Domain Names - FAQ

Q) What is domain name?
A) A domain name, signifies your own address on the Internet. As no two parties may ever hold the same domain name at the same time, it is a truly unique identifier of you or your company. It is how your customers will remember you and find you among the millions of other Web sites on the Internet.

Q) What's the difference between domain registration and web hosting?
A) Domain registration gives you a name to identify your website, but you still need a place on the Internet to store your actual website. This service of making your website available on the Internet is called web hosting. As a simple analogy, a domain name is like the address of your house, and web hosting is the actual house itself.

Q) Can I just register the name now and not have it hosted?
A) Yes, you can register the domain name only. Many people buy domain names so they can secure a name they want before someone else does.

Q) How long is my registration good for?
A) You can choose to register your domain for any period between one and ten years.

Q) Are domains case sensitive? Is thisdomain.com the same as THISDOMAIN.COM?
A) No. Domains are not case sensitive and by registering thisdomain.com the domain will also work the same if you use THISDOMAIN.COM or even tHisDoMaiN.com

Q) Can I register a domain with you, but host it with another company?
Yes. You can have any company you want host your web site. Just have them tell you the names of their DNS servers and update your registration to use these DNS servers.

Q) What happens when my registration expires?
A) About one month before your domain expires, we will send a notification email to the admin contact that you have listed. At that time, you can either renew or let it expire. Once your registration is expired, the name will become available to the public again.

Please note that due to the grace period or redemption period policy of the appropriate registrar, it might take over two months after expiration for the domain to get deleted and become available for re-registration.

Q) How do I change the DNS servers or other registration information for my domain?
A) To make any DNS changes we will need the request in writing.  You can send an email to support@ionline.co.za with the changes you want to be made.