I don't know how long we'll be able to offer these special prices, so you'll want to act quickly in order to take advantage of them!

.org - $6.99 for the first year
Purchase a new .org domain name and pay only $6.99 for the first year. Additional years may be purchased for our current price of $8.99/yr. (Additional ICANN fee of $.20/yr applies.)

.mobi - $10.99 for the first year
More people are browsing websites using their mobile devices. Reserve your .mobi today, to ensure that it's available for you in the future. You'll pay only $10.99 for your first year, and can add on additional years for our current price of $14.99/yr. (Additional ICANN fee of $.20/yr applies.)

.eu - $12.99/yr
Purchase or transfer for as many years as you like at the low, low price of $12.99/yr. This is a substantial savings over our regular price of $19.99/yr.

Don't delay--register your domains today!

Labels: .eu, .mobi, .org, domains, promotion

posted by PastorJon @ 8:29 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

YourChurchWeb.net is pleased to announce that you now get more free with every domain purchase (or renewal)! Read this article to learn how you might benefit from these changes:

1. For the past two years, customers have received a free, 25mb "Complete Email" with every domain. We've quadrupled the size of this account--and you can now store 100mb of email online. This is a $9.99 value.
   


2. 100-pack email forwarding - Add flexibility to your email management using forwards. Church leaders can have mail forwarded to them from an "official" address, small groups can be contacted with a single email address, and more. A $21.40 value.
   


3. Domain masking and forwarding - Are you hosting your site elsewhere? If you're using a free webhost that gives you a complex URL that's hard to remember, you can forward your domain to point to your website, and mask it so that your visitors never see the underlying URL.
   


4. Domain services - You have total DNS control, ability to change registrant information, the flexibility to set your domain for automatic or manual renewal, and the security of being able to lock your domain from being transferred.

The following products are fully featured versions of the products you can purchase. In exchange for the free product, an advertisement for YourChurchWeb.net will appear on every page. While most churches would prefer the cleaner look with no advertisement, this is a way we can assist churches with limited resources. For less than $10/yr, a church can have a domain, email, webhosting, photo storage, and more.

1. Free Online Photo Filer - Store, sort, share, publish, and print your favorite photos, right from your own personalized domain. This free version provides you with 1GB of storage space and 25GB of monthly data transfer. A $9.99 value.
   


2. Free Quick Blogcast - Ideal for people interested in starting a blog or podcast, this easy publishing platform allows you to share your thoughts, devotions, or sermons with a wider audience. You receive 300MB of space, and 15GB of monthly data transfer. A $41.28 value.
   


3. Free WebSite Tonight - Get a 5-page website and online creation tool. You don't need special HTML skills, but can simply design and write your website in a matter of hours. You get 50MB of space, and 1GB of monthly data transfer. A $59.88 value.
   
   OR
   
   Free Shared Hosting - If you want to design your own site, you can use this free version of our Economy Hosting Plan. Get 5GB of space, and 250GB of monthly data transfer in either a Windows or Linux hosting platform. Upload content by FTP, and you're ready to go! A $71.88 value.

That's more than $100 worth of free tools and utilities that comes with every domain registration at YourChurchWeb.net. Register your domain today for just $8.99 (+ a $.20 ICANN fee)/year.

If you're already a YourChurchWeb.net customer, you will see these new products appear in your account the next time your renew your domain.

Labels: domains, email, free products, hosting, photo filer, quick blogcast, shared hosting, WebSite Tonight

posted by PastorJon @ 9:38 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Did you know that there are 2.2 billion cell phones in use today? Is your website available to the growing number of mobile web users? Register a .MOBI today, so you can launch a companion website that can be accessed via a variety of mobile devices, including cell phones, SmartPhones, Windows Mobile Devices, RIM devices and more.

.MOBI addresses are on sale during the month of November for only $7.99. Get yours during this limited-time offer.

Labels: .mobi, domains, products, Sales

posted by PastorJon @ 9:21 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

YourChurchWeb.net is committed to offering a quality product at an affordable price for churches and Christian ministries. We are continually working to offer the best sales, promotions, and even the ocassional price reduction in order to meet the needs of our customers. However, sometimes situations outside of our control force us to make slight increases in our prices.

On April 5, 2007, ICANN approved a price increase for certain registries (.com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz). While we've worked hard to minimize the effect of this pricing change on our customers, we will have to make nominal increases in our pricing in order to cover these costs. Effective October 15, 2007, the prices for these TLDs will be $8.99/yr (plus an ICANN fee of $.20/yr).

Thank you for choosing YourChurchWeb.net for all your web-hosting needs.

Labels: domains, ICANN, prices

posted by PastorJon @ 2:59 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Between now and November 30th, get a brand new domain name at rock-bottom prices when you purchase any non-domain product. For only $1.99, you can register the first year of any .com, .us, .biz, .info, .name, .net, or .org domain. And, you also get all sorts of great freebies with your domain!

Labels: domains, prices, Sales

posted by PastorJon @ 8:46 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Last Friday, I got a piece of mail from a company called "Domain Registry of America." It looked like a bill for the domain renewal of one of my domains. "This is odd," I thought, "since all of my domains are registered through me!"

