Basic Domain Questions

From Novara Support Knowledgebase

Basic Questions

1. What is a domain name?

2. After I've chosen Register.ie, what's involved in getting my domain name?

3. Once I have registered my domain what are my options?

4. Do I own my domain name?

5. Do I have first right of refusal when it comes to renewing my domain

6. What is the role of Register.ie?

7. Registry? Registrar? Registrant? What do these words mean?

8. Can I get any technical support from Register.ie concerning my domain?

9. I can't see my domain in the Whois even though your site processed my order, have you registered it?

10. What's the difference between .com, .net, .org domain names?

11. I made a typo in entering my order and want to cancel my domain name.

12. What length is the maximum allowed for a domain name?

13. My domain is not working anymore.

14. Can you explain the purpose of the different domain contacts on the Whois?

15. I want to register a domain name that has expired according to the Whois output. Why can't I register this name?

16. I want to register a domain name that has expired according to the Whois output. Why can't I register this name?

1. What is a domain name?

A domain name acts rather like a telephone number, if people would like to make contact with your site they type in your domain name. Continuing the telephone analogy if you wish to make calls to a number you need a phone service provider which is where hosting comes into it. A hosting company such as Host.ie provides the connectivity to allow your website to be instantly available to anyone who types in your domain name.

Every website you've ever been to, and every email you've ever composed, has used a domain name in its address. People register domain names in order to 'stake a claim' to a particular name -- whether for business or personal reasons. Once a domain name is registered to a person or company, it is that person's to use exclusively as long as they continue to pay the yearly renewal fee.

2. After I've chosen Register.ie, what's involved in getting my domain name?

Register.ie have built a domain registration process that you initiate from their web site. Once you've applied for the name, the Register.ie accepts payment, processes the order, and then the domain name is registered to you. This process can generally be completed within one business day.

3. Once I have registered my domain what are my options?

Put simply you can

a. leave it parked with us.

b. Point it to a website where your hosting company take responsibility for setting up zones. To do this go to Manage A Domain and insert the nameservers of your hosting company.

c. Point it to a website where your hosting company does not take responsibility for setting up zones. This is often the case with free webspace providers. Here you need to set up Web/URL forwarding which we can do for you, please see the relevant item on the Services menu.

4. Do I own my domain name?

Domain names are not truly owned -- they're leased out on a first-come, first-served basis, and remain with you until either a) the lessee does not renew the name, or b) a business with a trademark of the same name demonstrates a greater claim to the name than the lessee can demonstrate. The question is better phrased as 'who can control the domain name'. With Register.ie, the answer is the domain's Administrative Contact. This is usually specified by the registrant during the registration process.

5. Do I have first right of refusal when it comes to renewing my domain?

Yes, you have the sole rignt to renew the domain until its renewal period. The only way another person can take your domain is if the renewal date has past and you have not renewed the domain.

6. What is the role of Register.ie?

Register.ie is a domain registrar that acts as an Agent for the Irish Domain Registry in the case of .ie domains and on behalf of Opensrs in the case of .com domains.

7. Registry? Registrar? Registrant? What do these words mean?

• Registrar: A "Registrar" (or "Domain Name Registrar") is an organization like Register.ie or Network Solutions that registers domain names as an agent for the relevant registry.

• Registry: The "Registry" is the backend that registrar's have shared access to such as the Irish Domain Registry. Each registrar writes new names to a central registry database, from which the authoritative root (essentially, a table of all domain names on the Internet) is built.

• Registrant: A "Registrant" is the person or company who purchases a domain name. For example, Joe Bloggs (registrant) registers the name jessicasmith.com through Register.ie (registrar) who in turn writes the name to the central database (Registry).

8. Can I get any technical support from Register.ie?

Yes, you can contact technical support via our text chat facility or by creating a case ID on our support page.

9. I can't see my domain in the Whois even though your site processed my order, have you registered it?

Once your order has been processed by our site it is manually assessed by our staff. Assuming that all is in order we then register the domain. The central Internic registry is informed immediately however because they only update their WHOIS data twice every 24 hrs, your domain will not show up as registered until the next update is processed. In the meantime it is not possible for anyone else to register your domain. The situation as regards .ie domains is different, please see our .ie FAQ.

10. What's the difference between .com, .net, .org domain names?

Originally, the three letter extensions after the dot (or Top Level Domain/TLD) were meant to denote whether the domain name was being used for business (.com) charity/non-profit (.org) or for a technology based company (.net). However, with the explosion of the Internet (and specifically, the world wide web) as a new business medium, the lines were blurred, and companies and individuals alike started cross-registering domains (ie. Me.com, me.net, me.org) just to protect their interests. Now, .com, .net, and .org names (the generic Top Level Domains) can be used for any purpose.

11. I made a typo in entering my order and want to cancel my domain name?

We are sorry but that's not possible. Domains, once registered, cannot be refunded. So please check your domain name carefully to avoid any further problems. In case you made a typo you will have to start again and register the correct spelling.

12. What length is the maximum allowed for a domain name?

Domains can be a maximum length of 67 characters. A minimum of 3 (not including the TLD) is required. The domain name can not start with a hyphen "-" or have a .(dot) in it.

13.My domain is not working anymore.

The first possibility is that you have not renewed your domain name in time. Just check the domain name in question by checking the Whois.

14.

Can you explain the purpose of the different domain contacts on the Whois? When you do a whois lookup on a domain registered with us, there are 4 sections: Registrant, Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, and Billing Contact.

Registrant (a.k.a. Organization or owner): This is the Company name and mailing address of the "owner" of the domain .Usually this is the end user of the domain. Typically this should show the same information as the Administrative Contact.

Administrative Contact: The Administrative Contact (commonly called the admin contact) is essentially the controller of a domain name. This is the name and Email address of the person who manages the domain and can decide whether they will allow the domain to be transferred or not as authorisation requests for transfers are sent to this email address. The admin contact should be the end user (registrant) or the end user's technical person.

Billing Contact: The name and Email address of the person who pays the bills. This is probably the end user's accounts payable person. This address is used for all email reminder renewal notices.

Technical Contact: This is usually the name and Email address of the reseller of the domain, Register.ie in our case.

Registrar: This refers to the domain Registrar. All domains registered through OpenSRS will show Tucows, Inc. as the Registrar. OpenSRS operates as a business unit of Tucows, Inc

15. I want to register a domain name that has expired according to the Whois output. Why can't I register this name?

When the Whois output states that a domain name has expired, this does not mean that the registration for that name has expired, it means that the registrant should have paid for renewal by that date. If they have not, they will be afforded 45 days to renew the domain name. If the domain is not renewed after 45 days, then it becomes available for re-registration by another party. Many registrars hold the domain for far longer than this in the hope that the client will renew it with them.