  Help
and Information
What
is a Domain Name?
All computers on the world wide web ("the Internet") are
assigned special numbers called IP addresses (Internet Protocol
Numbers), e.g. 260.9.44.18, to enable them to locate and
communicate with each other. Like telephone numbers, each Domain
Name must be unique.
Domain names are used generally as a convenient way of locating
information and reaching others on the Internet. The Domain Name
System was created so that names like www.mydomain.co.za could be
used in place of 260.9.44.18:80.
Your domain name should be distinctive and directly related to
your company's name. In many instances people find your web site
by assuming or guessing, based on your company name, so it is
imperative that your Domain Name is easily associated to your
company's name.
What
are the benefits of Domain Name registration?
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Like
any trade name, logo, or brand name, your domain name is
an integral part of your corporate identity - it should be
something customers and businesses can recognise,
remember, and positively associate with your services or
products.
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Security
- Once registered you have secured your business name,
product or service for the Internet - providing you
are not infringing on someone's trademark rights. Once
registered it's yours for good!
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Use
your Domain Name for personalised e-mail addresses.
Everyone in the organisation can have his or her own
personal e-mail address. Stop advertising your local
Service Provider's domain!
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Your
Domain Name is a powerful marketing tool. Promote your
Domain Name on your business cards, letterheads and
marketing material.
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Avoid
cypersquatting. Cypersquatters are people that register
Domain Names and approach companies with the intent of
making financial gain out of selling the registered Domain
Name. If you don't register your name now, you might
be forced to buy it later for thousands of rands.
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Your
domain name is portable. It is independent of your ISP,
hence your web address and e-mail will remain constant
wherever in the world you may venture.
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Submissions
to search engines - Some engines are reluctant to list a
site without a domain name.
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Companies are realising the true marketing potential of the
Internet, and are often disappointed to find their Domain Name has
already been taken by another company - are you one of them?
I
think I have a Domain Name?
Not sure if you have a true Domain Name or not - look at
the following examples.
A true domain is only yours and will be in the following format:-
Yourcompany.com
Yourcompany.co.za
A
subdomain or subdirectory Domain is where your
Internet Service Provider (ISP) is still promoting themselves
Yourcompany.netfirms.com
ABSA.co.za/business/clients/yourcompany
If
you fall into the sub-domain category you should register your
true Domain Name immediately. Provide a solid perception of size,
stability and professionalism for your company's presence on the
web
Why Register a Domain Name?
In addition to the above benefits - Domain Names are being
registered at a rate of over 100 000 domains a month - to date
approximately 11 million Domain Names are registered world wide
and they are fast becoming a scarce commodity.
Can you afford to miss out on your company's domain name?.
Who
controls the Domain Name registrations?
Each country has a controlling registrar(s) that approves and
holds the applicant information on domain name ownership and
technical information on location of your web site and e-mail
services.
International Domains - .com, .net and .org are registered through
one of several accredited registrar's with all information
centrally located in the USA.
In South Africa, the controlling body UniForum maintains the
information and database detailing who has registered what domain.
Again there are several organisations that control each domain
space. InternetNamesWorldWide control the .com.au space ,
Connect.Com controls the .net.au space and various other bodies
control the other au Domain Name spaces.
On registration through Domain
Registrations.co.za the information is submitted to the
appropriate registrar - the contact information you provide will
act as the administrative contact for the Domain Name record. This
information is required to authorise changes or modifications to
the Domain Record. All records of Domain Names in a database
called "WHOIS." This database provides other computers
on the Internet with the information necessary of the location of
your Domain Record.
How
do I register a Domain Name?
Simple!
1.
Search for a domain name what are not already registered.
<here>
2. Select the name you wish to register and fill in the
application form.
3. Submit your details
4.
Deposit the registration fee in the bank account supplied.
5.
We will register the domain name within 24 hours and submit the
details to you.
Who
can register a Domain Name?
At present there are no restrictions and any individual, business
or company can register a domain.
How much does
it cost?
