FAQ

This is the general domain FAQ.  Providing information which applies to all types of domains and domain registrations.

What is a domain?

A domain name, a series of textual characters that identifies a specific IP address, uniquely identifies a website on the Internet. Domain names locate businesses, organizations, or other entities on the Internet. Domain names are easy to remember, easy to type alternatives to obscure URL’s that you receive with free website hosting services. Using a domain name allows you to receive more visitors, less bounced emails, and the chance to make a lasting impression on the Web.

It is more like an address (1234 ABC street) for an infinitely expandable house (so you can just keep adding suite and/or apt numbers.

Do I need a domain name to have a website?

It  is not necessary to have a domain name for a website, but it is recommended. Whether you are creating a personal website or a business website, having a domain name allows your site to be more easily accessible and remembered.

What is a domain registration?

A domain registration is a ‘right to use’ for a given domain. Usually registrations cost money, and are sold by the year.

What is a domain registrant?

A organization that has purchased a domain registration.

What is a domain registrar?

A  organization that sells domain registrations. Usually registrars have a contract with a registry, and often are certified by an organization. Some Registrars use resellers, so it may be hard to know who the registrar is. Some registry’s sell direct, so the registrar and the registry may be the same organization.

What is a domain registry?

A  single organization that co-ordinates the domain registrations for a given top level domain (e.g. .com, .ca, or .info).

How is a domain registered?

Generally, the organization that wants to register a domain ( which might be an individual), contacts a registrar or visits a registrar’s website, requests a particular domain name, provides some contact information, provides some other information (which may include a chosen password, and/or DNS servers, and usually payment information like a credit card number).

The Registrar then sends the appropriate information/request to the registry to complete the registration.

What is a WHOIS record?

For most domains, much of the contact information provided during the registration process is put into a public whois record.

(The .com domains are one extreme, with full info for the registrant, plus admin, technical, and billing contacts. At the other extreme is .co.uk which provides registrant name, the name of the registrar and the DNS servers.)

What are the domain contacts?

They are the people you contact if you have questions about the domain or trouble accessing it.

Just as importantly, the admin contact is the authority allowed to make changes to the domain, and the billing contact (if there is one) is where the domain expiration messages go to.

What is a DNS server?

DNS servers are what actually makes a domain name work. By work I mean that they convert a text label to the information like IP addresses that the Internet is based on. (See ‘What is a domain name’.)

This is not to say that they handle e-mail, or serve web pages. Instead they direct web surfers and e-mail messages to the correct computers.

Can you register 63 character domain names?

Yes, we can register domains longer than the old 26 (?) character limit. Domain names can now be up to 63 characters long including the “.com”.

What is my NIC handle?

This is an old-school question .  NIC handles were used by network solutions to make it easier to keep contact information up to date.

Expiration / What is “Redemption Period”?

NOTE: The following text is ONLY intended as a guide. Please renew your domains BEFORE they expire!

Domain registrations last for a limited amount of time measured in years. Registrations can (obviously) be renewed to add extra years to their duration. The notable limit is that no registration is allowed to be valid for more than 10 years into the future (which means that you can register a domain for 10 years, but can not renew it for 10 years unless it has actually expired).

So what happens when a registration expires? The domains “quit working” the day after they expire. Technically, the DNS servers are no longer listed in the .com/net/org zone file. This means that e-mail, web, and any other services with the domain quit working on the Internet. The wholesaler may point the domain at website of their own which reminds visitors that the domain is expired, and displays advertisements. This continues up to about 40 days after the registration has expired. The domain owner can renew the registration at any time up to this point (and the domain will fairly quickly go back to normal service).

At 40 days, the domain gets deleted. At this point the domain goes into a state known as “Redemption Period”. This state provides a “last chance” to get the domain registration back. The registry charges a significant chunk of $$ for getting a domain back from “redemption period”, normally the cost is $80. The Redemption period lasts for 30 days. If the domain is not redeemed, it goes into a “pending delete” state for 7 days, and is released for re-registration at the end of that.

This ICANN document describes some of the rational leading up to the creation of the Redemption Period: http://www.icann.org/en/registrars/redemption-proposal-14feb02.htm

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