Updated: Feb 13/2012
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NETWORK SOLUTIONS - We use Network Solutions as our Registrar and Host provider. Founded in 1979, they were the pioneers of the industry, and were the first and only registrar around until 1999.

In 2000, VeriSign (the world's leading provider of e-commerce and e-mail security), aquired Network Solutions (the world's leading provider of Internet domain name registrations), for an unprecedented 20 billion dollars. Other services offered by Network Solutions included web hosting, website design, e-commerce, search engine marketing, and SSL certificates.

Network Solutions has been well established for decades. Despite competition from nearly a thousand Accredited Registrars, they continue to be one of the very Top Domain Registrars and one of the very Top Web Hosting Companies in the world.

Their ongoing support for cyber security, online safety awareness and education, combined with their array of collaborative efforts concerning anti-phishing, anti-spam, malware data sharing, online child safety initiatives, etc., clearly make this company stand out as the best choice. For phone support we get to speak to a human within a reasonable amount of time, but what we like most is the fact that for years we have never had any problems with their hosting or email.

GoDaddy may have the largest market share, but their actions are questionable. See Why GoDaddy Hasn't Earned My Forgiveness and has earned PETA's Scummiest CEO of the Year Award and Shooting an Elephant: Why GoDaddy's CEO Was Wrong.


DOMAIN NAME MANAGEMENT SERVICES and FEES - Get your very own domain name (www.your_site.ca) today before it's gone!

IMPORTANT - Registering your domain name for longer terms gives your website a boost in search results. Search engines consider domains registered for 5 years or more as being more legitimate, plus it costs less per year.

Self Serve: Our Service Fees:
  • Domain Name Search - Free, reasonable limits apply
  • New Domain Name Registration - $30 (Can), plus whatever Network Solutions charges for the registration term you want
  • Domain Name Registration Renewal - $15 (Can), plus whatever Network Solutions charges for the registration term you want
  • Domain Name Transfer - $30 (Can), plus whatever Network Solutions charges for the registration term you want
  • Additional Services - $15 (Can), plus whatever Network Solutions charges for the service. This includes services such as editing existing email accounts, setting up additional email accounts, changing DNS servers, adding extra services such as private registration. Basically if you need us to log in and make changes, it will usually cost you $15


DOMAIN NAME EXTENSIONS:

Canadian Domain Names - You must be a Canadian citizen, or have a local presence or business established in Canada
  • Canada [.ca] (Canadian Top Level Domain)
Generic Top Level Domains
  • .com - Commercial organizations (Open and unrestricted)
  • .net - Networks & internet service providers (Open and unrestricted)
  • .org /.asn - Noncommercial/nonprofit organizations/associations (Open and unrestricted)
  • .myname - Individuals' names (Open and unrestricted, 2nd & 3rd-level names allowed)
  • .aero - Air-transport industry (Restricted - Aviation Community Membership ID Required)
  • .biz - Businesses (Restricted - Bona fide business or commercial use only)
  • .coop - Cooperatives (Restricted - Registered Cooperatives only)
  • .museum - Museums (Restricted - Accredited museums only)
  • .pro - Verified licensed professionals (Accountants, Lawyers, Physicians, etc.) (Restricted - Proof of professional status required)
  • .kids.us - Child safe domain space (Restricted - Content and technology restrictions verified)

Special Top Level Domains
  • .edu - Schools, universities, & official educational organizations (Restricted)
  • .gov /.govt - US government (Restricted)
  • .int - Organizations established by international treaties (Restricted)
  • .mil - Military (Restricted)

"Fad" Extensions - .tv, .fm and .ws are also available to the general public, but should only be used for television, radio, or personal web sites. They were once country code extensions that were bought out. It's usually not good marketing to use domain extensions that aren't very well-known to the general public.


DOMAIN REGISTRATION AND OWNERSHIP:

When you register a domain name with a Registrar, maintaining authority over your new name space is a serious consideration. Registrars store and use several key pieces of information connected with your domain name. These include the Registrant, the Administrative contact, and the Technical contact.

Domain Name - The domain name is the part of the URL that tells a domain name server where to find a web page. For example, "yoursite.com" is the domain name in the URL "http://www.yoursite.com". The only valid characters for a domain name are letters, numbers and a hyphen (-). A domain name can be up to 64 characters long -- including the 4 characters used to identify the Top Level Domain (.net, .com, .org or .edu). Do not type the www. before your domain name when registering.

Registrar - This is the company that you register your domain name with for a period of time that you purchase. It is also where you register the Registrant, the Administrative contact, and Technical contact. Most domain name Registrars also offer DNS hosting service with registration. That means you can register your domain name, and also have your website hosted on their servers. If you want to have your website hosted by another company, you have to login to your Registrar and change the DNS servers so they point to the new DNS server addresses, provided by your new web hosting company. That would be a DNS transfer, not a Registrar transfer.

Registrant - This is the owner, and it should be the owning entity's legal name (an individual's name, corporate name, or other legal entity). You should not use a D.B.A. name (Doing Business As), a trade name, employee's name, or the name of your website designer, hosting provider, or Registrar. A Domain name is a company asset that is usually owned by the owner of the company. It adds value to the company, and is usually transferred to a new owner if the company is sold. You register your business name with the Government, and your domain name with a Registrar to prove ownership, and to add some level of protection for those names.

