Happy New Year to All!
Start the new year off feeling confident about your domain name; knowing that it is secure and that you will be notified if there is any activity around it.
How do you check your domain name record?
Go to the website of your domain name registrar. Log in and look at your domain name record. Check that all the contact information is correct, especially the information listed for the Registrant. Is the Registrant’s name correct? Is the Registrant’s e-mail address correct? Is the mailing address correct? If any of the information is incorrect, change it and save the record.
Not sure who your registrar is?
Well, you should have an e-mail that you saved from when you registered the domain name. Look for that. Maybe you printed it out and it is in your web folder. If neither of these work for you:
- Go to domaintools.com
- Pull down the Resources menu tab and click WHOIS Lookup
- Enter your domain name in the box
- Scroll down to the Registry Data section and look at the ICANN Registrar.
Why is this important?
Internet companies will only deal with the “owner of record” of a domain name. So, if you want to do something like transfer your website to a new hosting company, transfer ownership of your domain name, or simply request the username and password, you will only be able to do that if your name and contact info (or designated person in your company) is on the record. Likewise, if the registrar’s policies have changed and it sends a mass mailing, you will be unaware of the changes, and may/may not miss important deadlines.
The person whose name and contact information is listed on the domain name record in the Registrant section is recognized as the lawful owner. If the record contains the name of a former employee, the Internet companies will deal with that person only. If the record contains the name of your web developer, the Internet companies will deal with the web developer only.
If you own the domain name, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that all of the contact information is correct. Internet companies accept no excuses. [It’s like your taxes and the IRS. Just because you are unaware of a rule, doesn’t mean that you won’t be penalized.]