Registering Domain Names
Can anyone register a domain?
Yes, it does not matter what country you live in or even if you have
a web site.
How much does it cost?
The cost of registering a domain name is only $15 per year.
You can select a registration period ranging from 1 to 10 years. There
are no other fees, no NIC fees, no setup fees, no domain parking fees.
I thought I could only register domains through
NSI?
After recent changes the domain name registration system is
now open to other companies besides NSI.
How long does the registration take?
It is instant. Your registration will be completed on-line.
As soon as you submit and receive the "successful" message it is ready.
A confirmation e-mail is also sent right away.
What is the difference between a domain registered
through your service and one registered through Network Solutions?
There is absolutely no difference, other than our excellent
service and much enhanced tools to assist you.
Are you ICANN accredited?
We are a reseller of TUCOWS, Inc. through their OpenSRS program.
You will find TUCOWS among the ICANN accredited registrars.
Do I own the domain I register?
Absolutely. It is yours to sell, keep, do whatever you like.
What is bulk registration?
Bulk
registration enables you to register multiple domain names at once,
saving you time on the process. When you type all the domain names you
want in the bulk look-up, it will tell you which domain names are not
available and will let you continue with the available names.
When I register my domain, don't I need to
provide Name Servers?
When you register, you can either use your own name servers,
or ours (NS.YOURSERVER.NET/NS2.YOURSERVER.NET). Whenever you'd like
to change your Name Servers, you can simply login to Domain Manager,
and follow the "Name Servers" link.
Can I transfer domains to you from other registrars?
Yes, using our Transfer module you can transfer domains from
other registrars to us and renew them at our rates. Please refer to
the Transfer section of this page for details.
WHOIS search shows a domain with an expired
date. Can I register it?
If the domain belongs to you, you can renew it with your existing
registrar, otherwise a domain cannot be registered again until it is
dropped out of root database. If a WHOIS search shows ownership data,
even if it has an expired date, domain cannot be registered.
I keep getting "Unable to Establish Socket"
error.
You may encounter this error message if our gateway to the main
registry or the main registry itself is experiencing problems. In both
cases the problem is totally out of our control. If we are warned in
advance for the downtime, we announce it in our web page, however sometimes
it happens without any warnings. Usually service is restored in a short
period of time. We apologize for any inconveniences and thank you for
your patience.
I keep getting "Page cannot be displayed" error.
I keep getting "Page cannot be displayed" error.
If you are experiencing this error while trying switch to a
secure site page (such as creating new profile, retrieving old profile,
login to Domain Manager etc), then problem might be related to your
browser's security settings. If you are an Internet Explorer user, click
Tools/Internet Options/Advanced, scroll all the way down and make sure
SSL 2.0 and/or SSL 3.0 are checked.
Transferring Domain Names
What do you mean by transferring a domain
name?
Transferring means changing the registrars. If you have domains
that were registered with other registrars such as Network Solutions,
you do not have to renew your domain with them. You can transfer the
domain to us and renew at our low rates. Transfer needs to be done before
the domain name expires. Please see the restirictions below.
Transferring a domain name does not mean transfer of ownership or
changing hosting company.
What is required to do a transfer? What are
the restrictions?
In order to transfer a domain successfully certain criterias
should be met:
- A domain that was registered or renewed less than 60 days ago cannot
be transferred. Just wait 60 days and transfer afterwards.
- Domains that are on HOLD cannot be transferred. Registrars can place
a domain on hold, such as domains that are in dispute between two parties.
Until the ownership issue is solved and domain is taken out of hold
it cannot be transferred.
- If the existing registrar has the domain name locked for either non-payment
or at the user's request domain cannot be transferred. If you have purchased
but not paid for a domain name, existing registrar will not permit it
to be transferred.
- Expired domains cannot be transferred. Original registrar has the
right to refuse the transfer of an expired and unpaid domain. Just to
be on the safe side, we require that you should allow a minimum of 4
days prior to expiration date to do the transfer.
- If you don't have access to existing Admin Contact e-mail of the domain,
transfer cannot be done. The Admin Contact's approval via e-mail is
required. If your domain's Admin Contact e-mail is not valid anymore,
first you should update it with your existing registrar, and then apply
for transfer.
How do I know my domain meets the requirements?
Do a WHOIS
search for the domain in question. It will show you the date it was
registered (created), the date it will expire, whether it is on HOLD
or not, and the Admin Contact e-mail. (If the domain was renewed after
its original creation date, you should calculate the last renewal date
based on the creation date)
Are there any transfer fees? What is my cost?
Unless you try to transfer a domain name that does not meet
the above given requirements there are no additional costs. Only amount
you will be charged is $15.00 one year registration fee. This registration
will add one year to the existing expiration date of the domain no matter
how early you do the transfer.
What are the steps in transfer process?
1- You submit a transfer request from our transfer page. A confirmation
e-mail will be sent to the new Admin Contact e-mail.
2- An e-mail for each domain will be sent from transfers@opensrs.org
to the current Admin Contact e-mail address. Follow the instructions
in this e-mail and submit a phone number to indicate your approval.
3- Then the request will be sent to "loosing" registrar for their approval.
This registrar has to approve or reject normally within 5 days. They
usually don't wait that long. Your domain will be renewed for one year
and the new expiration date will be one year from the last expiration
date. The "loosing" registrar may or may not send a confirmation e-mail,
indicating whether they approved or rejected the transfer (Network Solutions
does send e-mails). If you don't receive an e-mail, using WHOIS you
can check the new expiration date of the domain name.
Does it affect the functioning of my web page?
No, transfer process is seemless to your web page. Functionality
of your web page will not be affected.
Managing the Domain Record
How do I edit my domain information?
All you need to do is login to the Domain Manager. This is a
web-based interface that allows for real-time domain updates.
