How do I switch it all on?
To make all your good work available to visitors your website needs to be made active.
How this is achieved depends on:
- Are you replacing an existing website? If so the domain pointers will need to be changed. To do this we will need the account details of where your domain is registered.
- Have you created your content with the page set to "inactive"? Then all that is needed is to set the pages to active using the Page Manager.
Can I have my own domain name?
Certainly, if it is available. Every domain name is registered with a Domain Registrar. In some cases this will be the company who hosts your website, but it need not be so.
Do I own my domain?
YES. You own your domain name and can change registrars, etc. without ever having to change that.
Under New Zealand law your current registrar is required to provide you with a UDAI (Unique Domain Authentication Identifier) when you request it. This is a 8 digit serial that is the "PIN number" of your domain. With it you can request another registrar to take over the domain.
Unless you are unhappy with your current registrar, or they are charging you too much, there is probably no need to change.
But you can if you wish.
NOTE: For international domains the procedure may be different, and will depend on the country and company managing the domain registry. Please contact us if you need assistance.
Please be aware of emails that suggest your domain name has been de-registered, is overdue. etc. Following up with these usually means you end up assigning the rights to your domain to the scammer - the scam artist is only happy to sell back to you!
What is the best domain name for me?
There are many examples of companies who have got it wrong e.g. www.expertsexchange.com is not what you think, instead it is a website where programmers can exchange Advice and views. Better known as - Experts Exchange, not to mention the Italian power company www.powergenitalia.com
Your domain name is your first impression on the web and you will want it to be a good one. A bad name suggests you missed the bus on your domain name, and could not do any better.
Bad domain names mean a lot of business lost due to mistypes and misspellings.
A bad domain name is usually not brandable, which means you would have difficulty promoting your website offline. So make sure it:
Do I need a .com?
If it is available then it is worth having as your primary domain name. Otherwise if you are certain your business is local then the country domain extension may suffice.