DDSi - Look Before You Web - Chapter 20 - Getting a domain name

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Chapter 20. Getting a domain name - terminating.
Look Before
You Web

Chapter 20. Getting a domain name - terminating.
(note: Set the left and right printer margins to 0.25" for printing)

Once you find a name that is available, you basically have three choices to get it registered. You can register it directly with Network Solutions. If you are going to do this, make sure you get the technical support info (termination address, contact name, etc.) and send it in with your registration. If you do not do this correctly, Network Solutions (formally "Internic", the control company for Internet domain names) will help, but charge you an extra $10. You can register the name with the hosting service that you choose. In most cases, they will do all the paperwork for free (you still pay the $72 registration fee). Some may still want to charge an administration fee, but this is becoming more the exception rather than the rule. You might ask why would they do it for free? Several reasons. 1. They will only register it for free if you agree to host your website with them. 2. They avoid all of the technical support issues if they register the name themselves. 3. If they register more than 50 names at a time (not a big deal for many hosts), they get 50% off the registration fee and pocket the difference. Your third option is to register it with one of the name lookup sites as mentioned above. The fees and services in this case could be anything.

Terminating your name is not as mysterious as it sounds. Simply speaking, terminating a domain name simply means telling Network Solutions where to have the DNS servers (Dynamic Name Server) route requests for your site to. For example. The DNS servers have been told that when someone requests www.discoverydatasystems.com, they should be directed to 207.69.207.198. At that address, the default page (index.html) is sent to the requestor.

One word of warning. Regardless of who does your domain name registration, you must make one point very clear, and get it in writing if possible. YOU MUST HAVE OWNERSHIP of the domain name. Some web hosts have a nasty trick when they register your domain name for you. They register the domain name in their own company name. If you ever decide that you want to move your web page to some other host, they hold the name. Your are stuck! Once your name is registered, you can go to Network Solutions (www.networksolutions.net), use the WHOIS Lookup and see the registered name on your domain name. The "Registrant:" is the one that controls the use of the name. If the registrant name is not you or your company, something is wrong!