Archive for domain
Domain Name Expansion Expected to Create Major Problems
Posted by: | CommentsThe number of top-level domains is expected to become much more populated in the coming years. The landscape for this explosion will begin in the coming months so battles for branding and digital turf are expected to get ugly. This is a result of the decisions made by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to create new domain name extensions for a more brand-able online appeal. For instance a DuPont top-level name could be .DuPont.
Current Preparations
A local Internet lawyer is already preparing to fight for one of his clients for .Philly. New York City officials have clearly indicated that .NYC is a civic asset and has already taken the necessary steps to preserve the domain name. Additionally, large companies are scooping up their domain name extensions such as .Microsoft, .Google and .Ford.
Application Process
Unfortunately, the rules enforced by ICANN will not stop at new entrants. Beginning January 2012, the application process will become official. However, ICANN is only expecting several hundred domain registrants to pay the $185,000 application fee. Unfortunately, qualified applicants will be able to create domain names based on any word.
Supporter Reaction
To supporters of the new extensions, this has been a long time coming. They are claiming that customers are looking for a way to capture their preferences. Therefore, businesses should not be restricted by the usual .com’s, .net’s and .org’s. Instead, they should be able to try .Music or .Food.
Recognition of Upcoming Challenges
Unfortunately, these same supporters recognize that the new rules will inevitably cause turf-battles and they are unsure how they will pan out. During the early years of the Internet, similar legal turf-wars were over the control of generic domain names with high value. The new laws will indefinitely change that aspect of domain names by depreciating the value of generic .com domain names as a result of the endless possibilities.
Critic’s Reaction
Critics of the new Internet law view this as creating duplication (from the past) and redundancy rather than implementing a value-added system. The only positive impact it will have on business is for those in the domain name registry industry.
It appears as if this change implemented by ICANN is going to cause more problems than its worth. At the same time this could improve company branding and increase online business. It is difficult to predict the outcome once the dust settles.
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The Difference Between Private and Business Domain Registrations
Posted by: | CommentsRegistering a domain is the first step in building and managing a web site, and it plays a pivotal role in the site’s success. Some mistakes made during registration cannot be fixed, so it is important to make sure you get everything right the first time. For example, if you change your mind about the name of your web site after you’ve already built the site on the domain, there is little you can do other than domain forwarding, unless you’d like to hurt the search engine ranking of the new domain name.
There are many factors to consider during he registration process, leaving many people confused about the simplest options. Business and private domain registration are two prominent features offered by registrars during the checkout process. The following information can help you understand the difference between private domain registration and business domain registration.
What is Private Registration?
Private registration is a service offered by registrars, which keeps all of the information that you provide to the registrar private. If you do not purchase private registration, all of the information you give the registrar (except for payment details) will be available in a publicly viewable free database known as the WHOis database. Private registration protects you from annoying and aggressive marketers that can find your phone number, address and email address within the WHOis database.
Private registration also protects you from lawyers, competitors and predators that could use your information for nefarious purposes. Considering the low cost of private registration, (anywhere from $8-$10, depending on the registrar and whether or not an applicable coupon code can be found) it is easy to see why many people choose the option when registering their domain.
What is Business Registration?
In a sense, business registration is the complete opposite of private registration. Whereas private registration is meant to conceal your registration details, business registration is meant to to promote them. When you opt for business registration during checkout with your domain registrar, you’ll be placing your domain and the DNS records (registration information) into a business WHOis database that is picked up by various business directories online.
Business registration is another way to promote your business and build immediate exposure by putting yourself in an openly viewable database that can be viewed by your clients and competitors alike. Having your registration information available in the business database automatically instills trust in many people that want to know more about your company and your online business. Ideally, you should provide all business information when opting for business registration. For example, you would want your support line phone number to be the default phone number in the database, and you would want the address of your office to be the registration address.
How to Transfer a Domain to Another Hosting Account
Posted by: | CommentsMaking the transition to a new web hosting provider can be somewhat complicated if you’ve never done it before and you don’t educate yourself on the process before hand. There are a lot of aspects to consider when transferring your files and domains to a new web host, most of which are not familiar to a novice webmaster. Transferring your domain to a new web server is actually a simple process that will only take a few minutes of your time. The following information will help you understand domain transfers and how they’re performed.
