Datasheet

CHAPTER 1 DOMAIN NAMES

Some top-level domains such as .tv are actually country codes

which have been licensed by the country to be sold to anyone in the

world. You’re paying for the privilege of having this exclusive exten-

sion. In the case of other extensions, such as .pro, you’re paying for

an accreditation process among other things. Some specialty domains

such as .me have come down considerably in price a er initial sales

were slow, so sometimes it can pay to wait.

Many domain extensions allow you to register a name for up to

10 years, whereas the minimum registration period is generally 1 year,

but can sometimes be 2 years.

Although registering for several years in advance eliminates the

worry of missing a renewal, make sure that you don’t forget about your

domain. In particular, it’s easy for your contact e-mail to have changed

in a few years, so you end up not ge ing the renewal notice. As long as

you keep your information up to date, lengthy registration times can be

helpful.

If you’ve registered a domain for a fairly new extension, it might be

worth doing a yearly registration. The price for those domains can well

go down over time (the .com names were $35 per year not that long ago),

and it would be a shame to lock it in at the higher price.

The  nal point to keep in mind about domain pricing is that domain

registrars have nothing to o er except price and service. Having an amaz-

ing price with poor service is no deal at all. But what counts as good ser-

vice from a registrar? That’s the topic of the next question.

A popular scam is

when a domain registrar

sends out a notice say-

ing that your domain

is expiring soon, so

you should make sure

that it’s safe by renew-

ing now. Except that

when you sign the form,

you’re actually agree-

ing to transfer the do-

main from your existing

registrar to this other

company, and usually at

crazy high rates (upward

of $70 per year). Do not

respond to these no-

tices! Instead, use them

as a reminder to log in

to your true registrar and

renew your domain at

your regular rate.