And then I remembered that one of my clients had emailed me a couple of weeks ago about this very same mailing. They wanted to know if they needed to pay that bill or not.

In reality, this particular piece of mail was not a bill, but an advertisement disguised as a bill. Basically, this company was hoping that I would fill out that thing that looked like a bill, and send my payment to them. In doing so, they would initiate a transfer of my domain, and I would become their customer. Domain Registry of America wanted to charge me $30 for a one year registration for my domain name. That's over $20 more than you would pay to register your name through YourChurchWeb.net.

(You may have seen similar sorts of mailings from all sorts of companies attempting to look like "the Yellow Pages." On closer look, most of those companies are fairly low-traffic online directories that charge exhorbitant rates to be listed with them.)

My point? Be very careful when you hand bills to your church treasurer. They may not recognize a legitimate bill from a solicitation--and you may find yourself agreeing to move your domain name, simply because you paid something that was designed to look like a bill.

Labels: domains, renewal

posted by PastorJon @ 8:43 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Save $1 between now and September 30, 2007 when you purchase a brand-new .us domain name. Identify the location of your church or ministry by adding this domain name to your collection. Or, perhaps you have a great idea for a name that's no longer available with a .org or .com extension. Register your new .us domain for only $5.95 for the first year. (It will renew at our regular low price--currently $6.95).

Labels: .us, domains, Sales

posted by PastorJon @ 1:28 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Tired of junk mail, spam, or unsolicited phone calls? Want to keep your personal information away from prying eyes? Our "Private Registration" services are for you. By working with "Domains By Proxy," you can have your domain registered privately, so your contact information will be hidden from the publically accessible WHOIS records.

Private Registration typically costs $7.95 a year (plus domain registration fees), but for a limited time, you can purchase new Private Registration Services for only $1.95. Test out this service and see if it's for you. You can take advantage of this sale for new domain registrations, or for a domain you already have registered.

Labels: domains, privacy, private registration, Sales

posted by PastorJon @ 8:38 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Until September 30, 2007, you can purchase a .info domain for as little as $1.99 (plus an ICANN fee of twenty cents)! What a great way to get yourself on the internet, or to purchase an extra domain for a particular ministry of your church. These are the cheapest domains you'll find available on our storefront, so if you need to maximize affordability, the .info domains are the way to go!

Labels: domains, prices, Sales

posted by PastorJon @ 5:36 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Due to a limited time promotion, we are able to offer Chinese domain names at rock-bottom prices. Between now and June 29, 2007, you can purchase a .cn domain name for only $12.99 for the first year. Extend your savings by renewing at $19.99. Our regular price is $39.95, so this represents a savings of 67%.

Labels: .cn, domains, Sales

posted by PastorJon @ 4:18 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has lowered their Registrar Transaction Fee from $.25 to $.22, retroactively to July 1, 2006. Since this fee is passed directly to you in the registration/renewal process, we will be issuing credits in the amount of the appropriate refund.

In the near future, you will be credited with $.03/yr for each domain you registered through our storefront during the appropriate time period. This is an in-store credit, which will be applied to any future purchases you make during the next twelve months.

Our customer service department may need to contact you about this credit, so please be sure your contact information for your customer account is current.

I know this isn't a huge amount of money--but if you registered multiple domain names for multiple years, those $.03 per domain name year really add up!

If you have any questions, please contact our customer support department at 480-624-2500.

Labels: domains, ICANN, prices

posted by PastorJon @ 5:35 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Today I received in the mail a notice that one of my domain names is up for renewal in a couple months. I wanted to share with you a bit about that renewal notice, because there is something important for all of us to be aware of.

Here it is: The mail was not from my registrar - it was from a different company altogether.

The mail was designed to look like a bill - in fact, it even had a place to print my credit card information, and check off how many years I was registering for. But midway down the page there was a notice in the middle of a paragraph: This is not a bill, it is rather an easy means of payment should you decide to renew your domain name with...

In other words, these people are hoping I won't notice that they aren't my registrar, and I'll fill out the form without realizing that I'm actually requesting that my domain name be transferred to a different registrar.

Here's what scares me. I know absolutely nothing about these people, and yet if I fell for their sales pitch, I'd end up giving them my credit card information. This could just as easily be a form of identity theft as it could be a legitimate domain registrar.

Certainly, since the setup of their mailing is designed to fool us, we know that their level of trustworthiness is very low. Would I give them my credit card information?

Absolutely not.

All that aside, they were charging more than twice the price for a domain renewal as I'm paying through YourChurchWeb.

My point in this cautionary tale is this: know who you are doing business with. When you receive mail and email notices regarding your domains and/or hosting plans, pay close attention to make sure you know that they are from the people you are doing business with, and not a scam artist trying to steal your identity, your domain name, or your money.

Labels: domains, privacy, renewal

posted by Douglas Twitchell @ 12:30 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

It's been a while since I researched what other companies are charging for webhosting, so I decided to spend the last couple of hours searching for as many other Christian web hosts as I could find. If you're in the process of looking for a Christian based web host to serve your church, ministry, or Christian business, be prepared to spend some time researching your options.

