Checking Domain Name availability
Having decided on a domain name we now need to check its availability before
we can register it. All registrars that can register a .name domain name also have
a facility for checking its availablity. So to check the availablity of your domain
name go to either any of the .name registrars a complete list is available here:
http://www.gnr.name/registrarlist.html
Before you Purchase
If you check on one or two of the registrars above you will notice that there
can be a great variance in price. The most logical choice is to choose the cheapest.
Before you choose you should be aware that on its own a domain name is not of much
use so please read on.
Domain names-Email Addresses and Websites.
A domain name is an address. A domain name is not a mailbox or a website! Once
you've purchased a domain name you need to link it to a website and/or mailbox.
So when purchasing a domain name from a registrar you need to find out if it includes
any of the following in the price or are they extra. a) website and/or email forwarding
b) website hosting c) pop3 mailboxes and/or webmail.
To access email sent to your email address you will either need to forward that
email to an existing address or have it sent directly to a mailbox. This was discussed
in part 1 available at my websites see below.
Email Forwarding
This is the same technique as is used in standard mail forwarding when you move
house. Letters addressed to your old address are forwarded on to your new address.
The main difference is that with normal mail the forwarding is usually temporary
(i.e. 3-6 months), whereas in email you could do it for as long as you want. So
as an example my new lifetime email address is steve@lifetime.name and I have an
existing hotmail account of stevelifetime@hotmail.com. I arrange that any email
sent to steve@lifetime.name is forwarded on to stevelifetime@hotmail.com
Mailboxes
Email is stored on a email server in mailboxes. The mailbox is in effect the
physical storage equivalent to a physical mailbox for letters. The mailbox is in
turn linked to an email address or addresses. It is very common to have email from
multiple email addresses forwarded to a single mailbox for storage and access. The
address is not the mailbox and the mailbox is not the address, they are different.
To read email in your mailbox you need to access the mailbox using appropriate email
software
POP3
Almost all email on the internet is currently retrieved using the POP3 Protocol
using an email client like Outlook Express, Incredimail, Eudora. Because POP3 is
the most common method of retrieving email you often see the term POP3 mailbox being
used. With POP3 the email is usually moved from the server and placed on the client
machine.
Webmail
This is becoming a very popular way of accessing email using a web browser using
the http protocol. With Webmail the email remains on the server and so can be accessed
from various client machines. This type of access is ideal for people who travel
and need to have email access regardless of location.
POP3 and Webmail
It is also very common that email can be accessed from you mailbox using either
webmail, POP3 or both.
Account Management
Whether you are going to use email forwarding, Webmail, POP3 etc you should also
take into account how easy the registrar makes it to configure and reconfigure you
domain name. Most use a web control panel interface. You should check if there are
any extra charges for configuration/reconfiguration. For example let's assume that
you've been using email forwarding from steve@lifetimeemail.name to stevelifetime@hotmail.com
and have now decided to use a yahoo account stevelifetime@Yahoo.com. Can you make
the change yourself? How easy is it? Do you have to pay extra. These are the things
you should be aware of when deciding on a domain registrar.
Using the Registrar to Host your Website/Mailbox
If you currently don't have a mailbox/ website then I would choose the package
from the domain name registrar. I wouldn't choose to register the domain name with
one company and host it with a different one, unless I had already, for some reason,
purchased one or the other. The normal practise with lifetime email addresses is
to use the domain name registrar to forward the email to an existing mailbox ( your
ISP mailbox or hotmail account).
You domain Name and Website
These articles have concentrated on email. However you have purchased a domain
name and this name can be used for your website. So not only can you have email
at steve@lifetime.name you also can have a website at www.lifetime.name. If you
want to learn how to make your own website then http://www.build-your-website.co.uk/
has information and tutorials suitable for beginners.
