Newbie Q?. I was thinking of registering a domain name. In my travels trying to learn as much as I can, one company that registers domain names said to be cautious that when registering a domain name that you own the name and not the hosting company offering cheap registration. Is this a real concern or just a scare tactic? I'd appreciate any links to sites that summarize webhosting, domain registering process, etc. This site is great for Q/A info but maybe a good site that puts it all together would good for me to begin with. Thanks

I'm not sure where there is a resource that puts this all together for you, but you do need to make sure that you own the domain when you register it through your web hosting company.

All you generally need to do is ask - assuming that the web hosting company is providing the domain registration for you - and not simply passing along the costs to you from another Registrar or Reseller. If he is, then you can just register your domain yourself at your Registrar of choice. Just ask your hosting company what to put in your domain record for nameservers, and you are all set.

However you register your domain, you need to make sure that your email address is the admin contact for the domain, and that you can manage the domain information directly through some form of web interface at the domain Registry.

Most web host will sell you a domain as a reseller. This means they are not the Registrar - they use someone like OpenSRS or eNom as their Registrar. This is fine. You simply need to make sure that you own the domain, and you have control over managing the domain.

Why? Because you may want to move your website someday, and if you don't own your domain, if the webhost does, you cannot take the domain name with you when you move.

-t

This is a concern. Although it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem as it used to be.

Less reputable, fly-by-night companies might try to make some cash by holding your domain name, and not releasing it at your request. Sort of like ransom. With all the registrars these days, you shouldn't have to deal with that BS.

You shouldn't generally have any problems if you register your domain name directly with a registrar, where you have direct web access to all the information in the domain name database.

Thanks for the replies. Couple more questions. From what I've been reading here in the forums, Registerfly is the cheapest registrar and 3_95.com has the cheapest hosting. Both of them have had positive posts. Is registerfly reputable? I would own the domain name if registered through them, correct? One more point that is somewhat confusing. Do you get an email or notification that your registered domain name is up for renewal or do you have to keep track and go back to any registrar to renew?

I've never used either company so I cannot comment on their prices or service, however you would normally get an email sent to the admin contact in your domain record when it's time to renew.

In the case of OpenSRS, you would get one at 60 days, another at 30 days, and another at 1 day.

Some registrars will take this one step further and contact you by US Mail or phone if you do not renew your domain between the 60 and 30 day window. I'm not sure how wide spread this is though.

-t

I have used registerfly for over a year and love them. I was previously using godaddy and domainmonger and were VERY unhappy