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Frequently Asked Questions
Domain Registration
Q1. What is a domain name?
Q2. Can anyone register a domain, even without a web site?
Q3. Are ALL fees included?
Q4. How long can a domain name be?
Q5. Are there other rules limiting what names can be chosen besides length?
Q6. Should I chose a name that ends in .com, .net, or .org?
Q7. How long does it take to register a domain?
Q8. Do I own the domains I register?
Q9. Is there any functional difference between registering through you or Network Solutions?
Q10. Why are some domain names unavailable?
Q11. What is a nameserver?
Q12. Do I need a web site to register a domain?
Q13. What is WHOIS?
Domain Transfer
Q1. What is a domain transfer?
Q2. Does a transfer affect the domain ownership or the site's webhosting company?
Q3. How long does it take to transfer a domain?
Q4. Will my site be available and function normally during the transfer?
Q5. Do you charge any extra fees to transfer a domain TO Arbor Domains?
Q6. Do you charge any extra fees to transfer a domain FROM Arbor Domains?
Domain Management
Q1. How do I change my account information?
Q2. How do I change my contact or nameserver information?
Q3. How do I renew my domain name?
Q4. How much does it cost to renew my domain name?
Q5. I forgot my account username and password.
Domain Name Services (DNS) and Email Forwarding
Q1. Do your DNS services work with dynamic IP addresses?
Q2. How many host entries can I define in the DNS section?
Q3. How many email forwarding addresses can I have?
Q4. Is it possible to set up a couple of email aliases and then forward all remaining mail to a "catch-all" address?
Other Issues
If your question has not yet been answered, please email us at support@arbordomains.com.
Domain Registration
Q1. What is a domain name? A. A domain name is a unique address on the internet that other internet users will use to identify your website. Think of it as the internet version of your postal address. [BACK]
Q2. Can anyone register a domain, even without a web site? A. Yes, anyone with a valid credit card can register a domain. You are not even required to have a working web site. This allows you to register a name now before someone else takes it! [BACK]
Q3. Are ALL fees included? A. Yes, ALL fees are covered in our registration pricing and you will not be billed for anything else. [BACK]
Q4. How long can a domain name be? A. A domain name can be up to 63 characters long, not including the .com/.net/.org extension. [BACK]
Q5. Are there other rules limiting what names can be chosen besides length? A. Your domain name must always begin and end with a letter or a number. Hyphens are also permitted. Domain names are NOT case sensitive. [BACK]
Q6. Should I chose a name that ends in .com, .net, or .org? A. These three extensions are called top-level domain names (TLD). .com is traditionally used for businesses, .net used for internet/webhosting service providers, and .org for organizations. But you can use whichever TLD you want. [BACK]
Q7. How long does it take to register a domain? A. Once you submit your completed online registration form, your domain is registered in real-time and credit card immediately charged. Although it may take 24-36 hours before your information appears in the WHOIS database, you may rest assured that no one else can register your domain. [BACK]
Q8. Do I own the domains I register? A. You own the rights to the name as long as you keep your registration current and renew the domain when it nears expiration. You can do whatever you want with your domains (ie: transfer the domain elsewhere, resell them to the higest bidder, etc.) as long as you have not registered a name that violates another company's legal trademark. [BACK]
Q9. Is there any functional difference between registering through you or Network Solutions? A. No. In fact, we use the same registry, which means that names registered through us are just as reliable as names registered through Network Solutions or register.com. The only difference you will notice is that we charge 60% less than Network Solutions for the same domain registration, and we provide you with an easy-to-use web-based domain management system, unlike Network Solutions, which requires you to manage your domain through email. In addition, we provide you with FREE value-added services such as email forwarding and URL redirection - features for which you would have to pay extra $$$ at Network Solutions and most other registration sites. [BACK]
Q10. Why are some domain names unavailable? A. If you check the availability of a name and it is unavailable, that means that someone else has already registered that name. [BACK]
Q11. What is a nameserver? A. Computers identify each other through a series of numbers called Internet Protocal (IP) Addresses. However, because people identify companies and websites using names, a nameserver provides the translation from names to IP addresses or vice versa. Your webhosting provider will provide you with information on what nameservers to use. If you only have a website hosted on a free hosting provider (or do not yet have a site and only wish to reserve a domain for email purposes or future use), we will provide you with nameservers and an "Under Construction" page if necessary. [BACK]
Q12. Do I need a web site to register a domain? A. No. You can register your domain at any time to reserve the name. If you do not have nameserver information at the time of registration, we will provide you with default nameserver entries and an "Under Construction" page. Once you select a webhosting provider, they will provide you with nameserver information for use with your domain name. [BACK]
Q13. What is WHOIS? A. WHOIS is a domain search engine that queries the database of all .com,.net,.org, and .edu domains. If the domain you are searching for is found, it will return information about that domain including the company that the name is registered under, mailing address, phone number, and nameserver information. [BACK]
