Sunday, October 25, 2009

Cheap Domain Names

In order for people to access a website, they must first enter in its associated domain name. This is a word or phrase that denotes the name of the site and/or summarizes what it is about. Even free web hosting companies offer domain names, but there's an essential difference. With free web hosting companies, the domain names offered are in the form of third level domain names.


This means their domain name must be included when a person is trying to access the third level domain. The only problem with this is that it makes a domain name long and hard to remember. For this reason it's best if a person considers just buying their own domain name. And with the availability of cheap domain names, it is possible to get one that is very affordable.


When a person purchases a cheap domain name, the overall registration process is the same as it would be for regularly-priced domains. This means that first they would have to see if their domain name is available. To do this they must enter in their desired domain name in a special text box, then select the extension they want. If the domain name is available, they are free to purchase it. If it is not available, they will have to choose another domain name. Cheap domain name companies will offer suggestions on alternative domain names when this scenario occurs.


Are there any downsides to using cheap domain names? Unfortunately, yes. If a cheap domain name company is unscrupulous, a person may never receive a domain name at all. What happens is the company tells the customer to wait a few days for the domain name to become active. However, at the end of the timeframe, the domain name still doesn't work. And since the company is unscrupulous anyway, emailing customer service won't do anything.


How can a person ensure they don't encounter a fraudulent cheap domain name company? First and foremost they need to check to see if it is registered with the Better Business Bureau. This is an organization that ensures businesses are operating in a legitimate manner. Secondly, they need to see if the company has normal contact information, such as an address and a telephone number. Thirdly, they should see if the company has a bad reputation on message board dedicated to webmasters.


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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Domain Name Arbitration

Domain name arbitration is a process in which the complainant and the original holder of the domain name try to work out a reasonable agreement as to who actually has the rights to the domain name in question. The arbitration in itself is done through the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, (also known as UDRP). This is a special arbitration method set forth by the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) organization. It is used for most domain name disputes, because it is cheaper and less time-consuming than 'traditional' litigation.


In order to initiate a domain name arbitration proceeding, a webmaster must go through a provider that has been approved by ICANN to handle such disputes. Once the arbitration begins, the provider will first determine if the complainant has merit in their claim. They will do this by evaluating whether the domain name in question is similar to a trademark or domain name set forth by the claimant.


They will then determine what rights the claimant has to the title along with whether or not the domain was chosen accidentally or with the intention of taking advantage of the claimant's brand popularity. If it is found the domain name was chosen in bad faith, rights to it will be granted to the claimant. Otherwise, the original owner will retain possession of the disputed domain name.


In conclusion, domain name arbitration is a great alternative to avoiding taking a domain name dispute into a courtroom, at least initially. There is the option to go to court if either side feels an arbitration isn't fair. Yet, for most webmasters, the decisions made by the UDRP panel are good enough for them, since getting their consul is a lot cheaper than going to a judge.


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Monday, October 05, 2009

Domain Name Generators

Domain name generator is a program or service that suggests domain names that are not likely to have been used by other webmasters. They can work in three ways including: giving random listings, giving listings based on input or using human suggestions.


The first type of domain name generator gives random domain name suggestions. Examples of sites that offer these types of domain name generators include Makewords.com and Domain-Generator.net. The only thing a visitor has to do to see a suggested domain name is click a button or just visit the site. Depending on the complexity of the domain name generator, visitors will be able to see if the domain name has previously been registered or how valuable they would be if they decided to buy them.


The second type of domain name generator offers suggestions based on user input. What happens is a user enters a keyword that describes the purpose of their website. The domain name generator will then return domain names that contain this keyword. A variant of this service could require a user to enter in more than one keyword. From this input the domain name generator would return a domain name that contains a mixture of these keywords.


The final type of domain name generator offers suggestions from human creativity. With this service, customers have to pay a fee. Part of the fee goes to the person responsible for coming up with the domain name. After the fee is sent, customers must provide information related to their website.


Employees will use this info to choose a domain name. When the process is complete, the customer will receive a list of several domain names, each of which came from a human mind rather than a computer program.


Human-based domain name generators usually require a fee, while automated ones might not seem as creative. Other than that domain name generators are an excellent way for webmasters to determine what their domain name should be. Even if they don't use the suggested domain name in its entirely, they can still use these types of services to generate ideas.


From there they can use their own mind to come up with an appropriate domain name. So, at the very least, domain name generators can serve as a tool for domain name brainstorming. They definitely should not be overlooked by any webmaster.



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