Assorted Guides: domaincontender.com Services

Table of Contents

1. Registration Services
   1. Domain Registration
2. Hosting Services
   1. Free Hosting
   2. Virtual Domains (Subdomains)
   3. URL Redirection
   4. Free For Sale Page
3. Other Services
   1. Free Parking
   2. SSL Certificate
   3. Nameserver Registration

Registration Services

Domain Registration

Domain Contender offers Internet domain name registrations for only US$7.95 a year for .COM, .NET,.ORG and .INFO domain names. Plus, you get many free services with your registration. Just create a free account at http://www.domaincontender.com/signup/ and then register the domain in your account. Here are the steps to register a domain.

1. Log into your account at https://secure.domaincontender.com/myaccount
2. Click on "Domain Registrations" under the Basic Options section.
3. Search for your desired domain name(s), selecting either the basic or advanced search feature.
4. When an available domain is found, click on that domain to add it to your Shopping Cart.
5. When you finish finding available domains, click on "Check Out."
6. Examine the list of domains in your Shopping Cart, setting the number of years to register the domains to the desired amount and removing any domains you do not wish to register. Then, click on "Continue Purchase."
7. Choose the appropriate contacts and nameservers for the domains, and then click on "Continue Purchase." Check over the confirmation information for your purchase, enter your credit card information (or use your Domain Contender Dollars) and then click on "Purchase." (Note: only click purchase ONCE; the process can take several minutes).
8. You will receive an invoice via email.

Hosting Services

Free Hosting

If you have registered a domain with Domain Contender, you can host your domain site at Domain Contender for free, in exchange for Domain Contender service ad banners.

The Domain Contender Free Hosting package offers 20 megabytes of Web space, with unlimited subdomains and unlimited data transfers. We also offer free email forwarding, parking and site redirection. You can enroll in this service using any or all of your Domain Contender domain names. You can also set up unlimited virtual hosts with each domain name.

To set up your site for free hosting:

1. Log into your Domain Contender account at https://secure.domaincontender.com/myaccount/.
2. Click on the "Domain Manager" link.
3. Click on the "Change Hosting Information" icon to the right of the domain that you wish to modify.
4. Click on the "Change Hosting Type" link and choose "Free web site."
5. Click on the "Change Hosting Type" button at the bottom of the page.

Virtual Domains (Subdomains)

A virtual domain is an extension of your domain name. Once you have purchased "yourname.com," you can create branches of this name, such as "anything.yourname.com." These are called virtual domains. The advantages of creating a virtual domain are that you can receive 20 MB of space on our server per virtual domain, and it is much easier to direct people to various parts of your domain without hassling with long URLs and file extensions. To create a virtual domain, you must have your domain in "Hosting" status. Once that is complete follow these instructions:

1. Log into your Domain Contender account at https://secure.domaincontender.com/myaccount.
2. Click on the "Domain Manager" link.
3. Click on the "Change Hosting Information" icon to the right of the domain you wish to create a virtual host.
4. Click on the "Add New Virtualhost" link.
5. Enter the virtual domain you would like to create and then click the "Add Virtual Host" button.

URL Redirection

You can point your domain to an already existing website. You can choose to redirect with or without frames. With frames, your domain name will remain in the address bar, while without frames, the web address you are redirecting to will show up in the user's address bar.

To redirect a domain name to an existing website follow these instructions:

1. Log into your account and click on the "Domain Manager" link.
2. Click on the "Change Hosting Information" icon next to the domain you wish to modify and then click on the "Change Hosting Type" button.
3. Click on the button next to the "Redirect" option. You can choose either "Redirect" or "Redirect with no frame."
4. Click on the "Change Hosting Type" button.

The following page will allow you to enter the URL to which you wish to redirect your domain. Make sure that you click the "Redirect" button to submit the change. It may take up to 48 hours for the changes to propagate, if your domain has not been using Domain Contender nameservers.

Free For Sale Page

You can put up a for sale page for your domain so that anyone who goes to your URL will see that the domain is for sale and have an email address to contact you. To mark your domain for sale:

1. Click on the "Change Hosting Information" icon to the right of the domain you want to park under the "Options" heading.
2. Click the "Change Hosting Type" link and select the radial button next to "For Sale."
3. Then, click the "Change Hosting Type" button.

Other Services

Free Parking

Temporarily park a domain after registering with Domain Contender to obtain an "under-construction" page.

To park your domain:

1. Log into your account at https://secure.domaincontender.com/myaccount
2. Click on "Domain Manager."
3. Click on the "Change Hosting Information" link, represented by the house icon, to the right of the domain you want to park, under the "Options" heading.
4. Click on the "Change Hosting Type" link and select the radial button, next to "Parked domain."
5. Click the "Change Hosting Type" button.

SSL Certificate

A server certificate allows you to verify your identity, privileges or relationship to another party in an online transaction. When used in combination with encryption, it also allows you to encrypt information that you send to another person to provide additional assurance that only the intended party can access the data and that the data will not be compromised en route. A digital certificate facilitates these security measures, which in turn allow applications like email, online trading, and credit card purchasing to be executed in a more secure environment.

The price is US$118 per certificate per year.

Nameserver Registration

If you have a static IP and DNS running properly on your computer, you can register a nameserver through Domain Contender based on the domain that registered through Domain Contender. To register your own nameserver:

1. Log into your account at https://secure.domaincontender.com/myaccount.
2. Click on "Domain Manager" and click the "Change Nameserver Information" icon next to the domain desired.
3. Click on the "Create Nameserver" link at the top of the page.
4. Enter your server hostname and IP address for the nameserver and click "Create Nameserver."

Warning: Using "Create Nameserver" service will create an actual nameserver for which advanced configuration and software is required at the IP address of the computer. Do not create a nameserver unless software has already been installed to run the nameserver.