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Reduce your domain name renewal
overhead today!
By: Lee Hodgson
Most people that have registered domain names in the past few years will be paying $35 per year to renew them, either via a web hosting company or directly to Network Solutions. Wouldn't it be great if you could
move your names to one of the new discount domain companies that have sprung up, and take advantage of their low prices? Well, I've got news for you, you can...
Up until relatively recently, all domain names had
to be registered through a company called Network Solutions, they had a monopoly on all dot com, dot net, and dot org domain registrations. But last year the market was freed up, and there are now dozens of companies
competing for your domain registration dollars. And in a bold move to encourage real competition between these companies, a system is also in place that allows customers to move domain names from registrar to registrar.
This is known as the 'domain transfer' system.
Just why would you want to move a name from one registrar to another? It could be that the new domain registrar has better services than the old one, or you may not
like the customer support you received from the old one, but the overwhelming reason why you might transfer names is to save money on annual domain renewals. Take, for example, a person that has ten domain names
registered. They will currently pay a massive annual renewal fee of $350 to Network Solutions. But by transferring these names to a cheaper registrar, they could make savings of $200 or more *per year*. It's got to be
worth considering hasn't it?
So just how do you go about transferring your names. Well, the new registrar controls the process so the exact procedure varies, but it normally works like this:
1) The domain
owner informs the new registrar that he wishes to transfer a name to them. There is no fee for the transfer itself, but one year is added to the registration period for the name, so you will be charged the standard
one-year registration fee.
2) Various checks are performed by the new registrar to make sure that the request is valid, and that you really are the owner of the name.
3) The new registrar negotiates the name transferal with the old registrar.
4) The name is transferred to the new registrar.
5) The new registrar will give you access to the name.
This process
normally takes 2-3 weeks to complete in full. Transfers are normally quite smooth, but because several parties are involved, there can sometimes be delays. Here are a few things that you should bear in mind before
starting a domain name transfer.
1) Transfers are only possible on names that have been registered for more than 60 days.
2) Most registrars will check with the name's current admin contact before giving
the transfer go-ahead. If you are listed as the admin contact for the name, great. If you registered it through a web hosting company or similar, they may have listed themselves as the admin contact. If this is the
case, email them before starting the process and make sure that they are willing to take part in the transfer process. If you are not sure whether you are the admin contact for your name, use the WHOIS tool on the
Network Solutions web site http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois - type your
domain name into the box, and you will see who is listed as the administrative contact.
3) A domain name that is 'on-hold' cannot be
transferred. This 'on-hold' condition can exist formany reasons, including lack of payment, trademark dispute or domain expiry.
If there were less than one month on your current registration, I would advise that
you think carefully before deciding to initiate a transfer request. If the registration period expires whilst a transfer is still pending, all sorts of problems can arise.
But apart from that, go for it! By
transferring your name to a discount registrar, you will most certainly save yourself dollars each and every year, and you may enjoy better customer service as well. And if
you are worried your web site will be
affected by all this domain transfer activity, don't be. It will remain completely undisturbed.
One important footnote: Network Solutions sometimes sends out renewal invoices even after names have been
transferred away from them. They put this down to administration errors. Whatever the reason, you can and must ignore these invoices. Once a name has been transferred, the only parties with a valid interest in it are
you and the new registrar.
If you have any questions about domain transfers, please email me
lee@domainguidebook.com or visit the DomainGuideBook domain registration site, http://reg.domainguidebook.com Also visit our main site
http://www.domainguidebook.com to keep up to date with the latest
happenings in the domain name world.
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