If you're new to domaining and don't quite know where or how to start then this GUide/FAQ is for you. What does TLD mean? TLD means Top Level Domain, the following extensions are the most common TLD's; .com .net .org .info .co.uk .mobi There are extensions which you can get for free but are not TLD's below is a couple of examples; .TK .uni.cc There are now two types of .tk domains , one is a free.tk which is baisically a redirect domain which you do not own but surprisingly there is now a TLD .tk domain which you can register at some registrars. How can I register a TLD? You can register a domain at one of many registrars and prices are fairly competitive and will vary depending on the extension. Here is a list of well known registrars; NameCheap.com (recommended) GoDaddy.com DomainSite.com (recommended) moniker.com How much will they cost? Prices may vary depending on the extension, some registrars also charge extra for DNS Management ect so you have to watch out for this, really you want DNS Management in with the deal, the first three registrars listed above provide this service with the registration but i'm not sure about moniker. Some registrars will offer a basic registration, this means you wont get all the extras, like url forwarding, dns management, nameserver registration ect it shouldnt cost more than a buck or two extra to get all those features included. Domain Site offer baisic 1 year registration, but standard 1 year registration is only $1 more and you will be able to choose what type of registration you want during the registration process. What is whois protection? Whois protection cloaks your administrative contact information from the public whois database, that means when somebody does a whois of your domain name they wont get your contact details. How can I get whois protection? Most registrars, such as NameCheap include this with registrations but some will charge extra for this option, you shouldnt normally have to pay more than $5 for it but it is worth having. What is whois? The whois is a public database containing all the administrative contact information of domain registrants, the registrar any domain was registered at will also be included in whois results as well as nameservers and the current status of the domain. to do a whois search use a site like iwhois.com type in the domain name and select the extension from the dropdown list. You can also use the whois database to search for available domains which may be better than searching for them via the registrar. What is a push? A push is an internal change of ownership within a registrar but it MUST NOT be confused with a transferr. What is a transferr? A transferr is moving a domain from one registrar to another register, for example NameCheap to GoDaddy. How much will it cost to transfer my domain? It will normally cost the normal price of registration at most registrars, when you transfer to another registrar normally another year is included in the price, namecheap offer an extra year with transfers some may even offer 2 years, so shop around for a good deal. How do I transfer my domain? Usually you will need to get what's know as "auth codes" from your registrar, This process is usually different for each registrar, you may have to ask your registrar to provide the auth codes but they will sometimes be available within your account, usually somewhere in domain management, but don't quote me on that. Within a day or two you should get a confirmation email with a confirmation link inside which you will have to click in order to authorise your transfer. The entire transfer process should take no more than 5 to 6 days. My registrar denied transfer what can I do? They shouldn't deny transfer without good reason (there shouldn't normally be any) as they are legally oblidged to carry out your request. If there is a reason why they denied transferr a good registrar will normally tell you. If however they denied transfer for no good reason, then you should get in touch with ICANN. ICANN stands for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. pretty much all the reputable and well known registrars wil be ICANN Acreddited this means that they will have to perform to a certain level if they want to keep their accreditation. icann.org is their official website and will tell you more of what they are about and what they do. Has any registrar ever lost accreditation? Yes RegisterFly were recently stripped of their accreditation due to, poor customer service, unauthorised changing of the whois database, failing to register names which were paid for, the list goes on. icann.org has more on the story. Is it safe to buy from RegisterFly? No not if you have any sense it isn't. What makes a good domain? There are a few rules that you should follow when registering a domain, especially if you want to sell it again afterwards here are a few helpful tips on choosing a good domain which may have good re-sale value; It shouldn't normally contain hypens It shouldn't be too long words should be pronnouncable, made-up or not It should be a .com .net .org or .info domain The fewer characters the better There may of course be exceptions to these rules from time to time but remember these rules are only a guideline. Also typo domains like goohle.com (google typo) are not normally valuable Whats the smallest number of characters i can use in a domain? Generally 2 and 3 characters are the minimum but all available 2 and 3 character .com domains have been registered, youll be extremely lucky if you find an available one. You can however buy them of someone but you will more than likely pay a high premium price for them, a good resource for checking on the value of these domains is 3character.com What does LLL, CCC or NNN mean? LLL - Letter Letter Letter CCC - Character Character Character NNN - Number, Number, Number Be carefull when buying domains listed as CCC domains as they can have both letters and numbers in them, use 3character.com as a refference as to what characters are good to have in a 3 character domain. There we have it, the newbie guide to domaining. Good luck on your venture Article © Electric-Shadow