Unsure where to start when it comes to domain name registrars, domain name registration, and dealing with domain name server (DNS) hosts?
I can’t blame you. It can be confusing.
Over 20+ years of experience has provided me with stories and lessons learned about how to manage your domain name registration and domain registrar activities.
From selecting a domain name registrar to quick tips for protecting your personal info with domain privacy, my collection of useful posts will help you save time and effort.
Selecting a Domain Registrar
Whether you have one domain name or a dozen, my 8 tips to choose a domain registrar will help you avoid headaches and make the transition to a new domain registrar smoother.
With hundreds of domain registrars to choose from, thinking about and writing down your requirements will help you narrow your choices.
Make Sure Domain Registration is in Your Name
I’ve lost count of the number of hours I spent on the phone with domain registrars, trying to transfer a domain name from the client’s previous developers/designer to my client’s name.
The previous developer/designer did my client “a favor” by registering the client’s domain name using the developer/designer email account.
Like your utility bill, domain registrars will only interact with the person or email account associated with the account owner or business contact.
Which is why I always recommend you have domain registration (and web hosting) registered in your own name.
Keep Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting at Different Companies
While web hosting companies often promote free domain registration with their plans, this is one free promotion you want to turn down.
You want your domain name registration and web hosting at different companies.
Why do I recommend you turn down something that is free?
One top reason: what if I told you were at risk at losing your domain name?
Protect Your Privacy
When you register your domain name at a domain name registrar, you’re required to provide your personal contact information.
Which is made public, available to everyone searching for information about that domain name.
Years ago, you had no option to hide your personal info, it was all available via Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
But that’s all changed over the years, and you can now take steps to protect your personal info with domain privacy.
Some domain registrars charge extra for domain privacy, while others offer it at no cost. (Something to consider when choosing a domain registrar.)
Reset Time to Live (TTL)
When you change web hosts, one of the key issues you have to deal with is the time it takes for the new domain records to be updated.
Which is why I recommend you reduce Time to Live (TTL) before you make a domain record change.
By changing TTL to 300 (5 minutes), your domain name server (DNS) information is updated more quickly at DNS servers.
After your domain record changes at your domain registrar, confirm with an online tool like DNS Checker that your domain record changes have been updated (propagation).
Once confirmed, you’ll want to reset your TTL after domain record changes to something like 24 hours (86400 seconds).
Or even longer.
Why?
To avoid security issues, in case someone gains access to your domain registration credentials.
Whenever a change is made to domain records, an email notification (or other notification) is sent to the account owner about the change.
With a longer TTL, you’ll have to time to contact your registrar or correct any issues, in case you didn’t authorize the changes.
Flush Cache at DNS Hosts
In addition to reducing TTL when you make changes to domain records, you can also improve the speed of propagation with one more step: flushing cache at DNS hosts.
Like cache in your browser, DNS servers also have a cache.
After you’ve confirmed with DNS checker that your domain record changes have been made, take steps to flush cache at DNS hosts.
Wrapping Up
Last week, a colleague mentioned to me they were waiting for a propagation to complete after moving their site to a new web host.
When I asked if they made TTL changes before the changes, my colleague replied they didn’t know they could do that.
Instead they waited several hours, constantly checking DNS Checker to see if the propagation was complete.
Which spurred me on to publish this post.
Use my tips and recommendations to save yourself time and effort for managing domain name changes, registrars, and registration.
Have any more tips about domain registration and domain registrars to share? Share them in the comments.
