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Ask the Master Newsletter Archives
Welcome to the previous editions of the Ask the Master newsletter.
On your left you will find links to tips and the how to’s of
running a Virtual Assistant practice. We hope you enjoy your stay
and if you have a question you’d like answered send it to submission@vatp.ca.
Ask
The Master
May 2007 - Volume 6/Issue 4 |
Owning Your Domain Name
by Marjorie Milliken
If you think you are a person who owns a domain name but you are
not sure, you need to read this.
If you want to own a domain name and eventually have a website,
and use your own domain email address, it is important to understand
a few things from the beginning.
While you may not agree with everything in this article we encourage
you to explore what is here and take what you need.
Warmly,
Mary-Lou Ashton
Master Virtual Assistant
In This Issue
(Click on the links to go to that question.) What can I do
to improve communication with a client?
Virtual Assistant
Networking Association (VANA)
http://www.vanetworking.com/
 Supercharge
Your Virtual Assistance Business at the Warmest Place on the Web
Virtual Assistant Networking Association (VANA) is the largest
business network for aspiring and successful Virtual Assistants
to share, learn, and succeed!
At VANA, industry experts and Virtual Assistant newbies mix it
up to uncover all things new and exciting in the world of Virtual
Assistance. If you're not hanging out with the thousands of members
strong at VANA, isn't it time to see what the hype is about? Join
Today!
Be sure to check out The
VA Talk Show where VAs Talk the Walk and the chat
seminars available!
Domain Name
and Web Hosting Basics  First
of all there are a million "web designers", like me, working
from home and also companies with offices downtown with salespeople
and secretaries selling you domain names and web hosting that call
themselves registrars and hosting companies but they are not either.
They do not own servers. They are resellers of domain names and
of hosting. It's like multilevel marketing where large hosting and
registrars sign up resellers and resellers get a cut. The largest
domain registrars and hosting companies in the world in fact only
work with resellers.
So it is important to understand what you have. Why? Because if
you don't have direct access to your control panels for both your
domain name and your website you won't be as empowered.
It is also important to understand when you are dealing with middlemen.
If you do decide to have someone else solely own your domain name
and control your website, at least understand what you have and
what you are doing.
I hear people say, "But I am not technical." Owning a domain
name is not technical. Signing up for hosting is not technical. If
you can operate a cell phone or subscribe to a magazine - you can
own a domain name. All "owning" means is that your email
address is the contact on the domain name account and you are the
one that controls your hosting account and pays the bill directly.
Do You Own Your
Own Domain Name? There are two components to having a website.
Owning a domain name and signing up for a hosting account where
your website files will exist and to where you will point the domain
name. You can just have a domain name and you will still be able
to create email aliases and point that domain name to a folder on
an existing site.
There are two purchases to make and two bills
to pay:
- You buy a domain name from a domain name registrar
- You purchase a hosting account from a hosting company
Sometimes a hosting company is affiliated with a registrar and
you can do both at the same time (ie: NetNation and Domainpeople)
but you will still know who your registrar is and who your hosting
company is.
To own a domain name these four things must
exist:
- Your email address is in the admin and billing contact area
of the whois record (you can see the whois record for any domain
name, you can call a real registrar to learn what is in this whois
record)
- You personally know the username and password for the domain
name control panel and can log into this admin area (you can create
aliases, you can point the domain name somewhere, you can point
the name servers to a hosting server, and you can edit your contact
information and keep it up to date)
- You know the name of your registrar, can call them on the phone
and they can resend you your username and password if you lost
or have forgotten it
- You get a renewal bill for the domain name directly from the
registrar
If the above four things aren't in place and you thought you owned
a domain name you are incorrect. No matter what the company or person
tells you, (they are holding the domain name for you, you really
do own it, or they are a registrar) it doesn't matter - they are
misleading you and are in control of the domain name - they own
it - not you.
Why do they do this (put their email address in the whois record)?
It is easier to do this than empower people and they can make money
controlling your domain name forever. You can do a whois search
on any domain name here.
If the information is hidden then call a registrar.
 The
Internet only started 15 years ago and there are no professional
standards for web designers or web companies. In fact many web designers
and web companies will tell you they are hosting companies and domain
name registrars when they are in fact resellers.
Make sure the domain name registrar and hosting company you want
to use has an 800 number. When you purchase a domain name or hosting
account YOU have to be the one that does it. Your email address
has to be the contact email on the account. Your credit card pays
directly to the registrar or hosting company.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
If you have found that you are not really in control of the ownership
of your domain name you can initiate a transfer of the domain name.
This will add a year to it. But the trick is to get the person whose
name is in the admin area to give permission for the transfer. If
they don't cooperate you are sunk. I have found that sometimes people
have been lucky but most of the time not. You can also initiate
legal action and registrars can help you with this.
If you can't really 'own' your domain name it is best to simply abandon
that domain name and start again and do it right this time.
Definitions
DOMAIN NAME
Domain names identify a location on the Internet. It is your unique
identity on the Internet and provides you with an address that other
Internet users can use to find your website on the World Wide Web.
You also use your domain name for your email address.
REGISTRAR
The organization responsible for the actual registration of a domain
name is known as the registrar. This is the company that you bought
your domain name from. When you buy a domain name the email of the
admin contact is the owner of that domain name. You will receive
a username and password and a link for an admin area where you can
manage your domain name. DomainPeople is a registrar. You can see
the name of your registrar on your whois record.
WEB HOSTING - HOSTING COMPANY
Hosting companies offer a service where their "server"
computer stores your web site's HTML files, and graphics for a fee.
Sometimes they are free, but you will have ads. Their server allows
your web site to be viewed over the Internet. You do not need to
have a web host to register a domain name!
WEBSITE
To have a website you must first own a domain name then you have
to host the website files somewhere. You set up a hosting account
with a hosting company to do this. Sometimes you can buy a domain
name and set up hosting from one company but they are still two
different animals - (hosting and domain names) or (registrars and
hosting companies). A hosting company rents you space on their computers
for your website. A domain registrar sells you the domain name.
WHOIS RECORD
The WHOIS can be used to search the registry for the owner of any
domain name, which has already been registered. You can also see
who the registrar and hosting company is.
Brought to you by
Virtual Strategies
and the Virtual Assistant Training Program
Making dreams reality!
www.vatp.ca
info@vatp.ca
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