.CO.ZA R85.00
.COM R115.00
.INFO R115.00
.BIZ R115.00
.NET R115.00
.CO.UK R240.00
Once
I have a Domain Name - What next!
That is entirely up to you - You have made the most important step
of securing your domain name. Once you have your domain you can
then have e-mail services implemented for personal e-mail
addresses for everyone in your organisation. Plus you can use your
domain name for your web site.
If
you haven't apply at an Internet Service Provider (ISP) yet for a
hosting account we can provide free domain parking for a period up
to 3 months. We also suggest that you compare prices as there is a
big difference between prices for the same service. You can
start your comparisation tour <here>.
Transfer
a Domain Name to another ISP.
If you wish to transfer your Domain Name to another ISP the
relevant organisation will assist you with that
You
can also e-mail us
for assistance in this regard.
I
need to update my contact details?
Please e-mail us
How
long does it take to process my domain name?
Registrations.co.za ensures your Domain Name is registered as
quickly as possible to ensure your name is secured promptly.
.co.za
- Can be registered and approved from 5 minutes up to 6 hours.
On
receipt of approval and you may then use the Domain Name on your
business stationary, letterhead and business cards, e-mail
services and web site address and traditional marketing materials.
However, the new domain name and technical details must propagate
around the world wide web and this takes approcimately 8 - 24
hours.
What
is Cybersquatting?
This is when an individual, business or company registers domain
names with the intent to on-sell and profit from the sale of the
Domain Name to a legitimate organisation that it might be readily
identified to, own the trademark or benefit from the domain name.
Recent developments have lead to various procedures being put in
place to prevent cybersquatting such as up front payment methods
on all Domain Name registrations. It has also been ruled in the
USA that is now illegal and you could be sued if found guilty of
cybersquatting. However, cybersquatting does still occur - register
your name now
I already have an E-mail account through my local Internet
Service Provider (ISP)?
Your new E-mail will be associated to your new Domain Name - so
you promote your business name rather than your local ISP's.
E-mails associated with you Domain Name are portable, even if you
change ISP's, your e-mail address will stay consistent - no hassle
of new e-mail setup, additional fees and notifying customers of
new e-mail addresses.
Eg:- yourname@yournewdomainname.co.za rather than yourname@yahoo.com
You will still need a connection to the Internet. You can now have
multiple e-mail accounts all forwarded to the one location to save
you logging on to several different services to view your mail.
For multiple e-mail addresses we recommend using Microsoft Outlook
Express
or Microsoft Outlook
What goes on behind the scenes?
Behind the scenes, the story becomes a little more complicated.
In an Internet address – such as icann.org – the .org part is known as a Top Level Domain, or TLD. So-called "TLD registry" organizations house online databases that contain information about the domain names in that TLD. The .org registry database, for example, contains the Internet whereabouts – or IP address – of icann.org. So in trying to find the Internet address of icann.org your computer must first find the .org registry database.
How is this done?
At the heart of the DNS are 13 special computers, called root servers. They are coordinated by ICANN and are distributed around the world. All 13 contain the same vital information – this is to spread the workload and back each other up.
The root servers contain the IP addresses of all the TLD registries – both the global registries such as .com, .org, etc. and the 244 country-specific registries such as .fr (France), .co.za (South Africa), etc. This is critical information. If the information is not 100% correct or if it is ambiguous, it might not be possible to locate a key registry on the Internet. In DNS parlance, the information must be unique and authentic. Let us look at how this information is used.
Scattered across the Internet are thousands of computers – called "Domain Name Resolvers" or just plain "resolvers" - that routinely cache the information they receive from queries to the root servers. These resolvers are located strategically with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or institutional networks. They are used to respond to a user's request to resolve a domain name – that is, to find the corresponding IP address.
So what happens to a user's request to reach our familiar friend at icann.org?
The request is forwarded to a local resolver. The resolver splits the request into its component parts. It knows where to find the .org registry – remember, it had copied that information from a root server beforehand – so it forwards the request over to the .org registry to find the IP address of icann.org. This answer is forwarded back to the user's computer. And we're done. It's that simple! The domain name icann.org has been "resolved"!
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