Domain Names
Contents
Register - Transfer - Manage
How do I register a domain?
You can visit http://store.xmission.com. You will be prompted to create an XMission account, even if you already have one. This new account will be used to access your control panel where you can manage your domain.
How do I transfer my domain?
If you are transferring a domain to XMission we prefer you use http://store.xmission.com and click on Domain Registration then on the following page under Transfer an existing domain you will enter in your domain name.
The process for transferring a domain name varies depending on the domain type. Please ensure that the current registrar's procedures have been followed and they have been authorized by you to approve our transfer request. Please also make sure that any registry lock has been removed.
Another year will be added to your current time left at your current registrar. (E.g. If you registered for a year with another registrar, and you have six months left, you will still have that six months in addition to yoru new registration duration with XMission.)
NOTE: In order to successfully transfer a domain, XMission requires customer to keep their email address current.
When a customer decides to transfer a domain, they will receive a series of emails with instructions on the process. However the following challenges often arise:
- The email never arrives due to spam filters, etc.
- The customer may not respond quickly enough to the emails. After 5 days, the customer must start the transfer again.
- The customer may have the wrong email address associated with the domain.
- The customer may not have their username/password for the domains management page, which is separate from their XMission account username/password.
To successfully transfer a domain, the following conditions must exist:
- A domain cannot be in a locked or hold status.
- For the reseller to reseller transfers - or registrar to registrar transfers - the domain must have resided with the losing registrar for more than 60 days since it was first registered or transferred there.
- Transfers add one year to the domains's registration; therefore, the gaining reseller must have a sufficient balance for the renewal in order to complete the transfer request.
- Domain names that are expired but not deleted (up to 40 days past the expiry date, for most TLDs) can be transferred.
- The current administrative contact's email address must be valid, to allow for the confirmation of the transfer request.
NOTE: A domains's name servers cannot be changed during a registrar transfer. The nameservers will remain the same during the transfer, and they can be changed once the domain has reached the receiving registrar.
Extra Info Not all registrars handle transfers/renewals or registrations the same as our reseller. Some placed do not want to let domains go, so they drag their feet and make it difficult which can be annoying but there really is nothing we can do about it.
How do I manage my domain?
Depending on what part of our system your domain was registered determines where you can manager your domain.
domains.xmission.com
If you registered your domain from http://domains.xmission.com then you can go there and put your domain in the filed for Manage your domain enter your domain and the username and password you used when you registered your domain. This can be different from your XMission username/password. If you do not remember your username/password you can contact us.
cp.xmission.com
If you registered your domain from http://store.xmission.com then you can visit http://cp.xmission.com Log in with the username and password you created when you registered your domain.
How do I renew my domain?
When your domain is up for renewal, OpenSRS, the registrar we resell through, will send a paper invoice to the billing address on the domain. As an additional reminder, XMission will send an email reminder to the account that the domain was registered to. The charge for an extra year will be charged along with your next month of Internet services. If you do not wish to renew, please contact accounting and notify them that you would like the domain to lapse.
WHOIS / Contact Privacy
Domain Name WHOIS / Contact privacy hides the identity of a domain registrant when someone does a WHOIS lookup on that registrant's domain. The benefit of having WHOIS Privacy is that the registrant's identity, including address, phone number, and email address, is shielded from spammers, identity thieves, and other undesirables. WHOIS Privacy is handled though the OpenSRS Doman Management Portal(https://manage.opensrs.net). Once logged in, select Domain Extras, then next to Enable WHOIS Privacy click in the circle to enable, and lastly hit save
NOTE: Contact Privacy is $5.00 per domain yearly and is a non-refundable fee. This fee from XMission is approximately half of what the other common registrar services charge.
You can enable Contact privacy for a domain at any time. If enabled, it expires at the same time as the domain name. If the domain is set to auto-renew, Contact Privacy also auto-renews(and incurs any associated cost) at the same time.
If someone tries to contact an email address associated with a domain that is protected by Contact Privacy, they receive an auto-responded message instructing them to visit contactprivacy.com in order to reach the registrant.
Privacy Caveats
NOTE that some domain extensions have privacy caveats:
- .at, .co.at, .or.at: Since May 21, 2010, contact data (defined as phone number, fax number, e-mail address) is hidden by the registrar and must be explicitly made public.
- .ca: Since June 10, 2008, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority no longer posts registration details of individuals associated with .ca domains.
- .de: Owner and technical contact must show their postal addresses. Phone number and e-mail address do not have to be made public.
- .nl: Since January 12, 2010, registrant postal addresses are no longer publicly available.
- .us: In March 2005, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said that owners of .us domains will not have the option of keeping their information private, and that it must be made public.
- .uk: Nominet, the guardian of UK domain namespace, provide inclusive domain privacy tools on their extensions (.co.uk, .me.uk etc.), providing that the registrant is not trading from the domain name.
- For more information click the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_privacy
Redemption
One of the most costly things to happen to a domain is when they go into a redemption.
Redemption is when a domain has gone through a renewal phase without payment, that phase is usually 40 days from the first warning. It will then sit 30 days in a hold state until it is released into the general public.
If you wish to bring the domain out of redemption the cost is $80 in addition to the domain's regular one year renewal cost.
Where do I set my DNS?
domains.xmission.com
If you purchased your domain from http://domains.xmission.com and you do not have any hosting services. Additional DNS services will be required to manage your DNS. Primary DNS can be added to your account for $5/mo. That will allow you to manage your DNS, setting up the different components that tell the whole world where to find and send mail to your domain.
Legacy Hosting
- Currently you can call us to make changes to your DNS
If you currently set up with out Shared Hosting package you can manger your DNS here:
Cloud Hosting
If you are currently set up with our Cloud Hosting package you can manage your DNS by Logging into your Control Pannel:
KVM
If you are currently set up with our KVM Hosting package you can mange your DNS here:
cp.xmission.com
If you purchased a domain from http://store.xmission.com you can manage your DNS here:
Do you offer Parked Domains?
Domain parking refers to the registration of an internet domain name without that domain being associated with any services such as e-mail or a website
If you choose to not do anything with your domain that is ok. When you are ready we offer hosting services that will suit your needs.
Do you offer domain alias or redirect?
A Domain Alias allows you to point a domain name to another domain name. (E.g. http://www.mydomain.com would open the same as http://www.my-domain.com) An alias will keep the domain the visitor entered in the address bar of their browser.
A Domain Redirect will allow you to direct your traffic to another page or another domain. This works well if you are developing a new site or changed your domain name and want to redirect traffic to the new site. A redirect will change the URL after it has been typed in the address bar.
Both of these servers require DNS Services or Hosting to work properly.
