Domain name

The domain name is recorded for one or two years in a "registry", a official index. It is possible to record the domain at the registrar for a longer time in the registrar account only. There are several registries managed by different organizations depending the TLD, the top-level domain.

  1. Definitions. A short glossary to explain essential terms .
  2. DNS. Mapping domains to hosting.
  3. Redirection of URL.
  4. Email redirection.
  5. Contacts.
  6. The choice of the domain name. It has an effect on the future traffic on the site.
  7. Changing registrar.
  8. Some registrars. A short list of registrars.
  9. Stings. The hidden face of the Web.
  10. Statistics. How many domains for each extension?
  11. References. ICANN, TLD, rules.


Terminology

Domain

A domain name is a reference on Internet, associated to an IP address which indicates a computer, a local area network. The domain name is allotted for one year renewable and associated at an physical address by the DNS.
The name consists of a word or digits or a combination of both, and of an gTLD (generic Top Level Domain) extension or ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain) separated by a dot. One can still make precede the name by a sub-domain which may correspond to a sub-directory on the server. The maximum size of the name is of 63 characters (plus extension and sub-domains).

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)

ICANN is the Institute supervising the domain names, the extensions (TLD, Signal-Level domain) and attribution to the companies that manage registries for each extension.

Registry

Organization charged to manage domain names for a type like "com, "net", "us", etc. It is designated by the ICANN and must maintain a database of the names, for the extension (the TLD) of which they are manager.

Registrar

Retailer of domain names. Intermediary enters the register and the purchaser of a domain name.

gTLD and ccTLD

Top-Level Domain. What one calls "extension" in three letters or more: com, net, etc.
ccTLD means Code Country Top-Level Domain and indicates the extensions of two letters specific to the countries (example: us, eu). Get the full list at bottom of the page.

UDRP

Charter established by the ICANN which governs the activity of registrars.

URL

Uniform Resource Location. The full address of a webpage. It is comprised of the domain name, the sub-domain (usually www) and the protocol (usually http) and separators.
Examples:
Registered domain: scriptol.com
Host name: www.scriptol.com
URL: http://www.scriptol.com

More definitions in the Hosting and Domain Name Glossary.

DNS - Domain Name Server

To change the DNS, and to make them managed by your host (who may be the registrar):
- Your host must provide you a primary DNS and a secondary DNS. (ex: dns1.server.com and dns2.server.com).
- Go to the administering panel at the registrar and set these two DNS.
- Go to the administering panel at the host and set your domain name.
It is necessary to wait at least 24 hours so that the redirection becomes available.

Some salesmen propose "parking": your domain name is reserved, but not associated with your host or IP addresses, the DNS is not managed. Some registrars (not listed) make charge to change of DNS. It is equivalent to parking.

Redirection of URL on a site

For redirecting a domain name, the DNS must remain in management by the registrar:
- Go to the administering panel at the registrar and set the URL of your site (example: http://www.scriptol.com/).
- Wait at least 24 hours.

If the domain is redirected by the use of frames, it will appear in the domain of URL of the navigator, and not the target. It will not be taken into account by search engines.
It is possible if one has a small space of hosting to redirect the domain on another by a rule of the .htaccess file (under Unix) specifying a redirection 301 or 302. In this case the source domain name will be ignored, only the target will appear and will be taken into account by search engines.

Email redirection

You can associate names to your domain name (ex: me@scriptol.com).
Emails will be directed on your (electronic) mail box. The default redirection or catch-all redirect any emails for a domain whatever the name preceding @ is.
In general, it is that which manages the DNS which proposes the email service. Sometimes the registrar allows email redirection only with one hosting is associated to the domain.

Contacts

Four contacts are defined for a domain and appear in the whois when the information is not hidden.

The owner contact (owner-c)

It gives the name, address and e-mail from the owner of the domain name. He has full authority over the domain and may allow the transfer of ownership.

The administrative contact (admin-c)

He has the ability to change the registrar (but not ownership) and associated information to the domain, including DNS and other contacts. He is contacted by email when changing the registrar is requested.

The technical contact (c-tech)

He can change DNS, therefore link the domain to a hosting. He may be the registrar himself. He manages the DNS problems.

The billing contact (bill-c)

He receives invoices and can not change anything about the domain.

The choice of the domain name

A domain name must be easy to retain, and thus, either to be short, or to correspond to a well-known sentence.
But the way in which is formed a domain name and its extension, the TLD, has an importance on results of search engines.

If your hosting is shared, possibly some extensions are not supported. Com, net and org do not make problem ever. Other extensions like info, biz, eu, etc, can not be supported for a given host or cause a overcost.

If you can't found an available domain name for you business, you can use the extension as a part of the name. Examples are De.icio.us (delicious), Script.aculo.us (scriptaculous) or the use of the tk extension that is a graphical interface. But ms is also used for products dedicated to Windows.

Some domain names have value and may be investments.

Changing registrar

Transfering a domain from a registrar to another is done by request at the new registrar.

A transfer is allowed according to certain times inside the time of one or two years of the registration of the name. Some registrars refuse the transfer of a domain to another registrar, but it is not legitimate according to rules of ICANN.
One must start by checking the status in the WHOIS base. It can be: ACTIVE or REGISTRAR-LOCK. One can also meet CUSTOMER TRANSFER PROHIBITED who is equivalent to LOCK.
OK does not mean ACTIVE. A status not "active" makes the transfer impossible, but you can change the status in the administering panel.
You will be contacted by both registrars if the address e-mail of the contacts is yours and you must answer within 5 days.

Things to check before a transfer:
- The domain created it more than 60 days and did not renew there in the last 46 days.
- The domain expiries in more than 30 days for some registrars, but there is no time in this direction for the ICANN. The transfer can even be done beyond the expiration date.
- Email addresses of the administrative contact is valid (check on WHOIS).
- The domain is not blocked, statut "active" and not "lock". This does not relate to EU.

See rules of transfers by the ICANN.
See also methods according to the type of domain, in references below.

The rules for changing owner are similar but you have to verify the owner email instead.

Some registrars

Verify that the offer includes the free management of the DNS (assignment of the domain to a hosting). The combined offers domain + hosting are often advantageous while the redirection of a domain on a free hosting is not worth anything for SEO.

Statistics

Number of domains registered for main extensions (March 2008):

COM 73 millions
DE 12 millions
NET 11 millions
ORG 6,5 millions
EU 2,8 millions

Stings

Take care to:

Parking

A very low cost to "retain" a domain name, but it should be checked that the management of the DNS is included, otherwise the name cannot be associated to a hosting, and it will be necessary to pay a supplement to obtain it. Note that some registrars refuse the transfer of the domain name towards another registrar.

Obscure order

At first, the cost seem to be advantageous, but after having reached the multiple stages of the order in successive forms, the final amount is several times superior because of the joint supplies, that could be useless for you.

Renewal at risk

A domain name is renewed at the end of one year or two years.
A recording of more than two years does not offer any guarantee, you will not be recorded in registry for more than one year or two and if the registrar disappears, you lose the money.
You must exclusively renew the recording near the original registrar and no one other. Some has been contacted by "Domain registry of America" in UK which requires them to renew a domain bought elsewhere.

Impossible transfer

There is a quantity of tricks which are employed to prevent the buyer from leaving the house, and to transfer their domain to another, less expensive, registrar.

Cyber squatting

Parking of the name of mark or a company in the hope they will pay an expensive amount to recover it.

References

Articles and tools

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