DOMAIN: WHAT IS IT

This is the first and the most important step of going online. You must read the first article and then come here. The first article lays down the basics of taking your business online. A domain (also called as domain name or simply name) becomes your online identity. It should be very similar to the name of the business. E.g. If the name of your business is Example Inc. or Example Pvt. Ltd., try to get example.com. Hence you can go for a name that ends with anything, like .co.uk, .co.in, .co, .net, etc. It is possible that the name may be too generic and hence you may not get the desired domain. This may be true across all the ‘.’extensions. Eg. example.com, example.co, example.net, etc. all may have been taken. But fret not! You can use your imagination for getting the domain name of your choice. In our case, exampleforyou.com.

WHERE DO I BOOK IT

To book domains, opt for popular registrars only, ideally the ones which have been in existence for quite some time,  and most importantly, those who have a good support channel. I usually prefer GoDaddy.com though there are other notable players too, out there. A Google search will reveal a good number of such sites.

WHAT DO I KEEP IN MIND

You may, in some probability, end up not understanding how these registrars like GoDaddy work or not be able to book through them (highly unlikely). There may be your local website developer or your development company vendor who will coax you into letting them book it for you! In all probability, after they throw around words like trust, believe, etc., you may actually think about letting them.

STOP RIGHT HERE! DON’T!

No matter how friendly one is, or how trustworthy one seems, make sure you book your domain yourselves. In event that you already have permitted such people to book, ask them TODAY to give you the credentials to the domain control panel. Usually, if the vendor is an unscrupulous character, he will delay, or not give them over. I have heard of instances where clients, when they ask their vendors to transfer the domain to their name or hand over the control panels details, these vendor ask for exorbitant amounts to transfer the domain under the pretext of transfer charges, domain retention charges or plainly, without any reason. Since there is no regulation authority, NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO HELP YOU EASILY!

SO, HOW DO I KNOW IF MY VENDOR IS A GENUINE VENDOR

Look for the following indications:

1. Ask your vendor for the credentials to the control panel. Do they provide you with the details or do they beat around the bush, ask a lot of questions and eventually NOT GIVE YOU,
2. Usually your domain control panel is provided by some domain registrar to your vendor too. Do they even let you know that the domain is booked with that registrar?

SO, IS MY DOMAIN LOST?

In all probability, yes! The ownership of the domain is plainly decided by who is the owner of the domain as shown by the WHOIS service! And trust me, this is very simple to update. All you have to do is, go to the control panel and update the ownership details of the domain to someone and that person is the new owner! Talk about simplicity of hijacking!

NOW WHAT DO I DO? I WANT MY DOMAIN BACK!

First of all, try to obtain the registrar with whom the domain has been booked.  You can do that easily by looking up using WHOIS services. If you do not know what a WHOIS service is, Google it. Basically it tells you what the details like Registrar, Booking date, expiry date, etc are. Then, ask the vendor to update your contact details as the administrative/technical contact of the domain. Once you do, also ensure that the website that is hosted on this domain, contains your contact information. Now you can circumvent your vendor and contact the domain registrar with the request to transfer it to you. I am writing a separate blog on how to get the domain transferred to you. Once I do, I will publish that link here.

SO, GO AHEAD AND BOOK YOUR DOMAIN!