| I Can't Remember Where I Purchased My Domain | | | | are by verifying some registration details. If you can't |
| Name! | | | | remember access passwords to log in to domain |
| It wasn't until my third client had called asking how to | | | | management consoles, they'll often accept faxed |
| regain control of her domain name that I realized that | | | | copies of your photo ID or a some standard |
| it was a common problem for small business | | | | identification proof and reset your username and |
| webmasters to forget where they had registered | | | | password to give you access again. |
| their domains. WHOIS my registrar? Why didn't I get | | | | Forgetting to notify your registrar is not the only |
| an email about renewal? Why did my site stop | | | | way to lose control of your domain. There are |
| working today? | | | | hundreds of stories of unethical hosting companies, |
| People rarely realize how important it is to keep their | | | | webmasters and even spouses (since divorced) |
| domain registrar notified of changes to their email | | | | holding domain names in the name of a small business |
| address and and other contact information. The | | | | because the domain owner was not web savvy and |
| registrar will send renewal notifications to the email | | | | didn't understand how important that domain name |
| address last on file. For most domain owners, the | | | | signup day was. Keep your registrar name, your log in |
| only time they think about contacting a registrar is | | | | username, password and domain management URL |
| the day they reserve their domain name. If they | | | | permanently recorded somewhere with your most |
| move to a new city and get a new internet service | | | | important business papers. Don't allow anyone to |
| provider, it doesn't occur to them that the old email | | | | register your domain name for you if they don't put |
| address will change and that meeans that the | | | | YOUR name, email address and phone numbers in |
| registrar can no longer contact them through the | | | | "Administrative Contact" position during registration. |
| previous address, or phone or fax as each of them | | | | Some business owners confuse their web host with |
| change and we rarely notify the controller of our | | | | their internet service provider and further confuse |
| domain of those changes. | | | | both with the domain registrar. Since many ISP's |
| Sometimes the first indication a business owner will | | | | offer web space, or hosting, and also provide domain |
| have that there is a problem is the day their web | | | | registration through their initial signup package, it's not |
| site stops working. If they failed to notify their | | | | easy to separate the three distinctly different |
| domain registrar of changed email address, they may | | | | entities. You needn't host with your internet service |
| never have received their domain renewal notice. | | | | provider and they're (almost) never your domain |
| Since many registrars honor a 30 day "redemption | | | | registrar. Keep them separate and completely apart in |
| period" allowing expired domains to be redeemed, it | | | | your mind. |
| may be possible to save the registration within 30 | | | | |
| days following expiration by contacting registrars | | | | 1. Internet service provider. (AT&T, Verizon, |
| during 30 day domain redemption periods. | | | | SBC Global.) |
| The following URL leads to the Internet Corporation | | | | 2. Web hosting provider. (Pair Networks, Verio web |
| for Assigned Names and Numbers (AKA ICANN) | | | | hosts.) |
| discussing the grace period and redemption period | | | | 3. Domain Registrar. (GoDaddy, Yahoo Domains.) |
| rules it enforces. | | | | When a client recently moved her hosting, she asked |
| So how does a domain owner find out who their | | | | me how to make that happen and had no idea how |
| registrar is if they've forgotten? Simple WHOIS | | | | important the details were. We first established a |
| inquiries will tell you everything the registrar knows | | | | new hosting account, then determined new domain |
| about your domain. Public WHOIS records show the | | | | name servers, uploaded her web files. we made sure |
| owner's contact email, street address, phone and fax | | | | that account was live with the new web host, then |
| numbers. But that's not all, it also shows the current | | | | contacted the domain REGISTRAR to change to the |
| registrar, DNS servers, the creation and expiration | | | | new domain servers in a domain management |
| dates of the domain name. Here is how to check | | | | console. |
| your WHOIS data. Type the following into your | | | | This same client had nearly told her old web host to |
| browser address bar: | | | | close her account before we found out that the |
| Replace with your domain name and click go. If you | | | | registrar had her old, previous email address as |
| don't, you'll see the following contact information: | | | | "Administrative contact" email for her domain name. |
| Administrative Contact: | | | | It took two days to straighten that out and make |
| DNS Admin (NIC-14290820) Google Inc. | | | | corrections. Her site would have been down for two |
| 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway | | | | days if she had shut down her old hosting account as |
| Mountain View CA 94043 | | | | she had planned before speaking with me. She had a |
| US | | | | new hosting account set up, but failed to realize the |
| +1.6506234000 | | | | importance of the registrar change to DNS server |
| Fax- +1.6506188571 | | | | records in the moving scenario. |
| You'll also see the domain servers, which usually | | | | We then notified the previous host of the change, |
| includes the host name like so: | | | | only AFTER the domain was resolving to the new |
| Domain servers in listed order: | | | | host so that when the site was turned off at the old |
| This normally shows only two servers (Google is | | | | host, it was already working at the new host. |
| bigger than you.) | | | | Don't be caught by surprise! You can protect your |
| So now that you are armed with WHOIS data, you | | | | domain name by registering it for the maximum time |
| can see: | | | | of ten years and extend it every year to that final, |
| | | | tenth year, rather than waiting for it to near |
| 1. Who the registrar is. (Hence WHOIS) | | | | expiration. This will prevent you losing control of the |
| 2. Who the Domain Administrative, technical contacts | | | | name, but shouldn't mean you can forget your |
| are. | | | | registrar login details or renewal date. How likely is it |
| 3. Owner names, addresses, emails, phone and fax | | | | that you will move, or at least change internet |
| numbers. | | | | service providers within that ten years? Be sure to |
| 4. Domain creation, expiration and "last updated" | | | | keep your registrar apprised of new email, street |
| dates. | | | | address, phone numbers at all times! Especially that all |
| 5. Domain servers and backup servers. | | | | important Administrative contact email. "WHOIS" your |
| What do you do if your domain name shows expired | | | | domain registrar? Do you have domain name |
| and it has stopped working? Do that WHOIS search | | | | management console login details? Have you |
| and contact the listed registrar at their customer | | | | extended your registration to ten years? Your |
| support number. They'll ask you to prove who you | | | | business is worth careful domain name management. |