When you are new to web hosting or new to building websites in general, one of the first roadblocks you tend to encounter is domain name registration. Way back when, before I worked for Lunarpages, I saw a banner advertisement somewhere that said, \u201cGet your domain name for $3\/year!\u201d Being the sucker that I was, I went to said provider to purchase my website, thinking that once I purchased the domain name itself, I would have a website too. But oh no, that\u2019s not the way websites work, as I found out when I started going through the purchasing process \u2013 by the end of this process, my total was somewhere around $100\/year. I was appalled.<\/p>\n
Of course, now I know better. Paying $100\/year for a website and domain name is standard and actually quite cheap! But when I think about this scenario today, I wonder how many people purchase their domain names from one provider just because they think that is all it takes to put a website online, only to find out later that they need web hosting as well. The answer is: quite a lot!<\/p>\n
So, how do you deal with getting your website up with a web host when you have your domain name registered with someone else? I\u2019m here to tell you, there are actually two equally efficient ways to get your domain name to properly coincide with your web hosting account.<\/p>\n
1. Transferring Your Domain Name<\/p>\n
A common myth about transferring your domain name to your web hosting provider is that you lose all rights to that domain name. While you should always read the fine print if you are going with a web host you\u2019ve never heard of, quality providers like Lunarpages who have been around since 1998, will never ever ever ever take your domain name rights. You always have 100% control over your WWW.<\/p>\n
To transfer your domain name to your web host, there\u2019s three main things you need to verify and\/or acknowledge:<\/p>\n
* Is your domain name unlocked?
\n * Can you be reached at the administrative email address for that domain?
\n * Do you have a Transfer Authorization Code from your current domain registrar?<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re confused as to how to find this information, you\u2019re not alone! But there is one website that can help you out: WhoIs.com. Visit WhoIs.com and enter your domain information. Take a look at your domain information. If it says \u201ctransfer prohibited\u201d, \u201clocked\u201d, or \u201ctransfer unavailable\u201d, that means your domain name is locked and you must contact your domain registrar to unlock it. If it says \u201cOK\u201d, \u201cOK to transfer\u201d, or \u201cunlocked\u201d, you\u2019re good to go there.<\/p>\n
Now check the \u201cadministrative contact\u201d information for the email address. If you don\u2019t have access to that email, contact your domain registrar to update it. If you do have access, hooray!<\/p>\n
And lastly, you need a Transfer Authorization Code from your current registrar to be able to transfer that domain. You can either contact your registrar or, if you have access to login and manage that domain, you can simply have it emailed to you.<\/p>\n
After you verify those things, get in touch with Lunarpages and let us know you want to transfer your domain and we can take care of the rest.<\/p>\n
Pros: You get to manage your domain and hosting under one roof! This is a huge pro.
\nCons: It might cost to transfer the domain and you always have to wait 60 days after renewal or purchase of your domain to be able to transfer it.<\/p>\n
2. Change Your Domain Name Servers<\/p>\n
Uh-oh, you think, She\u2019s gone tech-speak on me! So let me define: \u201cname server\u201d is just a fancy term for the behind-the-scenes internet stuff that happens when you type \u201cwww.lunarpages.com\u201d into your address bar. Behind the scenes, domain name servers are translating \u201clunarpage.com\u201d into its original URL form (might look something like 00.111.2.333). Domain name servers essentially make sure your domain redirects to wherever your website content is hosted: i.e. your web hosting account!<\/p>\n
So if you have a domain name registered with Provider X, you simply need your domain name servers with Lunarpages to get that domain name to find the content at Lunarpages.<\/p>\n
So, how on earth do you change the domain name servers? It\u2019s actually incredibly easy and you can do it in 3 simple steps:<\/p>\n
* Go to your domain name registrar.
\n * Your register should have emailed you a username and password to manage your domain name. Find this information and use it to login to your registrar to manage your domain name.
\n * Change your domain nameservers from whatever they are now to the ones Lunarpages provided you in your Welcome Email. For example, they will look something like: NS1.lunarpages.com \/ NS2.lunarpages.com<\/p>\n
No joke, it\u2019s that easy. Once you\u2019ve done that, your domain name will resolve to Lunarpages within 24 hours or so.<\/p>\n
Pros: It\u2019s completely free and is a lot faster than a domain transfer.
\nCons: You still have to pay your domain registrar for that domain and pay Lunarpages for hosting, whereas if you transferred it, you could take advantage of our Free Domain For Life offer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When you are new to web hosting or new to building websites in general, one of the first roadblocks you tend to encounter is domain name registration. Way back when, before I worked for Lunarpages, I saw a banner advertisement somewhere that said, \u201cGet your domain name for $3\/year!\u201d Being the sucker that I was,… <\/p>\n