According to the book "Intellectual Property Law in Cyberspace" By G. Peter Albert, Laff, Whitesel & Saret, "A domain name is registered to a legal entity. Thus, the applicant's legal name, whether it is an individual's name or a company's legal name is entered in this field."

Administrative contact - This should usually be someone who has the authority (or holds a position like president or vice-president) to make policy decisions for the company, or the individual who owns the domain name. It should not be the same person as the technical contact. A Registrant (owner) usually designates an Administrative contact to manage the domain name on their behalf. The Administrative contact usually has the highest level of control over a domain. Management functions delegated to the Administrative contact may include management of all business information, such as name of record, postal address, and contact information of the official Registrant (owner) of the domain. They also have an obligation to conform to the requirements of the domain registry in order to retain the right to use a domain name. Furthermore the Administrative contact installs additional contact information for technical and billing functions.

According to the book "Intellectual Property Law in Cyberspace" By G. Peter Albert, Laff, Whitesel & Saret, "The administrative contact is the person or organization authorized to act on behalf of the applicant. The administrative contact must be able to answer nontechnical questions about the applicant's plans for using the domain name and the procedures for establishing sub domains."

Primary contact - For personal accounts, the Account Holder is also the Primary Contact, and the Primary Administrator. There is only one Primary contact per account.

For business accounts, the Account Holder assigns a Primary Contact as the legal representative, with full authority to act on behalf of the Account Holder to manage the account. Only Account Holders and Primary Contacts can edit or replace a Primary Contact.

Technical contact - This contact is generally the person or department responsible for the technical aspects of the server hosting your site. If your website is hosted on an internal server, this is usually your Network Administrator. If your site is hosted by an outside website host, their name should be listed here because they are responsible for the server that hosts your website. The Technical contact manages the name servers of a domain name, and assures that the configurations of the domain name conform with the requirements of the domain registry. They also maintain the domain zone records, and provide continuous functionality of the name servers (which leads to the accessibility of your domain name).

According to the book "Intellectual Property Law in Cyberspace" By G. Peter Albert, Laff, Whitesel & Saret, "The technical contact for a domain name registration is typically the person or organization who maintains the registrant's primary name server, resolver software, and database files." Furthermore, "The technical contact person is responsible for keeping the nameservers running and for interacting with technical people in other domains to solve technical problems that affect the domain name."

Billing contact - This is the person or department (for example, Accounts Payable) who receives billing invoices from the domain name registrar, and pays for the domain name registration each year. This person has no authority to request that the domain name be moved or the registration changed. The billing contact has no authority over the domain name.

Domain name servers - Also known as DNS servers. Domains usually need at least two authoritative name servers that perform name resolution for the domain. If they are not automatically provided by the registrar, the domain holder must specify domain names and IP addresses for these servers.


DOMAIN FAQ's:

What is a URL? - URL stands for "Uniform Resource Locator". It is the unique address used to locate documents and resources on the Internet. The syntax for these addresses is: "protocol://hostname.domainname/directory/filename".

What is a domain name? - The domain name is the part of the URL that tells a domain name server where to find a web page. For example, "mycompany.com" is the domain in the URL "http://www.mycompany.com".

Do I need a domain name? - If you want a web site, and/or wish to use Internet e-mail addresses that reflect the name of your company, you'll need a domain name. Every computer and web site on the Internet has a unique domain name, which is actually a unique address.

How do domain names work? - The DNS (Domain Name System) converts the domain name requested by an Internet user into an IP (Internet Protocol) address. For example, Delta Computer's domain name is deltacomputers.ca, but the actual address is 74.213.174.118

Can I use Internet e-mail addresses without a web site? - Yes, provided that you purchase and register a domain name. In these cases, a real Internet machine must handle your mail on behalf of the listed domain name.

Can I use more than one domain name? - Yes, you can have as many domain names as you want (subject to applicable restrictions). For example, let's say you own a store that sells widgets. If available, you could register and use any or all of the following:
  • www.widgets.bc.ca
  • www.widgets.ca
  • www.widgets.com
  • www.thegreatwidgetcompany.com
Why would I want more than one domain name? - You could use variations of your companies name and have them all point to the same web site. That way customers who get your name wrong will still find your site. If you have stores that offer different products, you could have a separate web site for each store, or you could have a main page that all domain names point to. From there users can select the area they want (deltawidgets.ca, surreywidgets.ca, etc.). Multiple domain names can point to one web site, but a single domain name cannot point to multiple web sites.

Can I get a domain name reserved? - Yes, this is handy if you want to reserve a domain name now and build a web site later. Be aware that there are now laws that prohibit "sitting" on a domain name. The legislation is designed to stop the monopolistic buying out of domain names. You must do something with your domain name. You can use a "free parking" service ("under construction" or "coming soon" page), but it would be better to have a simple one-page web site developed and hosted with your contact information on it.


LINKS:

Click here to check Canadian registered trademarks.
Click here to check American registered trademarks.