FAQ: Domains

• General Domain Information
• Add-On Domains, a.k.a. Multi-Hosted Domains
• Parked Domains
• Subdomains
• Hosted Subdomains
• Getting A Hosting Account from WEBADO
• SSL Certificates

More FAQ ...

General Domain Information

The domain name is your web site's identity on the web. It is unique and it is yours. A domain name is acquired through a registrar, for terms ranging from 1 year up to 10 years. You cannot change a domain name, once bought. If you made a mistake, there's nothing you can do other than buy a new domain and let the wrong one stay unused until it expires. All registrars have tools to help you find an available domain name, so you don't have to worry that you will be registering something that is already taken.

WEBADO.NET does not provide domain name registration services. But I can assist you in this process up to a point: the point where you pay for the domain. This is something that you have to do yourself. The registrars I am recommending lower down have very easy to follow instructions.

There are many registrars out there, and price is not always a good indication of the quality of the service they provide.

It's important that the registrar you choose be accredited by ICANN and you should be able to manage all aspects of the registration process and subsequent domain management by yourself. There should not be any charges for regular maintenance of the domain's details.

I will only give a couple of examples of registrars that I'm familiar with. WEBADO demands no exclusivity, you are free to have your domains registered wherever you wish. The mere fact a registrar is mentioned here does not mean either that I am considering any others to be of a lesser quality. However I can help with various aspects of the registration process as pertains to the registrars that I am listing here.

For best value, features and support (to the best of my knowledge) I recommend the following registrars:

• www.godaddy.com - Best value, most TLD's and some country TLD's. Lots of domain-related specials.
• www.10dollar.ca - Best value for the .ca TLD. Privacy protection is included for all domains registered with this registrar, which is a big plus.

I will be adding more to this list as I find them.

Add-On Domains, a.k.a. Multi-Hosted Domains

What are Add-On Domains?

Some web hosting accounts have the ability to support multiple domain names pointing to separate directories (web sites) within your main account. We call such domains multi-hosted domains or add-on domains.

Multi-hosted domain support is ideal for webmasters, Internet marketers, and anyone else who runs multiple sites but does not require each site to be on a separate full-featured account with separate access points.

Add-on domains information

Multi-hosted domains or add-on domains function just like any other domain from the visitor's/browser's point of view. They are completely transparent to the visitor.

If you have a multi-hosted domain domain2.com residing on your http://www.maindomain.com space in the folder http://www.maindomain.com/domain2/ and your visitor types www.domain2.com into the browser, the browser's address bar will show http://www.domain2com and not http://www.maindomain.com/domain2/, although the contents of the add-on domain can also be access in that manner, if the visitor knows that.

If your visitor navigates to somepage.html on http://www.domain2.com , the browser will display the address http://www.domain2.com/somepage.html , as it should.

Add-on or multi-hosted domains are not the same as parked domains (pointing multiple domains to the front page of your main domain).

All multi-hosted domain names share the same IP address, control panel, disk space, data transfer, MySQL databases and other resources provided in your main account.

Add-on domains have all the same features as any stand-alone domain, except they share Cpanel access and MySql databases with the main domain.

Multi-hosted domains have their own email addresses.

Parked Domains

What is a Parked Domain?

A parked domain is simply another domain name that is pointed to the same website as your main domain. It's another way to access the same site and it is totally transparent to any visitor.

A parked domain can have its own email addresses. Otherwise it totally refers to the same space as the main domain.

Keep in mind that search engines like Google may penalize websites that are listed under different domain names as this will be considered duplicate content. It is better to simply forward the url of several domains to the main domain if you have registered several variations of a domain name and intend to serve the same content exactly to all of them.

Subdomains

Subdomains are used to create a nearly separate identity to a folder and its contents, on a domain. You may decide that the contents of http://www.domain.com/folder/ represent either a logically different website from the main domain, or a stand-alone area of the website, best addressed by itself. You can then create a subdomain which will allow you to access that folder and its contents through http://folder.domain.com.

A subdomain can have its own email addresses. As it is part of the main domain, it does not have a separate Cpanel or MySql database, but it shares them with the main domain.

Hosted Subdomains

If you want to have webhosting space but do not have a registered domain and don't want to acquire one, WEBADO can set up a hosted subdomain. It will have the name http://yoursubdomain.webado.net, but it will not be a subdomain of www.webado.net, despite the name. It will have its own Cpanel access, email, MySql databases. It will behave in all respects as a stand-alone domain.

Getting A Hosting Account from WEBADO

You would be well advised to think carefully before acquiring hosting from WEBADO and decide up front on the name of your registered domain , and provide that name before the account is created. Make sure the domain has been successfully registered beforehand.

The account creation process does not allow changes to the domain name once it has been created.

Essentially the only way is to create a new account with a new user id for the new domain name, and copy all data and reconfigure all settings, and then close the original account. Transfer of email accounts, contents and settings (e.g. passwords) will not be possible. Any password protected areas will likely no longer be protected either after the transfer, and it will have to be redone. Scripts you have (e.g. forums, guestbooks) will probably need changing.

As you see it's a complex undertaking.

SSL Certificates

Who needs an SSL certificate?

SSL certificates are required in order to provide secure transactions (via https) on your website. For those interested in installing an SSL certificate, the good news are that SSL certificates are automatically installed for all domains and subdomains on any webado.net hosting account.

Ads