accidentally or deliberately sold
by their registrars. Also, due to lack of security, more than
a few domain names have been fraudulently transferred. Thus,
when choosing a registrar, make doubly sure that security
is very tight so that your domain name does not accidentally
walk away as well as make sure that your registration company
is "on the level".
Recommended
Registrars
After
all this, I recommend Domain
Bank for your domain name registration. Ever since I transferred
bigskyfishing.com from Namesecure to Domain Bank, I've never
had any problems with them at all. Their security is "ultra
tight", making it virtually impossible for a less than
moral party to steal your domain name. Best of all, Domain
Bank only does one thing - register your domain names. They
don't host web sites or do anything else on the Internet.
They do one thing - which is serve as the registrar of your
domain name - and do it extremely well. They have a 1-800
number that, everytime I called, has been answered in less
than 30 seconds. And their email support is incredible - all
messages have been answered in less than 30 minutes.
Domain
Bank is more expensive than the budget registrars that
are lurking on the Internet - as it costs $35 per year to
register a domain name with them. However, considering that
your business is entirely dependant on the functionality of
your registrar, it is money well spent.
So if
you don't want to ever worry about domain name registration
problems again - so you can focus on other things - save time
and aggraravation by registering a domain name with Domain
Bank. In the long run, you'll be glad you did.
Register
a Domain Name at Domain Bank
Click
here to learn how to create a steady income from popular author
Robert Allen (author or "Nothing Down")
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