7 Tips For Managing Your Domain & DNS
February 14, 2017 filed under: 7 Things, Website Design
For the last post in our technical setup series, we'll focus on website domains and DNS, another important component to your website's success.
1. Domains defined
The domain name for your website refers to the site’s unique URL, for example, tunnel7.com, cnn.com and airbnb.com. It’s what you type directly into your browser to get to a particular website.
2. More terms - DNS defined
DNS stands for Domain Name Server and it’s what tells your internet service provider where to go on the internet for a particular website. More specifically, DNS translates domain names into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that computers can read. So, for example, when you enter airbnb.com into your browser window, the DNS translates that domain name into a numerical IP address, which then directs your internet service provider to the Airbnb website.
3. Make sure you own all domain names
I often find that my clients (both big and small) don’t own their website domains. Instead their IT company or web designer does. I always stress the importance of keeping domain ownership in house, as it can make a big difference in avoiding confusion and problems down the road. If, for example, your IT company goes under, the transfer of your domains could get lost in the shuffle or you might have to go through the process of transferring them at the last minute. If you’re not sure who owns them, I highly recommend doing some research to find out. Ideally all of your domains should also be under the same registrar, which makes things much simpler. I walk my clients through this process on a regular basis.
4. Set domains to automatically renew to eliminate domain piracy problems
We all have way too much on our plates already and remembering to renew your website domains each year will undoubtedly fall to the bottom of your list. Save yourself the headache and the risk of domain piracy by setting them to renew automatically. It will make your life a lot easier and you won’t be at risk of losing any of your domains.
5. Know who maintains your DNS
Often your DNS will be owned by a web hosting or IT company, but it's important to be sure you know who this is.
6. Server changes often correspond to DNS entry revisions
Knowing who owns your DNS can help you avoid problems when DNS entry changes are needed. DNS changes are often needed when server changes are made and knowing who is responsible for the DNS can help ensure that server changes go smoothly.
7. Consider domain verification records for email spam control
This is the process of verifying that your domain is legitimate and is sending email correctly. It’s essentially a DNS record that gets entered on your domain and prevents spammers from sending messages from your domain. I take care of this for many of my clients or I can walk you through the process.
Interested in learning more? Get in touch to schedule a training on this or to discuss other web-related services for your organization.
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/2wxk7eh
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/