Domain Registration What is a Domain name? Why do I need a Domain Name? What are the valid characters for a domain name and how long can a domain name be? How do I register a Domain Name with Latika's Web Consultancy? For how long can I register a Domain name? I want to pay for the domain name. The payment should be in favor of whom? Where should I send the payment? How much time does it take to register a Domain name? Why does my newly registered domain name show up as available? Is it possible for someone to register my Domain name after I have registered it? Is there a refund if I misspell my domain name or simply do not want it anymore? Who is the Owner of the Domain name? Once the domain name has been registered, can I shift my domain name from current User account to another User account? If I register a domain name through Latika's Web Consultancy does that mean I have to use your hosting facilities? Domain Renewal How can I renew my domain name? For how many years can I Renew my Domain name? Can I Renew my domain name after its expiry? Domain Transfer What is a Registrar? What is a Registrar transfer? Why would I want to perform a Registrar transfer to Net4Domains? How much does a Registrar transfer request cost? Once a name is submitted for transfer, how does the process work and how long will it take? When will a losing registrar deny the Registrar transfer request? How many days should be left in expiry of the domain, which is being applied for transfer? What shall be the renewal period of my Domain when transferring from one Domain Registrar to Net4 Domains, in case I have recently placed a request for renewal of my Domain, with my current Registrar? Are .com, .net, and .org my only choices for transfer of domain names? What is a Domain name? A Domain name is the essence of your company's online identity. It is the address your customers use to find information about your products and services on the web. It is your permanent address that can follow you no matter where in the world you might move. This is a very powerful tool for individuals as well as businesses. Domain names allow Internet users to type in a name, such as www.Net4Domains.com, to identify a numeric Internet Protocol (IP) address such as 202.71.129.42. The purpose of Domain name is to allow users connected to the Internet the ability to find web sites without having to memorize the long, numerical (IP) addresses that actually locate the computers or servers on the Internet. [Top]   Why do I need a Domain Name? There are numerous uses for Domain names. 1. Domain names can be used to establish a unique identity in cyberspace. Companies often choose a Domain name that corresponds to their company name. For instance, Net4India's web site is at Net4India.com and Yahoo is at www.yahoo.com Anyone thinking about establishing a presence on the Internet should register a Domain name. You don't have to utilize it right away. 2. Domain names can be used to give you a unique, permanent email address Many companies will set you up with email forwarding, where messages sent to @yourDomain.com will be redirected to your existing mailbox as provided by your ISP. This lets you choose a truly unique email address and keep the same email address regardless of which ISP you use to access the Internet. 3. To maximize the chances of a successful Internet presence and have a global reach [Top]   What are the valid characters for a domain name and how long can a domain name be? The domain name must conform to Standard rules for domain names: *Only characters in the range of A to Z, 0 to 9 and hyphen are allowed for example www.test-123.com *Names cannot begin or end with a hyphen for example www.-test123 is not acceptable. *You can use UPPERCASE or lowercase letters when registering a Domain name, but you may occasionally run into problems if you mix cASes, depending on the exact configuration of the web server that will be hosting your website. The easiest way to make sure your Domain name will not cause you any problems later is to register it using all lowercase letters * A Domain name can contain up to 67 characters. Some top Domains from specific countries have additional limitations on length and on the number of characters in a Domain. Some even specifies a minimum length for a Domain name, such as 3 characters or more. [Top]   How do I register a Domain Name with LWC ? Registering a Domain name Step 1 To register domain names through Latika's Web Consultancy, go to http://domains.latika.com/ and use the domain search box In the Domain, search box on the home page enter the domain name you want, select an extension for your Domain name (e.g. .com, .net, org, .tv etc.) and start your search by clicking on the Search button. Step 2 The result page will show you whether the Domain is available or not. If your Domain name is available, you may proceed to register by selecting the checkbox against the domain name you want along with the term for registration and then please choose a payment option as Cheque / Demand Draft If the domain is not available then you will have to resume your search again. Step 3 Enter your Username and Password in User Login window. In case, you are a New User, click on Register! Which will lead you to a New User Registration Form. Please complete this form and Submit. Registration is absolutely free of cost. Once you are registered member you can use your membership for availing all the services and products available here. Step 4 Fill in the Domain Registration Form and Submit. Kindly ensure that you enter all the mandatory fields, which are indicated by an asterisk (*) on the Form Step 5 Once you