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.
Part 1 and part 2 are available at http://www.oeupdates.com/email-addresses.html more information on domain names is available at http://www.build-your-website.co.uk/domain-names.htm
Stephen Cope is the Webmaster at several websites. For email articles,advice and information visit www.oeupdates.com. If you want to make your own website then visist www.build-your-website.co.uk.