Why You Need to Visit WhoIs

Recent case studies of 5 small business owners whose Web sites disappeared from the Internet may be the subject of an upcoming e-Book. The condition occurs more often than some people realize, so the following advice is now being issued. Free domain registration information is easily obtained and should be reviewed by any site owner who is unfamiliar with the term "hooey". Many web site owners may not know what Whops means, so here's a short version and action plan. Do it today! Web sites go missing for a variety of reasons, and small business owners are particularly susceptible to this problem because they are too busy running a business to learn about the risks associated with WWW domains or hosting. Here's an outline of the root cause in each of the 5 case studies: 1. Inactive administrative contact email address 2. Hidden registrar and wrong registrant 3. Expired credit card for hosting 4. Hijacked domain and identity theft 5. An,  As shown in an example registrant of an ISP, learn from the mistakes of others, and in a few easy steps you can prevent this unfortunate surprise. The advice includes characters that may not be familiar. Let us introduce them first so that you can understand the difference between registry, registrar and registrar. Registry - the worldwide authority that regulates the issuance of WWW domains to avoid duplicates Registrar - a service company authorized to register or renew domains with the Registry Registrar - the entity, individual or company that is responsible for a particular WWW domain Owns the license * Note: does not own a domain. Registration is a special license for a fixed period. Most web site owners obtain WWW domains for personal or commercial use through a registrar who acts on your behalf and applies for your domain with the registry.   Approval is usually received within 24 hours. Your registration information is then kept on file with the Registry. This is long forgotten unless there is a problem, usually by surprise! Solution: Using any of the major search engines, do a search on "who is" and follow the link to access the "who" is database. Most have a search box to enter your WWW domain name, and once you hit the Enter or Go button, the report is received within seconds. Reports can vary in format, however, all should display important information including registrar, registrant, administrative contact, technical contact, and perhaps billing contact. Verify the accuracy of each, however, if anyone data is important it is an administrative contact. This should be you, and it should have a currently active email address listed. If one is false, it needs to be corrected. Next, let's explore the importance of administrative liaison. Administrative Contact is the only recognized authority to control your domain, including changes, but wait. Changes may only be made by email correspondence, so your name as the registrant (or admin contact) does not make you an authorized person for changes. This is what answers to emails listed under Administrative Contacts, so an old or invalid email address won't work. The admin email address must be yours, and needs to be kept current. Problem? Begin with your Internet service provider to learn how to correct the entries. You may also need to contact your registrar.