FAQ List
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about domain names, hosting and our other services.
Top Domain Questions
How long does it take to register my domain?
The time to register a domain varies depending on what the extension of the domain. With most TLDs we will be able to register them instantaneously for you after your payment has been made and your account verified. However with others you may be required to wait between 2 to 60 days depending on the regulatory requirements of the TLD in question.
On our international domain pages we indicate the estimated registration time for each TLD. To view these just click on the International Domains menu title at the top of the page. Once the registration process is completed you will receive an email to let you know.
Please be patient & rest assured your order will not be forgotten about. We will strive to do our best to register your domain as soon as possible.
How do I find out domain registration timeframe for a particular gTLD?
2) Navigate from Domain Region to click on desired country.
3) An estimated domain registration timeframe will be displayed at the bottom.
General Domain Questions
Domain Registration
Why do I need a domain name?
Domain names are your Internet address. Most domains are registered by businesses as a way of providing information and as a means of communication to their customers. Many businesses register their domains in multiple countries in order to protect their brand. Owning your own domain also allows you to have a personalized email address and website if purchased with hosting. Rather than having a generic email address setup with Hotmail, Gmail or the like (e.g. joe5572@hotmail.com) you can have one setup with your domain and hosting (e.g. joe@joesbuilding.com).
Domain names are portable. With your own domain name, you are no longer tied to your ISP to access email or host your website. No more changing email addresses when you change ISPs!
Domain names improve search engine rankings. Search engines rank websites with their own domain names higher than those using an ISP address.
Domain names show professionalism. Why advertise a website address like: http://www.yourisp.com/user123/ when you could have www.yourdomain.com. Your customers will be more confident dealing with your company if you have your own identity on the internet for your website and email.
Domain names are memorable. A long website or email address at your ISP can be difficult to remember. A short, relevant domain name is memorable and will increase traffic to your site.
Can I reserve a domain?
What is a Reserved Name?
How do I register a domain name?
There are a variety of ways in which you can submit a domain application to us. By following any of the procedures below you should not have any problems:
On the front page search panel, under the "Register You Domain Here" tab enter the domain name you wish to register in the text box, choose which countries you would like the domain registered in via the check boxes and then click "Search". If the domain is available, click "Continue". You will be required to log into the website, if you don't have an account you can sign up for a new account at this time. After logging in, simply follow the registration prompts and you should have no problems submitting the domain to us.
Under the "Domain Names" on the top menu, there is bulk domain search text area in the "Bulk Registration" section. Enter the exact domain name(s) you want in the text area and click the "Bulk Search" button. Once the availability check has determined the domains are available, click "Continue to Register" and follow the prompts.
What do I need to register a domain?
In same cases Only Domains can act as an agent on your behalf to secure the domain for you.
How long does it take to register my domain?
On our international domain pages we indicate the estimated registration time for each TLD. To view these just click on the International Domains menu title at the top of the page. Once the registration process is completed you will receive an email to let you know.
Please be patient & rest assured your order will not be forgotten about. We will strive to do our best to register your domain as soon as possible.
How many domains can I register?
We have no limit on the number of domains you can register with OnlyDomains.
What ccTLD’s can you register?
What restrictions apply to certain domain names?
Some countries may request the domain applicant to provide an identification number or documents to complete the registration. For specific requirements, please refer to our website on the Domain Names section or you will be notified by our support email if the applied domain is restricted.
Can OnlyDomains act as an agent if I do not meet a domain's requirements?
Who owns the domain if OnlyDomains acts as my agent?
What characters can be used in domain names?
- Begin or end with a dash (-).
- Contain special characters, such as ! @# $ % & ? ~ : _ ( )
- Have a dash (-) in the third and/or fourth positions.
Domain Expiration/Renewal
When does my domain expire?
How do I know when to renew my domain?
How do I renew my domain name?
What happens if I don't renew before the expiry date?
At what point can I register an expired domain?
Can I reserve a domain?
What is a Reserved Name?
Domain Management
How do I manage my domain name?
1) Click on Your Registered Domains under the ‘Domains’ section.
2) Click on the desired domain name to manage.
Tip – You can manage multiple domains by selecting their tick box & clicking ‘Bulk DNS Edit’
Can I point my domain to another website?