Can I change my domain name and registration
period?
No. Once your registration is completed your domain name and
registration period is sent to the root servers. After that, the domain
name itself and the registration period cannot be changed.
What is Domain Manager?
It is an enhanced web tool that enables you to login and access
to your registered domain information for maintenance, update, and editing
purposes. Unlike Network Solutions, with our Domain Manager, incase of
a change in any of the registration info, you don't have to update every
single domain's data one by one. With one login, and one click, you
will be able to update all your domains at once. You can divide your
domains into groups as well, by using different profiles for each group.
When you are registering a new domain, if you choose the "use existing
profile" option this domain will be in the same group as the profile
used.
Domain Manager becomes available for use immediately after you receive
the confirmation e-mail of your first domain registered with us.
Does it cost anything to make changes to my
domain?
No, we charge nothing! It is all in your control, and you have
an excellent tool, Domain Manager, to maintain, edit, and update your
domain information. We will continue to enhance the features of this
program.
How long does it take for my information to
be updated?
After the first registration, as soon as you receive the confirmation
via email your data will be in our database. Then if you need you can
login to the Domain Manager to update your data. Once you modify your
domain information it is instantly updated on our server. It may take
up to 24 hours for root servers of InterNIC to reflect the updates.
I want to forward my domain name to my existing
web page!
Using Domain Manager, change your name servers to the name servers
of your existing web page's hosting company. Then, ask the hosting company
to add your domain name to their name servers.
How do I change my name servers?
Login to Domain Manager program using your domain name, username,
and password. Click on the "Name Servers" link at the top. In the next
screen type the new name servers in place of existing primary and secondary
name servers. You should type only the names, not the IP numbers. Make
sure you do not have spaces at the beginning or end of the name. Click
"Save Configuration" and system will automatically find the IP numbers
and update your record.
I have accidentally deleted my name servers.
How do I add them back?
In the same page, use the Server Hostname field to add the name
servers again. First type your primary name server and click the button,
then type the secondary name server and click the button.
How can my hosting company update my domain
information?
You will need to set-up your hosting company as a sub-user in
the Domain Manager. You will be able to assign them a password and specify
which information they are allowed to modify.
I have forgotten my password (and/or username),
how can I get it?
Email support@registerwizards.com
with your request including your domain name or order ID. Your Username
and Password will be sent to the Admin Contact e-mail address. We cannot
see your username and password. We can only make the system forward
it to do Admin Contact. Username and password cannot be forwarded to
a different e-mail addres. That is an important reason to have a valid
Admin Contact e-mail address entered during the registration.
How do I transfer ownership of my domain?
You can login to Domain Manager and change all contact information
to the new owner. Then provide the new owner with the username and password,
and tell him to change it. Please be advised, you cannot do that if
you are keeping multiple domains under one profile. First you should
separate that particular domain's profile using "Manage profile" and
then "Change Profile of Domain" options under Domain Manager (for details
please refer to the section below). It is also advised that in selling
domain names you protect yourself with written documentation to avoid
possible legal disputes. Please also read Domain
Name Registration Agreement and Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy
My domains are not under one profile. How can
I put them together?
Login to Domain Manager with this domain name and click on "Manage
Profile" and then "Change Profile of Domain". In the next screen type
the username and password of the profile to which you are trying to
move this domain. Mark the "Move to existing profile" box and type one
of the domain names of the profile to which you are trying to move this
domain. Click "Change Profile".
All my domains are under one profile. How can
I put a domain under a separate profile?
Login to Domain Manager with this domain name and click on "Manage
Profile" and then "Change Profile of Domain". In the next screen type
a new username and password for the new profile you are creating. Click
"Change Profile".
Can you make the necessary changes for me?
For security purposes our support personnel does not have access
to your username and passwords, therefore cannot do the changes for
you. Domain Manager program is designed to help you with all your update
needs. If you have any questions, our support personnel can always assist
you.
General Information
What is a domain name?
The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names
always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots, like "yourname.com",
"house.net", "tree.org".
What is the difference between .com, .net,
and .org domain names?
The domain suffixes basically differentiate between the various
types of organizations on the Internet.
Generally, the following rules apply:
.com -- businesses and commercial enterprises
.net -- network-related organizations and enterprises
.org -- charitable or non-profit organizations
But it is not an absolute rule. Anybody can register any of these names.
The domain suffix type itself has no bearing on accessibility on the
Internet from a technical standpoint, but over time the .com domain
type has become the most popular and recognizable on the Internet.
What is the maximum length of a domain name?
A valid domain name can have min. 2 max. 63 characters (excluding
the extension). You can use any combination of 26 letters in English
alphabet, numbers from 0 to 9 and "-" (dash) character. No profanity
or use of any name protected by trademark.
Once I have a domain name secured, how long
may I use it?
If there are no trademark disputes, your secured domain name
will be yours for as long as you maintain the yearly registration fees.
What if my desired name is the same as a trademarked
name?
Generally, if you've registered the name in good faith, it's
not a name belonging to an internationally known company, and you can
show that you have a legitimate reason to use that name then you are
likely to be able to keep that name. That may not be the case if it
can be shown that you purchased the name for the express purpose of
re-selling it to a company with a legitimate claim to the name. Please
see the Uniform Dispute Resolution
Policy for details.
Why should people register domain name(s)?
Just like a company logo, brand name, your domain name too represents
your business identity. Domain names are designed for people, IP addresses
are designed for computers. If you want people to find your web site
easily, you will need a domain name.
What is WHOIS?
WHOIS is a tool to retrieve the registration information of
a domain name, including the registrant's name, contact information,
and record creation date. You can perform a WHOIS by clicking on this
WHOIS link.
What are Name Servers?
A name server is a computer that holds records of domain names.