Domain Transfers
Q1. What is a domain transfer? A. A domain transfer is the process of moving your domain from one registrar to another. For example, you may have already registered a domain name with Network Solutions. However, now that you know that Arbor Domains provides the same service at a 65% discount and includes additional value-added features, you will want to transfer your domain here in order to renew your domain at our lower prices. [BACK]
Q2. Does a transfer affect the domain ownership or the site's webhosting company? A. No, the only thing that changes is the renewal price! A domain transfer does not affect your website in any way. [BACK]
Q3. How long does it take to transfer a domain? A. Domain transfers typically take 5-10 business days to process. Transfers take much longer than new domain registrations because we must verify that the request is authorized by all parties. We also require a faxed authorization letter from the domain owner as part of the transfer process. [BACK]
Q4. Will my site be available and function normally during the transfer? A. Absolutely. The transfer will not affect your site in any way. [BACK]
Q5. Do you charge any extra fees to transfer a domain TO Arbor Domains? A. No, the transfer process itself is FREE. However, the registry requires that a transfer be processed as a renewal. This means that in order to transfer a domain, you must pay a one year renewal fee ($Array). For example, if your domain expires on July 15, 2002, and you transfer your domain to Arbor Domains, the new expiration date will become July 15, 2003. [BACK]
Q6. Do you charge any extra fees to transfer a domain FROM Arbor Domains? A. No, you may transfer your domain out at no charge. This is because there is no need to force you to stay; we are confident that once you use our services, you will not want to move your domain elsewhere. [BACK]
Domain Management
Q1. How do I change my account information? A. We provide you with an easy-to-use web-based domain management system. Just log into your account to update your information. [BACK]
Q2. How do I change my contact or nameserver information? A. Use the web-based domain management system to update any information regarding your domain. Just log into your account and select the desired menu option. [BACK]
Q3. How do I renew my domain name? A. When your domain name registration nears its expiration date, we will contact the email address of the billing contact on file. That person will have 30 days to renew the domain name. Failure to renew your domain name will result in the name being released back to the general public, and others will be given the opportunity of reserving that name. [BACK]
Q4. How much does it cost to renew my domain name? A. Our pricing structure is very simple - new registrations and renewals are always the same price. Just check the current price for registering a new name and that is the cost of renewal. [BACK]
Q5. I forgot my account username and password. A. Send an email to support@arbordomains.com. Tell us the domain for which you want your username and password, and we will send it to the email address of the administrative contact on file. For security reasons, we cannot and will not send your username and password to any other address. If you are no longer able to access the email address listed for the administrative contact, let us know and we will provide you with further instructions on how to proceed to prove you are the rightful owner of the domain in question. [BACK]
Domain Name Services (DNS) and Email Forwarding
Q1. Do your DNS services work with dynamic IP addresses? A. Yes and no. Our DNS services do not directly support dynamic IP addresses. However, they will work in conjunction with free dynamic IP services such as those offered by dyndns.org.
The setup process is relatively straightforward:
- Register your domain name here.
- Register with dyndns.org.
- Follow the instructions on dyndns.org on setting up a subdomain (ie: yourhost.dyndns.org) and configuring it to point to your dynamic IP address. If you configured your subdomain correctly, you should now be able to access your server via your newly created dyndns subdomain (ie. http://yourhost.dyndns.org).
- Click on the Arbor Domains Manage Your Domain link and log in. Click on the 'Edit DNS entries' link.
- In the new web page that appears, find the DNS line whose hostname is "www". In the address box next to that line, enter your dyndns subdomain (ie. yourhost.dyndns.org). In the Record Type field, change the pulldown menu to "CNAME (Alias)". Save your changes by clicking on the Update Information button at the bottom of the screen.
- That's all there is to it. Wait 24 hours, and you should have a working dynamic IP setup for your domain. In the future, simply log into dyndns.org to update your IP address whenever it changes, or use one of their client programs to do the work automatically.
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Q2. How many host entries can I define in the DNS section? A. Each domain can have up to 15 host entries. [BACK]
Q3. How many email forwarding addresses can I have? A. You can define up to 50 aliases. [BACK]
Q4. Is it possible to set up a couple of email aliases and then forward all remaining mail to a "catch-all" address? A. Yes! Suppose you want the following email forwarding structure:
- john@yourdomain.com -> john3432@hotmail.com
- mary@yourdomain.com -> mary99933@yahoo.com
- email sent to any other user @ yourdomain.com -> tom32099@aol.com
To get the desired results, simply define the email addresses for John and Mary first in the email forwarding section. Then, on the next line, enter "*" (without the quotes) in the Username field and the AOL email address in the Forward To field. Don't forget to save your changes when done.
Your new settings will be active within 24 hours. [BACK]
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