How do I delegate my domain to new name servers?
To change the name servers for a domain, also known as a DNS delegation, please follow these steps below
Login to your account, Go to your list of registered domains
Place a tick in the box to the left of the domain you wish to delegate
Click the Delegate button
Click the radio button 'Delegate to your Name servers'
The DNS data box will open
Insert your name servers in the Host Name. You must have at least 2 name servers
(click 'Add' if you need to insert more than 2 name servers)
Once all name servers are entered click 'Confirm'
Your delegation request will be sent to our systems for immediate processing.
PLEASE ALLOW 24-48HRS FOR GLOBAL PROPAGATION BEFORE MAKING ANY FURTHER MODIFICATIONS
Note
- some ccTLD modification will attract a Registry Modification Charge.
- In most cases, the IP of the name server is not required.
Why is my delegation taking so long?
PLEASE ALLOW 24-48HRS FOR GLOBAL PROPAGATION BEFORE MAKING ANY FURTHER MODIFICATIONS
Why is my delegation not working?
Several ccTLD have rules about how the name servers that the domains in their name space are configured. The 5 major ccTLD that do this are; .DE, .FR, .IT, .DK and .NL. Most of these sites have tools you can use to see if the requested DNS passes the rules of the registry.
DE - http://zonecheck.denic.de/zonecheck/en
FR - http://www.afnic.fr/outils/zonecheck/form_en
IT - http://www.nic.it/cgi-bin/DNSCheck/index.cgi
NO - http://www.norid.no/domenenavnbaser/zonecheck/form_advanced.php
HU - http://www.domain.hu/domain/English/regcheck/
NL - http://www.sidn.nl/ace.php/c,728,778,,,,Nameserver_check.html
What is DNS?
Domain name servers, or DNS, are an incredibly important but completely hidden part of the Internet. The DNS system forms one of the largest databases on the planet.
Human-readable names like "onlydomains.com" are easy for people to remember, but they aren't easy for machines (computers) to work with. All of the machines on the Internet use names called IP addresses to refer to one another. For example, the machine that humans refer to as "www.onlydomains.com" has the IP address 199.58.187.45. Every time you use a domain name, you use the Internet's domain name servers (DNS) to translate the human-readable domain name into the machine-readable IP address.Domain Transfer
Can I transfer my domain to you?
How long does a domain transfer take?
How do I transfer my domain?
1) Click on Transfer Domains under the ‘Domains’ section.
2) Enter the domain(s) you wish to transfer & click ‘Transfer Domains’.
3) Confirm which domains you would like to transfer & click ‘Transfer’.
4) Enter the Domain ‘Auth Code’ & confirm/modify Domain Registrant/Owner Information.
5) Select/Modify suited Domain Name Activation options.
6) Complete payment details.
7) We will keep you updated via email on the progress of your transfer.
How does the transfer system work?
Generally once you have submitted the transfer request we will initiate it at the corresponding registry. Depending on the domain you may need to provide us with a Domain Password before we can do this.
Once this transfer has been initiated and email will be sent normally to the current admin contact by the registry. This is the contact specified during the initial domain registration and Only Domains has no control over this. The email is sent as a form of validation. Most delays are caused by this email going unanswered.
The email contains a link of domain-transfer confirmation. Once you have confirmed it the domain will be transferred to our registrar account, and your domain will become active in your account.
How do I transfer a domain to my account with Only Domains?
Login to your account, In the Domain Management section look for 'Transfer Your Domain(s)'
Insert your domain name into the bulk transfer data field. If you have multiple domains a new line must be used for each domain. You must include the extension. E.g. domain.com or domain.co.uk
Click 'Transfer Domains' You will be given a screen that displays the domains you are transferring and you may be required to insert the domain Auth Code
Assign the correct Registrant, Admin, Technical and Billing contact. Click Continue
Indicate your preferred DNS option. Further eligibility criteria may be required.(you may be given the option to use Only Domains as your Agency)*
Click 'Proceed to Next Step'
Review the total cost and agree to the 'Terms and Conditions'
Click 'Proceed to Next Step'
The transfer request will be submitted to our systems.