have confirmed the order you will get an order code along with the amount that you are required to pay. After receipt of your payment, you will receive an acknowledgement for the same. You will also receive a confirmation of your Domain name having been registered. Kindly note that it takes about 48 hrs, for the Registry database to update a new Registration and reflect it on the 'Whois Search'. [Top]   For how long can I register a Domain name? Latika's Web Consultancy offers registration from 1 year up to maximum 10 years for .com, .net or org extension. (the cctlds are subject to terms and conditions, which are regulated independently). [Top]   I want to pay for the domain name. The payment should be in favor of whom? Where should I send the payment? You can send us the demand draft in favor of " Latika's Web Consultancy". We have offices at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ban galore, Pune , Ahemdabad , Kolkatta ,and Chandigarh. (Hyperlink on branch name) [Top]   How much time does it take to register a Domain name? It takes maximum of 48 hrs for a tld Domain name to get registered. [Top]   Why does my newly registered domain name show up as available? Once the domain name is registered successfully it takes minimum of 48 hrs to reflect globally. You can check this by performing a "Who is" query on your domain name. Some of who is look up services available are www.easywhois.com, www.uwhois.com and http://netsol.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois. [Top]   Is it possible for someone to register my Domain name after I have registered it? The Domain name(s) with tld extensions .com, net or org are authenticated by a central registry system which confirms the ownership of the Domain names once registered and are timely updated in real time. [Top]   Is there a refund if I misspell my domain name or simply do not want it anymore? Service is rendered the moment we register the domain name for you. The domain name registry does not allow for refunds, and therefore we cannot. It is imperative that you double check your spelling of the domain name(s) you want to make sure that they are spelled the exact way you want. We cannot correct misspellings. In the event of a spelling error, and you want the domain name spelled correctly (presuming it is available), you will need to register that name as well. [Top]   Who is the Owner of the Domain name? The holder of the Domain name is the person /company listed on the top of the WHOIS record whose name is displayed, as a Registrant is the owner of the Domain name. The administrative, technical contacts are the contacts allotted to the responsible representatives who are entrusted by the organization/individual with relation to the Domain name. [Top]   Once the domain name has been registered, can I shift my domain name from current User account to another User account? No, once you have register a domain using one username account you cannot shift to another user account. [Top]   If I register a domain name through Latika's Web Consultancy does that mean I have to use your hosting facilities? No, the Customer has complete freedom to point his domain name DNS to new hosting provider. [Top] Domain Renewal How can I renew my domain name? Step 1 To renew and extend the registration term for your domain please log into the " MY ACCOUNT " area of our website Step 2 Once you have logged in" MY ACCOUNT" click on the link " Show a list of Domains I have Registered " It will exhibit the Domain name(s) registered under the specific username. Step 3 Click on the link "Manage this Domain" and you will be able to view the "renew this domain" link Step 4 Click on the "renew this domain link, choose the term for renewal and please select a payment option as Cheque / Demand Draft or Credit Card Step 5 Once you have confirmed the order you will get an order code along with the amount that you are required to pay. After receipt of your payment, you will receive an acknowledgement for the same. You will also receive a confirmation of your Domain name having been renewed. Kindly note that it takes about 48 hrs for the Registry database to update the expiry dates and reflect it on the 'Whois Search'. [Top]   For how many years can I Renew my Domain name? You can renew for 1-9 years, for a total registration period of up to 10 years. For example, let's assume that today's date is April 30, 2003 and that your current registration period ends April 30, 2006. You have exactly 4 years remaining on your registration period. You can extend your registration period for up to 10 years by renewing today for 6 years. Let's take another example. Assume that today's date is April 29, 2003 and that your current registration period ends April 30, 2006. You have 4 years and 1 day remaining on your registration period. You can extend your registration period to 9 years by renewing today for 5 years. If you tried to renew for 6 years, your total registration period would exceed, by 1 day, 10 years, which is the limit imposed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"). Therefore, we would renew your domain name registration by 5 years, which is closest to the number of years you asked for, without going over the ICANN limit. Can I Renew my domain name after its expiry? Once your domain name expires, it enters a grace period of 7-15 days which depends on Registrar to Registrar. Please note that there are no guarantees that your domain can be renewed after the expiry date, even if it is in the grace period. If your domain is registered with Network Solutions, please click here to view Network Solution's policy on renewal for expired domains.