Newbie tutorials are designed with the beginning adult webmaster in mind. This week Connor Young talks about the process of registering domain names… what’s involved and how it works. While the process is a somewhat simple one, it can nevertheless be intimidating to those who are not already familiar with the steps that are involved.Newbie tutorials are designed with the beginning adult webmaster in mind. This week Connor Young talks about the process of registering domain names… what’s involved and how it works. While the process is a somewhat simple one, it can nevertheless be intimidating to those who are not already familiar with the steps that are involved.
If you’ve never built an adult website before and are weighing the possibility of jumping into the business, then congratulations, you’re in the right place. Today we’ve gathered here at TheAdultWebmaster Magazine to talk about one of the most basic tasks that a webmaster must be able to perform… registering a domain name. It may sound absolutely simple at first consideration, and for the most part it’s as simple as filling out a form… but there are a few pitfalls along the way that can trip up some of you Newbies, so today we’ll take the time to go over the entire process in nauseating detail.
First, a little history lesson. When the Internet was but an infant, there was one official organization that was responsible for maintaining the Net’s domain name database. After all, if someone types in theadultwebmaster.com there has to be a way to locate the computer that contains the files that constitute the website. Out of this need came the organization originally known simply as Internic. Until recently, Internic had a monopoly on domain name sales… if you wanted to register a domain name, you had to go through Internic. This wasn’t a problem in the beginning, because domain names were free. This being America, it didn’t take long for someone to get the bright idea to charge for domain names, and it’s been one giant exchange of currency ever since. Originally domain names were billed at $50 per year. As the Internet grew, many people voiced their objections to Internic’s monopoly on domain name registrations, and it was eventually decided that the field would be opened to competition. Internic became known by the name Network Solutions (which is now VeriSign), and in anticipation of their upcoming battle with competitors, they lowered the domain name registration fee to $35 per year. Competitors finally did enter the market, and with them came even lower prices. DirectNic.com, for example, offers domain name registration services at $15 per domain name, and once again it was shown that healthy competition benefits consumers.
SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT
For the purpose of this article we’ll use DirectNic.com for our domain name registration service, so you’ll want to stop by and setup a free account. This part is pretty straightforward. Once you load directnic.com you’ll notice several navigation buttons near the top of the screen. Click the one labeled “Sign-Up” and complete the form which will follow. Do not forget your username and password, these are VERY important. Also, make sure your password is one that can not be guessed… if someone were to gain access to your account they could conceivably steal your domain name and all traffic that it receives. Also remember that the information you provide here is public record… including your telephone number, address and organization name. If you’re worried about privacy, use a P.O. Box, a second phone line and a false name. Get the organization name right the first time… it can be a pain to change. Once you submit your application you’ll be taken to another page asking for an “activation code.” This code was just mailed to the email address you included on the form. Check your email for this code, then enter and submit it to complete your application.
CHECKING DOMAIN AVAILABILITY
Now that you have your account, the question remains… how does one register a unique domain name? Well, the first step is to determine if the domain name in question is actually available. Remember, just because you type in a domain name and get no response doesn’t mean that the name is available. To check on the availability of a domain name you’ll want to enter that domain name into DirectNic.com’s domain search tool, which is interfaced by the text box on the right side of the home page (next to a button labeled “Search”). Type in the domain name you’re interested in registering then click the “Search” button. Don’t include “www” or any other server name in your search string. (For example, if I wanted to create the website www.searchthis.com then I’d simply type “searchthis.com” without the quotes.) You will be informed if that domain name is available. If it’s free, you’ll be provided with a link to register that domain, and if it is taken then you may be shown similar names that are free… alternate names could be “searchthis.org” or other such variants, and they are meant only as suggestions. Once you find a free domain name that you want to register, click on the text “Click here to add to cart!” and that domain name will be added to your shopping cart. You may now continue to shop for more domain names, or if you’re ready to proceed then choose the text “Click here to check out” to proceed.
CONTACT INFO & DNS SERVERS
If you have not yet logged in, you’ll now be asked to enter your username and password. Doing so takes you to the checkout form where you’ll be asked to enter the term for this registration (default is two years, but you can optionally select one year or up to five years instead), the contact information and the DNS server information. Don’t panic, I’ll explain. The term is pretty straight forward… how many years do you want to register this domain name for? Usually I go one year at a time, since you won’t get a price break by selecting more than one year… but if you’re positive you want to keep the domain name for a while then you can select more than one year right off the bat to avoid the yearly renewal process. Your contact information is important… it tells others whom to contact about issues concerning your domain name. Remember that contact information can be looked up by anyone, so be aware of this when providing it. There will be a drop-down menu listing all the contacts that you have set-up previously, and since this is your first time you will see as the only option the “organization name” which you provided when you signed up with DirectNic.com for your account. Simply accept this for now, you can change this all later. Finally, enter your DNS server information. The names of your DNS servers are provided by the ISP that will host this website. You MUST have this information before your website will operate, but if your goal is simply to reserve a domain name for future use then you can use DirectNic.com’s default DNS servers by selecting “directNIC Defaults” from the pull-down menu. If you have the DNS server information from your ISP then choose “Clear Form” from the pull-down menu then enter your DNS server names just below. Usually your ISP will provide you with the names of two DNS servers, which will be something like “dns1.yourisp.com” and “dns2.yourisp.com.” Once entered, click the “Continue Purchase” button near the bottom of the page.
The final step is to enter your billing information. This needs no explanation, as the form is absolutely straightforward. Remember, once your domain name is purchased it will still take a few days to “propagate” over the Internet. That provides you with some time to build your website and FTP it to your ISP’s server. You can also spend some time playing around with your DirectNic.com account settings. Now is your opportunity to change the contact information, add new contacts, change your default DNS servers, or any other tasks that might be appropriate. And don’t forget to tell your ISP about your new domain name. Remember those DNS servers you entered at DirectNic.com? Well, your ISP will have to enter your domain name into those DNS servers or the name won’t work properly.
Connor Young is Editor-in-Chief of The ADULTWEBMASTER Magazine. He currently lives in Northern California where he has worked as an adult webmaster since 1\’\’7.
