DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATIONS
What is a domain name?
A domain name is essentially a signpost on the Internet. Every website you've ever been to, and every e-mail you've ever composed, has used a domain name in its address. People register domain names in order to 'stake a claim' to a particular name - whether for business or personal reasons. Once a domain name is registered to a person or company, it is that person's to use exclusively as long as they continue to pay the yearly renewal fee. Our domain name is hostingcity.com.
Why do I need to register a domain name?
Most Internet providers offer you a directory on their own domain. Most of the time, they look like this: http://www.domain.com/~yourname. In addition to having to explain the little squiggle mark (~ which is called a tilde) to your less net savvy customers, this can prove cumbersome on business cards and letterhead, and it does not reflect the unique nature of your business or homepage. Registering a domain name for your business or organization is essential to your marketing efforts. A domain name gives your business a unique identity on the World Wide Web.
I already have my domain name registered at another registrar, but would like
to host with HostingCity and only need to point my domain to HostingCity's nameservers.
HostingCity's nameservers are: (in order)
-
ns.servercity.com
ns2.servercity.com
ns4.servercity.com
ns5.servercity.com
When I register my domain name with HostingCity, who owns the domain name?
When you register your domain name with HostingCity, we promise that you will have full ownership of the domain.
After all, it is your domain name!
How will I be able to tell if my desired domain name is already taken?
When you begin registering a domain name, we will search the domain name database (which is known as "WHOIS") to see if your requested domain name is available. Our online billing system will let you know if a domain is available or not.
To check the WHOIS domain database, go to Internic WHOIS - http://www.internic.net/whois.html. If the domain request comes up with "no match" you will then be able to register that domain name.
What are the valid characters for a domain name and how long can it be?
The only valid characters for a domain name are letters, numbers and a hyphen "-". Other special characters like the underscore "_" or an exclamation mark "!" are NOT permitted.
Example: your domain.com (not correct, No spaces allowed).
Example: your-domain.com (is correct).
A domain name can be up to 67 characters long - including the 4 characters used to identify the Top Level Domain (.net, .com, or .org). Do not type the www. before your domain name when registering.
Do I need to register .com, .net and .org?
The expense of registering and supporting a domain name is minor compared to the expense of marketing your domain name and your business. The last thing you want is for someone else (usually your competitors) to benefit from your efforts to establish your identity. You will see competitors registering names close to yours, trying to benefit from typos your visitors may make. For example, someone registered internik.net to try and benefit from typos by visitors to internic.net. Servercity.com, our parent company is a good example. In order to protect servercity.com, we have also registered: servercity.net, servercity.org, and many others.
What Top Level Domain (TLD) extensions can I currently register with hostingcity.com?
At this time, we offer the following TLD extensions: .com .net .org .us .info .biz (more are soon to come).
How do I change my domain name?
Once a domain name is registered, it is unchangeable. You will have to register a new domain name and stop using the current one or cease pointing it to a working nameserver with hosting attached to it.
DOMAIN PARKING
What does it mean to "park" a domain name?
In order for you to register a domain name you need a Domain Name System (DNS) server to host it. When you register a domain name with HostingCity, we are hosting your domain name on our DNS. We are holding or "parking" the domain name for you. You have the option to move your domain name off of our servers to another Internet Service Provider (ISP) or host provider at any time.
How much does Domain Parking cost?
Domain Parking customers pay only the registrar fee of $10 for one year, for new domains only, otherwise it is free to park domain names.
What services do I receive with Domain Parking?
With domain parking you get to secure your domain name so that nobody else gets to register it. You may keep it parked until you decide where you want to point the domain to and who you want to be authoritative over that name (whose DNS servers will hold your record). It matters who is authoritative because if you give an unreliable server your domain authority, whenever the server is down, nobody will be able to resolve your domain.
DOMAIN TRANSFERS
My domain is already registered with another registrar, such as
networksolutions.com. Can I still get web hosting services from HostingCity?
Yes you can! Check out our web hosting plans and choose the one to bet fit your needs.
What services do I receive if I transfer my domain name to HostingCity?
You can choose from a variety of our hosting plans or we can just park your domain.
How long does it normally take to transfer a domain name?
It normally takes 24-48 hours to successfully transfer your domain to our servers. It can depend on how quick the requests and confirmations come back from the old and new registrar, and the current registrant of the domain.
Does this mean that I am transferring ownership of the domain to HostingCity?
Absolutely not! When you transfer your domain to HostingCity, the only changes to your domain are the Name Server settings and the Technical Contact information. You are still the owner of your domain.