Domain Name Management<\/p><\/div>\n

I.  Domain Name Registration and Domain Hosting | Do It Yourself Or Hire It Done?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    1.  Do it yourself vs. outsourcing pros and cons<\/strong><\/p>\n

         O<\/strong>ne way or another, your domain name will have to be managed<\/strong>. This means you can either do it yourself or hire it done. If you are confident you are up to the task and have the required time needed, then we suggest you make use of this guide and our helpful online tutorial videos.<\/p>\n

         I<\/strong>f you would prefer to have your domain professionally managed we are happy to provide that service for you. If you purchase your domain through us all management tasks are included<\/strong> in your yearly domain fee. For most domains our yearly fee is $19.95 per year and this includes the domain name purchase and<\/strong> all associated management tasks.<\/p>\n

         T<\/strong>he pro of doing it yourself is of course you save<\/strong> a few dollars per year. The cons would be that it takes up a piece of your time and there is always the potential of making a mistake<\/strong>. The pros of having it done are that you transfer<\/strong> the labor and liability to an expert. The con of having it done is that it will cost<\/strong> you a few dollars per year.<\/p>\n

II.  Domain Name Registration and Domain Hosting<\/strong><\/p>\n

    1.  Account details<\/strong><\/p>\n

         Y<\/strong>our account details will consist of the URL<\/strong> for login access to manage your domain, your user ID<\/strong> and user password<\/strong>. Make sure that you keep a hard copy of these details on hand so you can easily find and login to your domain management account. I also recommend that you store your EPP key and associated email address along with this account information just to be on the safe side.<\/p>\n

    2.  Auto renew<\/strong><\/p>\n

         I<\/strong> always recommend that you set your domain name to auto renew. This can prevent the disaster<\/strong> of having it unexpectedly expire<\/strong>. An expired domain can become \u201cup for grabs\u201d and somebody else may buy it which could cause you a major headache!<\/p>\n

    3.  Contact information<\/strong><\/p>\n

         A<\/strong>lways keep all of your domain name contact information up to date. This will help to insure that you can be readily contacted<\/strong> for any reason. You never know why or when it will be necessary to contact you so do not overlook this important item. If for any reason your contact details change be sure to update them immediately.<\/p>\n

    4.  Epp key<\/strong><\/p>\n

         Y<\/strong>our EPP key is a precautionary item that helps to prevent your domain name from being transferred by thieves or other malicious people. Make sure you keep it written down and put up for safe keeping when you need it. If someone asks for it do not<\/strong> give it out unless you are transferring the domain to them!<\/p>\n

    5.  Locking<\/strong><\/p>\n

         I<\/strong> recommend that you always turn on \u201clocking\u201d for your domain name. This is another precautionary measure that can help to prevent malicious<\/strong> tampering. Whenever you must make changes simply unlock the domain and then after the changes have been made be sure to turn the locking back on.<\/p>\n

    6.  Name servers<\/strong><\/p>\n

         T<\/strong>he name servers or DNS should be set up when you initially purchase the domain and may also need to be modified anytime you change name servers. If you do not know the name of your name servers, you can contact your hosting<\/strong> company and they will provide you with the information. In most cases you will have at least two<\/strong> different name servers. Remember that anytime you change name server details it can take a while for the updates to propagate across the internet.<\/p>\n

    7.  Privacy<\/strong><\/p>\n

         D<\/strong>omain name privacy means that your personal<\/strong> contact details are not available to anybody who would look up your domain name. This does not mean the details are blank but instead somebody else\u2019s information is displayed in place of your information.<\/p>\n

         T<\/strong>his person then becomes the liaison<\/strong> between you and the domain name. This can be of benefit if you wish to remain anonymous<\/strong> as the domain owner for any reason. Typically there is a small yearly fee for this feature. Our charge for privacy is $9.95 per year.<\/p>\n

    8.  Registering name servers<\/strong><\/p>\n

         I<\/strong>f you have private name servers or use name servers that are not integral with your hosting provider then you will need to register them. Simply submit the host name<\/strong> and IP<\/strong> addresses and after a short waiting period they will be registered and ready for use.<\/p>\n

III.  Domain Name Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n

    1.  Helpful links for domain names<\/strong><\/p>\n

         W<\/strong>e have provided a lot of helpful resources<\/strong> when it comes to all things concerning domain names. You are more than welcome to make use of some or all of these resources at any time.<\/p>\n