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Old 2010-09-14, 5:52am
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Cosmo Cosmo is offline
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Join Date: Jun 28, 2005
Location: Roanoke, VA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ArtcoInc View Post
First, let's set one thing straight ...

One does not *own* a domain name. You license the right to exclusive use of it for a period of time. If, at the end of that time, you do not renew the license (ie: pay for it again), the domain name becomes available for anyone else to license.

You register a domain with a Registrar. There are many registrars out there ... shop around for price and services. Some registrars also offer additional services: hosting, email accounts, etc. We'll get into that later.

Once you have a domain registered, you can use it or not. You don't have to use it .. you can register a name now with the intent of using it several years from now. Only one person can register any single name, so if there is a name that you want, and it is available, register it now. It costs maybe $15 a year to register a name. I have over 20 names registered. For me, that's a small price to pay to have the names I want available for use later, when I want them.

You can also sell the rights to a name to someone else. If I registered the domain MyGlassBeads.com, and you wanted it, I could sell you the rights to it. The price to do this is whatever you and I both agree upon. People go out and 'buy up' domain names, and try to 'sell' them all the time. A popular domain name can sell for thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more!). After I sell you the rights to a domain, you still need to go to a registrar and register it (and pay the registrar their fee).

You host a web site on a Host. A host and a registrar are not the same, although there are many companies that do both. You do *not* have to host your site through the same company through whom you have registered your domains. To use a different host, all it takes is a one-time change of the settings, with your host and/or your registrar, so that the world knows where to find your site. Both your host and your registrar can assist you with this. If you want to move your site to a different host, you can. Just change the settings once again.


Now, for the OP. Some hosting companies offer, as a "service", the option of registering the domain name through them. As others have already mentioned, be careful. Make sure that you are the registered "owner" of the name, and not your hosting company.

Malcolm
True, you don't technically "own" it. But for the purposes of this thread, to say that you own it was the best way to get the point across...
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