User Guide - Managing Your Domain Name

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is essentially the address of your website; it helps your visitors remember your site, and find it easily. So, when you select a domain name, try to make it as descriptive as possible - for example: BestDogGrooming.com, QualityPlumbing.biz, or AdamsFamilyBlog.info.

Your domain name also becomes a part of your email address - for example: John@AdamsFamilyBlog.info. Essentially, registering a domain (or adding a domain to your hosting account) is the next step towards building a website.

When you sign up for a hosting account, you're typically given the option to register a new domain name. If you signed up without registering a domain, you can register one later. You may also point any other domain names you already own to your new hosting account. Keep reading to find out how to register, add, consolidate, manage, and renew your domains.

Using DomainCentral

DomainCentral simplifies domain management. First, it's a central location where you can see all of your domains in one table, along with their various registrars, expirations dates, renewal options, and much more.

Using Domain Central

Second, from DomainCentral, you can configure domain options (for multiple domains at a time), edit domain information, and add services.

The basic process of using DomainCentral consists of these steps:

Consolidate your existing domains into DomainCentral
Manage all your domains
Renew your domains

The following sections walk you through each of these steps.

Consolidate All Domains into DomainCentral

If you registered domain names in different places, they will integrate into your account in different ways. Here are the possible domain types and instructions how to merge them into your hosting account:

Existing and New Domains: Domains you registered when you purchased your hosting account or domains that you registered later, through AccountSupport. Any domains you have registered through your AccountSupport account are automatically listed in DomainCentral

Article: Register a new domain name
Added Domains: Domains you have registered elsewhere, which you'd like pointed to your AccountSupport account. If you've registered domains elsewhere and want to manage them through DomainCentral, follow the instructions in this article.

Article: Add a domain that you registered elsewhere
Transferred Domains: Domains that are registered elsewhere that you'd like to transfer to AccountSupport's registrar. Here are some benefits of switching to AccountSupport's domain registrar:
- Manage your hosting account and domains together, all in one place,
- And take advantage of the Automated Domain Renewal Service (ADRS), and rest easy knowing your domain names won't expire unexpectedly.
Article: Transfer your domain to our registrar (complete process)

Manage All of Your Domains

DomainCentral makes it easy to manage the domains associated with your account. If your domains are registered through AccountSupport, you can:

Update the admin and contact information for each domain, as well as the registrant contact information (which is displayed in the Whois database),
Lock and unlock domain names,
And refresh Whois information for multiple domains at the same time.

Article: Managing Domains

You can also:

Secure Your Domain: Lock your domain so that it cannot be transferred to a different registrar unless you (the owner) unlock it first. Prevent name server changes, unwanted renewals and contact from spammers with Name Safe and Domain Privacy.

Article: Domain Security
Set a primary domain for your account:

Article: Setting a Primary Domain
Stay Updated by Keeping Your Contact Information Current: Your domain contact email will receive any important information relating to your registered domain, so it's important to keep it up to date.

Article: Domain Contact Information

Renew Your Domain

Renewing your domain name is a critical part of maintaining your website. If you've registered your domain with AccountSupport, or transferred your domain registrar to AccountSupport's registrar, you can renew your domain manually in DomainCentral, or enroll in our Automated Domain Renewal Service.

Article: Domain Renewal