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A domain name is the label used to identify your web site; for example: www.yourcompany.com. It usually describes some aspect of your site and is easfor your visitors/customers to remember
In order for visitors to access your site on the Internet, you must select a unique domain name and register it with an accredited domain name registrar. Inline Media can register your domain name for you.
Because your domain name will represent your business, you should make sure that the name you choose is memorable and descriptive.
Your domain name can be up to 67 characters long and can include any combination of letters, numbers and dashes (although it cannot start or end with a dash). A domain name must end with a domain extension, such as .com .co.uk .net .org or .co.za.
The best idea is to us your country's local domain name. For example if you live in the UK your local domain extension is .co.uk, if you lived in South Africa it would be .co.za. However if you do business on an international level you could think about securing an internation domain extension ie .com .net .biz .info etc.
You MUST think of this: say I am living in the UK and am looking to buy a bike and I go to google and type in 'bike for sale' in the search bar. If a website shows up and it has a .com extension then I don't know where in the world the website is based. However if I see a .co.uk domain name I KNOW the site is based in the UK and therefore delivery will be quicker and I will encur less shipping charges.
Inline Media can register domains with .com .net .org .info .biz .eu and .co.uk & co.za extensions.
You can quickly check to see if a domain name is available using the our domain name checker by clicking here. Type in the domain name you are interested in and then click Search. The database will be searched to see if that name is currently available. If the domain name is already registered, you may want to try variations of the name.
Remember, the domain extension is part of the domain name: mycompany.com is not the same as mycompany.net. You can have as many domain names as you like. You can have each domain name point to a different site, or you can have multiple domain names point to the same web site (but not to different pages within the same web site). Many companies register several domain names and have them all point to the same central web site. This is known as a "domain alias."
Registering multiple domain names for the same site not only brings the largest draw to your site, but it also can prevent competitors from poaching your potential customers. When picking multiple domain names -- or aliases -- for the same site, consider variations of your name such as common misspellings, as well as both singular and plural versions of the name.
Once you have decided on a domain name and have checked that it is available, you will need to register it. You can click here to register your domain name through us.
You have a number of different options. If you think you may want to get your site up and running in the near future, you can go ahead and register your name and sign up for a hosting plan now. We will create an "Under Construction" page that all your site's visitors will see until you are ready to publish your site.
If you think it may be a while before you are ready to publish your site, or if you want to reserve your name "just in case," you can merely register the domain name through us. This is sometimes referred to as "parking" your domain. If you decide you want to go ahead and publish a web site later, you can quickly upgrade your plan.
Once you have decided on a domain name and have checked that it is available, you can register your new domain name by clicking here. The domain name propagation process (the time it takes for all the servers in the world to recognise this new domain name) normally requires 24 to 48 hours.
Any of the following domain names are £25 for 2 years: .com .net .org .info .biz and .co.uk & co.za. The new .eu domain name is £50 for 2 years
Inline Media registers your domain name immediately after receiving your request. The propagation process normally requires 24 to 48 hours.
The transfer process depends on the registrar with whom you registered your domain name. The whole process usually takes 7 days but can take up to 3 weeks depending on the efficiency of the original registrar. Usually this is the process:
- you must login to your current registrar's website and 'unlock' the domain. This means that you allow the domain name to be moved from one registrar to another.
- once you have done that you let us know.
- we then initiate a transfer request
- your registrar will approve the process providing the domain name is unlocked.
- the domain will move from your original registrar to ours.
- the transfer is complete and the domain name is usable again.
You can use our domain checking service to check by clicking here. Type in your domain name and then click Search. The resulting page will tell you that the domain is taken. Then click on 'WHOIS' and it will tell you in the text that loads up who the registrar is. Hopefully it will then ring bells with whom you bought it!
Typically the transfer should be completed within 7 days however it has been known to take up to 3 week. You may want to check with your registrar to see exactly how long it should take to complete the transfer.
There may be a brief delay between the time your domain name registration or transfer is completed and the time when your domain is active and can be accessed by everyone over the Internet. This is due to the propagation process.
When visitors type your domain name into their Web browsers, their request is referred to a nameserver that indicates the physical location (the IP address) of your domain on the Internet. When your site location changes to a new IP address, or when you deploy a new site with a new domain name, nameservers around the world must be notified of the change. This process of notification is referred to as propagation.
Propagation typically takes 24 to 48 hours. During this time, if you are transferring your domain, some nameservers will still refer to your site's old location while nameservers that have already been notified of the change will refer to the new location. As a result, visitors accessing your site may be directed to either the old or new location, depending upon which nameserver they connect to.
If some visitors are still being directed to your old site location after 48 hours have elapsed, you should contact your previous Internet Presence Provider and request that they update their DNS and delete your domain from their servers. Once this has been done, and this change has been completely propagated, the transfer to your new location will be complete.
If your site is new, your site may not be recognized by all nameservers until the propagation period has completed.
During the propagation period, you will need to use your Temporary URL to view your site. Inline Media will provide this information.
While waiting for the new nameserver information to propagate throughout the Internet, we recommend maintaining your site at your current host to avoid down time for your site. During this time, you can use the temporary Web address (URL) that we gave you to mirror your web site on Inline Media's servers until the transfer is complete.
If your site is new, you can use your temporary URL to view your web site while you wait for the propagation period to complete.
If you have recently set up your account, this probably means that your domain name has not been propagated to all of the possible domain nameservers.
Test your domain by typing your temporary web address in a web browser. If you can access your site using the temporary web address (URL), wait a day or two for the propagation period to complete. If after 48 hours the domain name still does not resolve correctly, contact us!
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