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Domain Name Support
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What is a domain name?
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A Domain Name is a group of letters, numbers, and hyphens in the form of "yourowndomainname.com"
or "yourowndomainname.net" where "yourowndomainname" can be almost anything.
A Domain Name should be relatively easy to remember or your product or
company name. The domain name can be used
as the address for your web site and/or can be used as your email address.
A dot com domain name is the most desirable. A dot net domain name would be the next choice
or if you were a network on the internet. If you are a not for profit organization, a
dot org domain name would be suitable. |
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Do I need a domain name?
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Yes!
All Domain Names are unique, as they show your identity on the World Wide Web. For
businesses and organizations, a domain name can help brand your products and
services. For individuals and clubs, a domain can identify your
family, affiliations, relationships, or can just be your online personality.
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What makes up a domain name?
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The valid characters for domain names are the alphabet, numbers, and
hyphens. Domain names are not case sensitive, therefore YourOwnDomainName.com and
yourowndomainname.com are the same. A domain name cannot start or end with a
hyphen. Special characters such as exclamation marks (!), question marks
(?), and underscores (_) are not allowed and there can be no spaces in a
domain name.
A domain name can be 67 characters long, including the extension.
Therefore, if you are using the .com/.net/.org extensions, your desired
name can be 63 characters long.
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What is DNS and what is it for?
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DNS stands for Domain Name Service and is the service that the Internet uses
to find the IP address information on the web. Domain names are registered with
Registrars or
central organizations in each country and each domain name is associated with
two or more DNS servers, a primary server and a secondary server.
When someone types in a Domain Name into a web browser their Internet
Service Provider's (ISPs) DNS computer looks for an IP
(Internet Protocol) address associated with that domain name. If the ISP
does not have an entry it sends a lookup query which returns the
DNS location associated with the domain name back to the ISP. Once the
ISP's computer finds the IP address it can access the web site
associated with the domain name.
IP addresses are typically 8 to 12 numbers which identify a computer on
the internet. IP addresses are like street addresses. They refer to
specific servers and their physical location on the network. Domain names
are like company names, personal names or product names, They are associated with people,
companies, products, hobbies and
with content.
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What is an IP address?
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The Internet Protocol address or IP Address is a numerical identifier for a
computer (server) attached to the internet. An IP Address is two, three or four numbers
separated with periods and is typically an 8 to 12 digit number.
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Do I need DNS servers to register a domain name?
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Yes. As part of the application process two domain name servers are required
to link to your domain name. When you sign up for service with Webcoast, we
file an application on your behalf using our server information. There is no
additional charge for providing the use of our domain name servers.
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What are Top Level Domains and what do they mean?
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The Top Level Domains are the
last two or three letters in a domain name. Web sites outside of the United
States may have two letter country codes (for example: .ca for Canada or .to
for Tonga).
Top level domain signifiers
- .com
- .org
- .net
- .edu - (for educational use)
- .gov - (for government use)
- .mil - (for military use)
2 letters - Denotes a country/region.US (United states).CA
(Canada).TO (Tonga).NZ (New Zealand)
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How do I find out if a domain name is available?
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Send us an email to domreg@webcoast.com and we will check for you for FREE and email you
back with the status on your request. Send at least 3 choices, in case your
favorite is already taken. |
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Is there a fee for
domain name registration?
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Yes: In order to reserve a domain name, a pre-payment of $20 per year is required. The domain owner is responsible for paying renewal
fees in a timely manner. If the fees are not paid, ownership is relinquished
and the domain may be lost.
Please read our
"Domain Name Registration Terms" |
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How do I get an international domain?
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Webcoast can host international domain names with two letter country extension codes.
The domain owner is responsible for registering their domain with the country's registry.
Each country runs their registry differently, and therefore, Webcoast cannot expedite the
registration process. Each country will also charge different amounts. The domain owner
is responsible for making all payments to the registry.
You will most likely need information regarding Webcoast's DNS servers. If you desire to host
an international domain name with Webcoast, we recommend that you first find
the registry of the country and examine their application process.
As part of our signup process you will be given the appropriate DNS information.
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