Tips on registering your domain name

Registering a domain name is one of the first things new businesses need to do when they're setting up. And that means dealing with a company that dispenses domain names; a domain registrar. 

Before you get started

There are lots of companies out there that offer bundled services. For example, you can hire someone to develop your website and sort out all the hosting and domain management for you. While that's convenient, particularly if you're not au fait with how it all hangs together, it can create hassles down the line. With the domain registration, ensure that you have full control of all the account details. I've heard plenty of horror stories from small businesses that have trusted their web developer with everything. But when they try to move to another developer, or the one that started with closes up shop, they lose control of their domain. And while they can eventually get control back, in some cases they may not even know who the registrar is. So, regardless of what approach you take, make sire you have control of all the appropriate passwords and other account details.

Be a smart shopper

Pricing for domain registration can vary markedly. Some registrars are very adept at trying to up-sell extra products and services with domain registration. While $10 a year sounds good for a year of registration for a .com.au address, some try to add in extra domains such as .com, .net or .org. And those are sometimes offered at inflated prices. It's the domain registration business' version of "Do you want fries with that?".

Look out for shysters

When the time comes for domain name renewal, there have been scams where registrars try to hijack each other's customers. Often, this happens with an official-looking letter in the post (one of the steps in domain registration is providing a postal address) reminding you your domain is expiring with a form to complete for renewal. If you do that, the domain will be transferred to a different registrar, often at hugely inflated prices.

Mandurah Website Design will happily help you if you have any questions or concerns regarding your domain registration process. Simply contact us if you have any enquiries.

Source: lifehacker AU