Domain Basics

Domain Name Basics: What, Why, and How

What's in a domain name?

A lot more than you might think. Your domain name can be your first impression, your face to the outside world, and your new marketing plan. Learn more about what domain names are, why you should take the time to choose a good one for yourself, and how to go about it.

What is a domain name?

A domain name is an address for the Internet. It helps people find your web site. Just as homes and businesses have street addresses, all web sites have domain names. The Yahoo! domain name is yahoo.com.

A domain name is made up of two parts, typically preceded by www. Let's use yahoo.com as an example:

• The first part, yahoo, is a unique name that represents the web site.
• The second part, com, is the extension, and stands for "commercial." There are many extensions available, though .com, .net, .biz, .info, and .us are the most popular extensions in the United States.

Why is a good domain name important?

A good domain name helps you in numerous ways.

1. For Businesses

Add your domain name to your business card, email signature, and other advertisements.

• Build credibility: Show your customers that you have an established business.
• Improve your marketing: Provide customers an easy way to remember and contact you.
• Protect your brand: Secure the domain name that best represents your business name — and keep it out of the hands of your competitors.

2. For Consumers

Describe your site as best you can with your domain name. For example, a pair of amateur magicians might use their stage names, some combination of words including magic, or the name of their most famous trick.

How do I choose a domain name?

Keep these tips in mind as you select your domain name.

• Your domain name should reflect your business name or the topic your site will cover.
• It should be a unique and concise name that is easy to say, remember, and spell.
• You can use only letters, numbers, and hyphens in your domain name. Spaces or other symbols are not allowed.
• If your first choice isn't available, try rearranging the word order, adding hyphens, or using abbreviations or locations to come up with a unique alternative.

Private Domain Registration

Did you know that anyone — including spammers and telemarketers — can find your contact information just by looking up your domain name online?

That's right. The Internet's governing body, ICANN, requires that every domain owner's name and contact information be listed in an online database. Unfortunately, many solicitors regularly go through this database to gather contacts for marketing campaigns.

Now you can keep your contact information out of the public eye using Yahoo! Private Domain Registration.


How Does Private Domain Registration Work?

• When you sign up, our partner Melbourne IT updates your registration listing with generic contact information that points to Melbourne IT's offices.
• Whenever someone looks up your domain and tries to contact you, Melbourne IT receives the call, email, or letter and screens the information on your behalf.
• Melbourne IT forwards prescreened communications to you, so you can reply as you see fit.

See how your contact information looks with and without

Yahoo!Private Domain Registration.

How Much Does Private Domain Registration Cost?

Yahoo! Private Domain Registration is available for just $0.99 per month with Yahoo! Web Hosting, Yahoo! Merchant Solutions, or Yahoo! Business Mail plans, or just $9.00 per year with Yahoo! Domains or Yahoo! Custom Mailbox plans.

How Do You Sign Up?

You can add Private Domain Registration with your plan during the signup process.

Using an Existing Domain Name

Already own a domain name? You can use it with any Yahoo! Small Business service.

How do I use my existing domain name with a Yahoo! Small Business service?

To use your existing domain name with a Yahoo! Small Business service, like Yahoo! Web Hosting or Yahoo! Business Mail, you need to contact your domain registrar and request a name server change to redirect your existing domain name to your new service hosted by Yahoo! Small Business.

You should provide your domain registrar with the following information:

I would like to request a name server change. Please make the following changes for [enter your domain name here]:

Primary name server: yns1.yahoo.com
Primary IP address: 66.218.71.205
Secondary name server: yns2.yahoo.com
Secondary IP address: 216.109.116.20

Don't know who your domain registrar is? Look it up in the public domains registry, called the WHOIS directory.

Please note

• This is not a registrar transfer. Your domain name registration will remain with your registrar, and you'll still be responsible for domain name fees and renewal with your current provider.
• Only the domain owner can request this change. Yahoo! Small Business cannot do it for you.
• Your name server change may not take effect for up to 72 hours.
• See the instructions below if you also want to move an existing web site from another provider to Yahoo! Small Business.
  

How do I move my web site to Yahoo! Web Hosting?

1. Save all of your web site files - including images, sound files, and video clips - to your computer.
2. Transfer these files from your computer to Yahoo! Web Hosting using FTP or our web-based file upload tool.
3. Once you've uploaded the files, you can preview your site before publishing it to the Internet. You can continue to preview and make adjustments until all your web pages look exactly the way you want.
4. If you are using an existing domain name, contact your registrar to change your name servers. (See instructions above.) This change will redirect your existing domain name to your web site hosted with Yahoo! Web Hosting.
5. Once this change has been made, you can publish your web site to the Internet with the click of a button.

Please note

Special features offered by your current hosting provider, such as guestbooks or counters, may not work with Yahoo! Web Hosting. However, you can replace many of these features with Yahoo! Web Hosting enhancements, including guestbooks, counters, site search tools, and more.

How do I move my existing email account to Yahoo! Business Email?

1. Save any messages you may want to access later to your computer.
2. Forward your current email to an account not associated with your domain name to make sure that you do not miss any messages during the transition.
3. Contact your registrar to change the name servers for your domain name. (See instructions above.) This change will redirect your existing domain name to Yahoo! Small Business.
4. Once you have been notified that your name servers have been changed, you can set up your Yahoo! Business Email account to receive messages sent to your existing email address.