If you already know all about domains and just need the details, checkout the Domain QuickGuide; this page is for those who have some idea what domain names are, but would like to know more.
If you look in your browser's location bar as you surf around the internet, you will see the domain names of the sites that you visit. These are the '.com' names popularized in magazines and on television commercials. Actually there are many valid Top Level Domains, (TLD's) that you might encounter on the internet. Here's a few you might see:
In addition to these six, there are some recently added TLD's, .info, .pro, and .biz, as well as a geographic naming system used by individual nations. For instance, Canada has .ca, and the Republic of Tuvalu in the South Pacific has .tv ... Why do you want to know this? The fact is that domain names and the DNS system in general can be confusing because large coorporations, various world governments, and the internet citizenry at large are all working ( or sometimes fighting ) with each other to make the system work. Actually, it does work pretty well in spite of all these concerns. By arming yourself with information, you can be better prepared to know what you are buying and how you can put it to use.
Usually when people first start using the internet, they are most interested in what their email address will be. Here at NetHeaven, it is normal to have new members select whatever name they want to use, and then we assign them an email address and some web space under our NetHeaven.com domain. A hypothetical new member named Jane with the account named 'beerkeg' would use beerkeg@netheaven.com for email, and post web pages into a home directory that could be viewed using http://www.netheaven.com/~beerkeg
This naming scheme based on 'borrowed' names is well suited to those who are just using the internet for basic email and web browsing, but it doesn't look professional to use these names for business. When emailing business contacts, or printing up stationary, Jane should use email and web addresses that promote her own business instead of her ISP. If Jane starts thinking about having more of a presence on the internet, she should be seriously thinking about organizing it all under her own domain name. Once she has registered her own name, it is possible to use any email address she chooses under the new name, and the mail will all still come to Jane. NetHeaven will handle that for her by configuring email mappings, instructions about how the email should be sorted out. Jane from account 'beerkeg' might register the domain 'AdirondackBeerKegs.com'; allowing addresses like Jane@adirondackbeerkegs.com, or sales@adirondackbeerkegs.com, or even anythingelse@adirondackbeerkegs.com to work.
Anything to the left of the domain name is within your 'name space', so it is technically up to you to decide how to use it. Once you have a domain registered and hosted with NetHeaven, we will configure your www subdomain and point it to your webspace on our server so that you can use http://www.beerkeg.com style URL's to refer to your website. This is actually the reason why most people first get interested in domains; I just started in talking about email so that you would realize that there is much more to DNS than just web page addresses. Some day in the future, people might use cell.beerkeg.com to call Jane on the phone, or even gps.beerkeg.com to get directions to the brewery.
Yes and no. Most of the proper nouns and any trademark worth mentioning has probably been registered long ago. During the mid-ninties internet boom, there was a big push to register every word and cliché under the sun. If you have something in mind, you can use a 'Whois' query tool to check if your desired name is available. There are probably hundreds of services on the internet that will 'help' you find a domain name, with the idea that when you find one you like you will use their service to register the name. Be wise and shop around before you actually register. Here are some online services I have found helpful:
The registrar is an authority that can assign you a name. In the past, the only registrar was Network Solutions, but then a few years ago this role was opened up to competition. These days, there are hundreds of registrars all over the world. Here are some that deserve honorable mention:
You have to remember that these registrars are in the business of selling you these domain names that they are charging you for. It isn't a good idea to register names that you aren't planning on putting to use. If you would find it annoying to see some other company doing business under a name similar to yours, you can try to cover every possible similar name, but in the end the only one who will profit from this will be the registrar. The '.com' TLD is the best known, and it will continue to be the premier TLD for some time. There are companies trying to convince people that they need to register under the new TLD's like '.biz' and '.tv', but don't be fooled. I already mentioned that .tv really has nothing to do with television. It means the Republic of Tuvalu; what would Tuvalu have to do with your website?
Think carefully about the party that will be the registrant. This individual or organization will have all rights to the name, so if this is for you, register it in your own name. If this is for a business, you might think about registering the name to the business in case you ever need to transer it all to another party. Often there are fees involved for modifying the registrant after the initial registration, and you may even have to get the name appraised or pay sales tax.
You will also need to fill in names and contact information for the billing contact, the administrative contact, and the technical contact for your domain. In most simple cases, billing and administrative contacts will be you. The technical contact will always be the same for domains hosted here; use the information from our QuickGuide.
The administrative contact should be the person responsible for making decisions about the domain. This will be the contact used to authorize any future modifications of the domain record. The billing contact will be the person in charge of handling payments to the registrar. If you are asked to provide an email address for contact, use one that will continue to work even if there are problems with your new domain. Your NetHeaven address would be an excellent choice.
Whatever registrar you eventually decide to use, you will need to provide the addresses of our NetHeaven DNS servers. NetHeaven provides primary and secondary DNS, as well as a few backups just in case. With any luck, it will be obvious where to fill these names and addresses in to the online form on your registrar's home page. When you are ready, these addresses are listed on our QuickGuide.
You now have been introduced to the issues that surround domain names and how to register and utilize them. Read over this page, and some of the links provided, email support, and ask questions until you are satisfied that you have all the answers you need. When you are ready, turn to the Domain QuickGuide, which will walk you through the process of actually registering your name in six easy steps.