What is a Domain Transfer?
A domain transfer is the process of transferring the storage and demonstration of a domain from one web hosting provider to another. In essence, you’re actually transferring the domain from one web server to another, which may require several additional actions such as transferring files and assigning the appropriate name servers. This process is not to be confused with domain forwarding, which simply redirects traffic form one domain to another. When you purchase a new web hosting plan you will need to transfer all of the files from your old web server to the new one. Doing this can cause problems such as data loss and site down time if done improperly, so it is important that you consider the following information before beginning the domain transferring process.
How is a Domain Transfer Done?
The first step in performing a domain transfer is backing up all of the data for your web site. There is usually a backup utility within the control panel of your hosting account. Make sure you have a fully functional backup on external media that is separate from your hard drive and your web hosting server before proceeding with the domain transfer process. After the information is secured you can transfer it in one of two ways – you can upload the backup directly to the server or you can transfer the files from server to server via FTP using the “transfer Domains” option within your hosting control panel. Most people find both techniques to be just as simple, however the first one is usually a bit faster.
It is important to note that, although you cannot transfer a domain that is less than 60 days old to another domain registrar, it is possible to transfer the domain to a new hosting company. Many people get confused when discovering this restriction and decide not to change hosting providers because of it. After you’ve purchase a domain you are free to host it with whatever hosting provider you’d like.
How Long Does it Usually Take?
The entire domain transfer process can be completed and active within your hosting control panel within a single day, however it can take longer if your site contains a lot of files. The larger your site is, the longer it will take to create the backup and upload the files via FTP afterward. Small to medium size web sites can usually be transferred in their entirety within about 1-3 hours in most cases, If you encounter difficulty when transferring domains your web hosting provider should be able to provide adequate assistance.
Knowing the Value of Your Domain
Posted by: | CommentsThe domain name industry is expanding rapidly, because there are so many people exploiting this industry it can seem as though every name you request has been taken. While this can seem like a negative in terms of finding the right name, it can actually work to the advantage of those that already own desirable domain names. Sought after domain names are in high demand and often times wear high price tags ranging from the thousand to the millions. If you are one of those people who is in possession of a good domain name then you will want to know the value of your product. The only question is: How do I access information relating to the value of my domain?
What is the Production Level of Your Domain?
Answering this question can be difficult. The fact is, there is no sure fire way to know the true value of your domain. However, there are certain aspects that will make your domain more valuable to consumers looking to purchase it. One factor in value is the production and popularity that a given site has and maintains. In terms of production, a website that yields several thousand dollars a month will obviously be more valuable than a page the only yields a few dozen dollars every month. Despite this, domain prices may still vary and the income level of a site is not the only factor to think about when placing a price tag on your domain. There are even some cases in which a domain that brings in no money will be more valuable than one that brings in lots of money. It is cases like these that owning a domain with a good name will come in handy.
What Gives a Domain It’s Value?
Although the ultimate value of a domain will be up to the person who actually purchases it, there are many ways to increase the value of your domain in almost anyone’s eyes. As has already been addressed, the value of your domain owes greatly to it’s popularity and exposure. It is because of this that search engine optimization contributes greatly to the value of your particular domain name. Buyers will always be more willing to purchase domains that have higher rankings with search engines due to the higher potential for return on their investment. Alternatively, domains with abstract names can even sell for thousands of dollars based solely on their SEO attributes. One other factor in determining the value of a domain is the amount of incoming links a domain has. The more incoming links to a site, the easier it is to gauge the popularity of a website and thus it’s ultimate value.
Basic Economics
While a value can be placed on a domain by the seller, it will ultimately come down to the highest bidder. Even after considering all of the factors listed above, it may be discovered that a domain with what seems to be little to no value can sell for one that is estimated to be worth thousands, all based on the name of the domain. Even though you may feel that your domain is worth little to nothing, it is important to remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And where you view a domain as worthless, others will see a gold mine and be willing to pay good money to obtain said domain.
