Dynadot Help

Definitions

• What is a "Catch-All" email address?

  A "Catch All" email address is one that you can set up to receive any email sent to any address on your domain. For example, if you only have [email protected] set up, but you have it set as your catch all email, then you will also receive emails to [email protected], [email protected], as well as any typos. Setting up a catch all email is a good idea to ensure that you don't miss any emails sent to your domain. It is especially good if your name is something that is often misspelled. Learn how to set a catch-all email address in our Email plan

• What is stealth forwarding?

  Stealth forwarding is similar to domain forwarding except the domain name stays in the web browser's URL bar instead of being replaced by the new page's URL. This is is why it is called "stealth" forwarding because it appears that the web page displayed is actually part of the domain. So, say that you have a domain named myexample.org, and you want to use stealth forwarding to have your domain point to http://name.somedomain.com. When you use stealth forwarding, http://www.myexample.org will load the index page located at http://name.somedomain.com, however the http://www.myexample.org address will be displayed in the web browser's URL bar instead of the http://name.somedomain.com address. Find out how to set up stealth forwarding. Please be aware there are some drawbacks to using stealth domain forwarding. Stealth forwarding only affects the domain itself. If you want to set up email forwarding with your domain, that is done separately. Dynadot provides domain forwarding, stealth forwarding, and email forwarding free of charge when you register or transfer a domain name to us.

• What are name servers?

  A name server is a server that returns an IP address when given a domain name. This IP address is basically the domain's location on the Internet. Sometimes name servers are referred as DNS servers (and vice versa) because they essentially perform the same function; when given a domain name, they return the IP address for that domain. The difference is that with DNS, the domain owner will be setting the IP addresses to your domain and your mail server(s). For domains registered at Dynadot, you will be using the Dynadot servers, however, you will be setting up the IP addresses. If you are using name servers obtained from your web host, you are using your web host's servers, and they typically set up the IP addresses for you. Basically, DNS is where you set the IP address for your domain while with name servers, your web host sets the IP address for you. If you are using our web hosting, these are our name servers you can set your domain to use. Find out how to set your domain's name servers. Find out how to set up DNS for your domain.

• What does re-registration mean?

  When previously owned domains are released by the Registry back to the public for open registration, there is a fixed window where they qualify as re-registrations (re-reg). The window starts as soon as the domains are released, or dropped, and ends 23:59 UTC that same day. If a domain is registered within that time frame, it is a re-registration.

• What are zone name servers?

  Zone name servers (also known as root name servers) are servers that maintain a list of every domain's name servers. In summary, they tell web browsers where to find a certain domain's name servers. Then the domain's name servers tell the browser where that domain's website is located by returning an IP address. When you set or change your name servers, all of the zone name servers around the world must update their lists, which takes time. This is why it might take some time for your name server changes to propagate.

• What is a historical ccTLD?

  A historical ccTLD is a country code top-level domain whose two letter code is withdrawn from the ISO 3166-1 standard country code list that the ccTLDs are based on. This is usually due to the country the ccTLD was connected to either changing its name or being split up and no longer existing as it was. When this happens the ccTLD is often phased out and then deleted from the Domain Name System (DNS), meaning it can no longer be used. The following is a list of historical ccTLDs: .CS was the ccTLD for Czechoslovakia. Today .CZ is used for the Czech Republic and .SK for the Slovak Republic. .DD was the available ccTLD for East Germany, though it was never officially assigned to it. Following the reunification of Germany, .DE, which already existed, became the only ccTLD used. .GB was supposed to be the ccTLD for the United Kingdom based on the ISO 3166-1 standard country codes; however .UK was created and delegated as its ccTLD before the completion of the ISO list. After .GB was created, it never caught on and today, it is no longer possible to register domains under it. .OZ was originally assigned as Australia's ccTLD. After .AU was delegated as Australia's ccTLD instead, the namespace on .OZ was moved to .OZ.AU; however today this is no longer actively used and is considered a historical second-level domain (SLD). .SU was the ccTLD for the Soviet Union; however, unlike the others on this list, this historical ccTLD is still in use today. .TP was the ccTLD for East Timor. Today, .TL is used because the ISO 3166-1 standard country code was changed to "TL" for East Timor. .YU was the ccTLD for Yugoslavia. Today there are six different ccTLDs that are used to represent six different countries: .BA for Bosnia and Herzegovina, .HR for Croatia, .ME for Montenegro, .MK for Macedonia, .RS for Serbia, and .SI for Slovenia. .ZR was the ccTLD for Zaire, which is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo with the ccTLD of .CD. There are also some ccTLDs based on the ISO 3166-1 country code list that were created, but have not been used for various reasons.

• What is image alt text?

  Image alt text has a couple of uses. Basically, it's an opportunity to put into words what the image is and it's function on the page. This is helpful to both users and to Google and other search engines, which is why we have added an easy way to enter image alt text for images on our website builder. From a user standpoint, alt text is what shows in place of an image if they have images turned off on their web browser or are unable to see images for any other reason. For Google and other search engines, it helps them index the image, so it can be found based on the keywords you use in your image alt text. However, keep in mind that alt text best practices should mean that you're using relevant keywords to what is actually in the image and it's purpose on your website. If you would like more information about image alt text and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices, we doing some research online as there are many great resources out there.

• What are grace hours?

  Dynadot is one of the few registrars that supports domain tasting also know as grace deletions. Most domain extensions support grace deletions and most give you up to 118 grace hours to submit your grace deletion. You can see the amount of grace hours each domain extension offers on our Grace Deletion page. You can see the amount of grace hours left for your recent domain registrations by logging in to your Dynadot account and going to "New Domains" from the "Domains" drop down. There you will see a table that lists your most recent domain registrations (from top to bottom) as well as the amount of grace hours left for each of those domains under the "Grace (hours)" column. If you are planning to grace delete your domain, you must do so within the grace hours given for that domain; however, some domain extensions also have a maximum rate of deletion, which limits the number of grace deletions relative to the number of registrations. For this reason, even if you submit your grace deletion request within the grace hours of your domain, there is no guarantee you will be able to successfully grace delete it. If you are successful in your grace deletion, you will receive a refund in account credit minus any deletion fee. Grace domain deletion may be useful, for example, if you misspelled the domain name you wanted to register or you decide that you want to register a different domain name.

• What is DNS?

  DNS stands for Domain Name System (The "S" in DNS can also stand for Service or Server). It specifies how domain names are translated into IP addresses. Since the Internet is based on IP addresses, each time you use a domain name, a DNS server must translate the name into the correct IP address. A DNS server is a computer which takes in a domain name and returns the correct IP address for the domain. This IP address represents the domain's actual location on the Internet.

• What is ICANN's New gTLD Program?

  ICANN's New gTLD Program is an initiative to introduce new top-level domains (TLDs) to the Domain Name System (DNS) in what has been the largest expansion to date. ICANN stands for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and all the way back in 2005, they began planning out a process to consider new gTLDs. The process involved several rounds of applications followed by evaluation and, if approved, eventually delegation. The first applications were accepted in January of 2012 and over 1,930 were received. Two years later, in January of 2014, the first new gTLDs became available for registration. Since then more than 1,200 new gTLDs have been delegated. Although we don't offer all 1,200 new gTLDs, we do support over 500 TLDs (both old and new). See our full list and find your dream domain today!

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