What is a Domain Name?
It’s the “address” of your Web site. For example WoodStreet.com.
A more important question is… Who controls it???
You might be surprised to know how many businesses and organizations do not know the answer to this question. You may also be surprised to know that many don’t realize its importance… until they lose their domain name, and then they become very aware of its importance.
So, how do you find out who controls your etc… and how to safeguard it for the future? Here are some simple steps you can take to make sure your domain name is secure…
Find out who controls it:
Network Solutions has a free service called a WHOIS lookup. Simply go to www.netsol.com and click on the WHOIS link.
Once on that page you can enter your domain name, e.g. woodst.com.
You should see results that look something like this (I’ve removed some technical info):
Domain name: WOODST.COM
Registrant/Billing Contact:
Wood Street
Jamie Stup (jbailey@woodst.com)
+1.3016685006
Administrative Contact:
Wood Street
Jamie Stup (jstup@woodst.com)
+1.3016685006
Technical Contact:
Wood Street
Jamie Stup (jstup@woodst.com)
+1.3016685006
Pay special attention to who’s listed in the Registrant/Billing section. For example, for our domain name, we are listed as the contact for all three. For any names that we manage for our clients it’s listed this way as well. We also set them to “auto-renew”, something you should ask your domain name caretaker to do for you.
You may not always want to be the caretaker for your domain name. We have had some clients who are listed as the contact for their domain name. Unfortunately, when they receive notification to renew their domain, they either don’t notice the email or they don’t know what it means and disregard it. This can be a scary situation since the consequence is losing your domain name.
We suggest that you set up your domain name with a solid organization you trust that will set it to “auto-renew”. Don’t lose your domain name.
If you have any questions on this or any other web related issues, please feel free to contact us at any time, or… Contact us today and let us help you with your web and marketing services.