Easy Business Management with Multiple Domain Hosting
Posted by: | CommentsBuilding and managing many web sites at one point in time can be a hassle, especially without the right management tools and resources. Web hosting should provide complete solutions for webmasters, including web servers, site building tools, and even payment processing capabilities. However, many people do not know how to choose the right web hosting plan for them; one that is suitable for their business model and can accommodate all of their site needs. This is especially true for business owners that are managing dozens of web site simultaneously. The following information may help you discover whether or not multiple domain hosting is right for you online business.
Simplified Site Management
One of the most appealing aspects of multiple domain hosting is the simplified site management that results form the centralized interface through which all domains can be accessed. Most multiple domain hosting plans include a comprehensive user-friendly control panel that makes it easy to check site emails, assign new domains to the account, and handle a variety of administrative task that would need to be handled under separate hosting accounts in most cases. Multiple domain hosting is not actually a specific hosting type per se. Instead it is simply a feature of different kinds of web hosting types. For example, it is possible to find shared hosting plans that allow for unlimited domain hosting, as it is also possible to find such plans that have a set limit on the amount of domains that can be hosted.
Saves Money
Multiple domain hosting also saves a great deal of money on hosting expenses for the average webmaster. This is especially true for people that are using more than three hosting accounts to host multiple domains. If you want to be successful with your online business then you will need the ability to diversify your internet outreach through several web sites, without the overbearing cost and responsibility of additional web hosting accounts. With the amount of money saved on hosting plans each year a business could easily make several prime investments. In fact, it is safe to say that multiple domain hosting pas for itself when you consider the amount of money that is saved by each webmaster that abandons several hosting accounts at once.
Widely Available
Most new web hosting plans actually allow for unlimited domains, as the industry is becoming more competitive, more companies are offering extensive features that will help solicit new hosting customers. Thus, it is very easy to find multiple domain web hosting in a plethora of forms, from dedicated hosting to shared and everything in between. Since multiple domain web hosting is so accessible you can be sure that you will find a reasonable multiple domain hosting plan that accommodates all of your needs as a webmaster. As a business owner you need the ability to manage all of your businesses under one roof. The more administrative work you have to do, the less time you’ll have to focus on more important facets of business growth like investments and important decisions.
The Benefits of Buying an Existing Domain Name
Posted by: | CommentsDomain names come and go, get activated and deactivated, renewed and expired. These processes occur thousands of times per day throughout the year. Domain names are a vital aspect of running an ecommerce business and are one of the first thoughts while beginning to develop a website.
Many new website creators spend a great deal of time and effort thinking of a domain name only to find that it’s unavailable. In many cases the name has been purchased and there isn’t even a website posted, which can be quite frustrating. One alternative to thinking of a domain name is to purchase and existing name.
There is some advantage to searching for and purchasing a deactivated or expired domain name. These benefits include:
- Previous traffic
- Search engine optimization
- Short, targeted keyword domain name
The first advantage is that traffic may have previously flowed to that website. The amount of actual traffic is difficult to estimate, but many customers that may not know the domain name didn’t get renewed, may still visit the site. Any traffic that once flowed to the site is an excellent start as it beats zero initial visitors at a newly-created domain name.
Another benefit is from the potential search engine optimization offered by the domain name. It’s likely the previous owner put some type of effort to optimize the domain name for search engines. Since it takes a decent amount of time for search engines to index specific websites, the previous owner has already been through this so the domain name may still retain a good page rank.
The final benefit is that it’s now difficult to find short, targeted keyword domain names as they’re all registered. By purchasing an existing domain name, you have a decent chance of scooping up a short name that may otherwise be unavailable. Many owners purchase short domain names as an investment and not a long-term project. Therefore, they would be willing to sell the name.
Purchasing an existing domain name is a great method for acquiring a name that still has an immense amount of traffic flowing to it, is search engine optimized and already indexed with potentially good page rank and is short, containing targeted keyword domain names. If you obtain a quality domain name, a lot of the work may have previously been completing leaving extra time for website development.