.CO.UK Transfers
To continue the transfer of your .co.uk domain, you will need to contact your current registrar and ask them to change the current IPS-TAG to "RAREDOMAINS-AU". Once you can confirm that this information has been changed, please contact us and we will finish the transfer and put the domain into your account.
What is a Domain Auth Code?
How can I request my domain Auth Code?
How can I request my UDAI key?
What is the difference between a trade and a transfer?
How To...
Registration Process
How do I register a domain name?
There are a variety of ways in which you can submit a domain application to us. By following any of the procedures below you should not have any problems:
On the front page search panel, under the "Register You Domain Here" tab enter the domain name you wish to register in the text box, choose which countries you would like the domain registered in via the check boxes and then click "Search". If the domain is available, click "Continue". You will be required to log into the website, if you don't have an account you can sign up for a new account at this time. After logging in, simply follow the registration prompts and you should have no problems submitting the domain to us.
Under the "Domain Names" on the top menu, there is bulk domain search text area in the "Bulk Registration" section. Enter the exact domain name(s) you want in the text area and click the "Bulk Search" button. Once the availability check has determined if the domains are available, click "Continue to Register" and follow the prompts.
How to check domain registration timeframe for a specific domain?
2) Navigate from Domain Region to click on desired country.
3) An estimated domain registration timeframe will be displayed at the bottom.
Technical How to's...
How do I change my name servers?
1) Click on Your Registered Domains under the ‘Domains’ section
2) Click on the desired domain to change or click the cog icon under ‘Setup DNS’ to the right of the domain name.
3) Select ‘Delegate to Your Name Servers’ then add your new name servers under the Host Name field.
Tip - You can change Name Servers on multiple domains by selecting their tick box & clicking ‘Bulk DNS Edit’ then selecting ‘Delegate to Your Name Servers’
How do I forward my domain to my site?
2) Click on the desired domain to change or click the cog icon under ‘Setup DNS’ to the right of the domain name.
3) Select ‘Setup/Edit Web Redirection’ then choose which site to redirect to along with redirection type.
How do I edit my zone file?
(DNS Forwarding) MX, A-Records & CNAME
To perform DNS forwarding, which involves changing your zone file (MX, A-Records & CNAME) use the following steps
Login to your account
Go to your list of registered domains
Click on the domain you want to modify
In the Domain Name Server Details section, click the 'Set up DNS Forwarding' radio button.
To edit a record click the edit icon next to the record you want to edit. Once you have made your change to the record click the disc icon to save it.
To delete a record click the cross next to the record you want to delete.
Domains Sales & Accounts
Why do I need a domain name?
Domain names are your Internet address. Most domains are registered by businesses as a way of providing information and as a means of communication to their customers. Many businesses register their domains in multiple countries in order to protect their brand. Owning your own domain also allows you to have a personalized email address and website if purchased with hosting. Rather than having a generic email address setup with Hotmail, Gmail or the like (e.g. joe5572@hotmail.com) you can have one setup with your domain and hosting (e.g. joe@joesbuilding.com).
Domain names are portable. With your own domain name, you are no longer tied to your ISP to access email or host your website. No more changing email addresses when you change ISPs!
Domain names improve search engine rankings. Search engines rank websites with their own domain names higher than those using an ISP address.
Domain names show professionalism. Why advertise a website address like: http://www.yourisp.com/user123/ when you could have www.yourdomain.com. Your customers will be more confident dealing with your company if you have your own identity on the internet for your website and email.
Domain names are memorable. A long website or email address at your ISP can be difficult to remember. A short, relevant domain name is memorable and will increase traffic to your site.
Are there any extra fees?
What payment options do you offer?
Bank transfers are available for orders over $500 USD – Please contact us further information.
I have placed an order for a domain, why is it not registered yet?
While we do our best to process all applications as fast as possible, many times there is a delay with the registry. Some registries still work on old systems where manual faxing of documents is required. Generally most domains are registered within 48 hours of submission, however in some cases there may be a delay of up to 30 days or more.
You can contact us at any time to check the status of you application.
Can you offer me a discount on a selected domain or bulk registrations?
We believe our domain prices are already very competitive, for that reason we do not offer discounts.
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