In this post, I'll answer some of your commonly asked questions about MB, GB, storage and transfer, and I'll also provide you with the prices that I found during my searching. My intent is not that you would just "take my word for it," but that this information would provide a starting point for you as you search for the host that will best meet the needs of your church or Christian ministry.

What is MB and GB? MB stands for Megabytes (or megs), and GB stands for Gigabytes (or gigs). These are units which measure the size of your files. There are 1024 bytes in a Kilobyte, 1024KB in a Megabyte, and 1024 Megabites in a Gigabyte. Each week I upload a 20 minute sermon audio file that utilizes about 10MB. The old floppy diskettes held 1.44MB, a CD-ROM holds 700MB, and a DVD-ROM holds 4.7GB.

What is storage? Storage is the amount of space you have available to you on the server. Whether these files are linked to your website or simply stored there to be accessed by FTP, whenever you upload files, they take up some of the space in your account. Our economy hosting plan includes 5GB of hosting space.

What is data transfer, traffic, or bandwidth? Different hosts use different words to refer to the same basic concept. Data transfer refers to the amount of data that can be moved to or from your server during a given month. For example, if I have 1,000 downloads of a 10MB audio file during a month, then I've used 10,000MB (or 10GB) of data transfer. Our economy hosting plan includes 250GB of data transfer each month.

How much storage and transfer do I need? Every ministry is going to have different needs, depending on what they plan to do with their website. If you're primarily going to host text, then you don't need as much space as you would if you plan on hosting photos, audio, or even video. Consider what you plan to have available on your website, and start tallying how much space you think it will need. Then, consider how many visitors you hope to have each month, and what percentage of your site you expect them to download, and then you have a bandwidth projection.

What sort of prices did you find in your research? I'm glad you asked! To be honest, while I knew that we offered an affordable hosting package, I was somewhat surprised to see that we were among the least expensive Christian webhosts that are operating today. In fact, during my search, I didn't find any other Christian web hosting company that offered more space & transfer for less money.

In the following comparison chart, I list one plan for each host. In each case, I picked the hosting plan that I felt most closely matched our "economy" hosting plan in regards to space and transfer. In fairness, it should be noted that our "economy" plan is a very robust hosting plan, and few other hosts match it. In other words, I found that I was often comparing our least expensive plan with their most expensive plan. Consequently, if you don't need as much space as we provide, you may find that a smaller plan offered by another company would be cheaper and still suit your needs.

Company	Monthly Cost	Storage	Data Transfer	Domain Costs
YourChurchWeb.net Economy Plan	$6.75	5GB	250GB	$9.00
ArkWebs.com	$7.95	2GB	20GB	$9.00
ChurchQuest.com	$8.95	1GB	20GB	$12.95
MinistryWeb.org	$11.95	4.5GB	75GB	$10.00
JesusAnswers.com	$11.95	5GB	50GB	$9.95
eChristianWebhosting	$14.99	2GB	20GB	$11.95
TruePath.com	$15.95	3GB	75GB	$18.99
HPPChristianHosting	$16.16	5GB	50GB	$12.95
WebNet77.com	$16.65	5GB	70GB	$9.00
GraceNet.com	$19.95	2GB	17GB	$17.00
ChristianHosting.com	$19.95	350mb	*	$30.00
CrossSpot.com	$21.04	1GB	15GB	$15.00
ChristianWebHost.com	$23.95	40GB	150GB	$19.00
CrownWeb.net	$24.95	500mb	7GB	$10.00
SonServers.com	$25.00	1.5GB	15GB	$16.00
HostingTruth.net	$29.95	500mb	6GB	$11.99
OurChurch.com	$33.25	4.5GB	75GB	--
HostingChristians.net	$36.00	300mb	*	$15.00

* - indicates that the webhost does not state their data transfer limits. This may be due to a "soft limit" model in which the bandwidth is monitored but not limited unless it becomes excessive. If you are considering a host with a "soft limit," be sure that your questions about limits, throttling, and overage charges are explained to your satisfaction.

There is one anomaly in that chart that deserves further exploration. ChristianWebHost.com offers a very robust plan with 40GB of space and 150GB of data transfer. Instead of comparing it to our "economy" plan as I did in the chart above, I really should compare it to our "deluxe" plan:

Company	Monthly Cost	Storage	Data Transfer	Domain Costs
YourChurchWeb.net Deluxe Plan	$12.75	100GB	1000GB	$9.00
ChristianWebHost.com	$23.95	40GB	150GB	$19.00

As you can see, if you are needing more space than our economy plan (5GB), then our more robust plan (100GB) is still extremely affordable.

Information in this post was accurate as of March 11, 2007. I have presented monthly costs if you were to purchase your hosting by the month. Some discounts may be available for annual purchases. Also, just as YourChurchWeb.net runs sales and promotions, I assume that the other hosts referenced here have sales and promotions as well, which are obviously not reflected in the pricing chart.

You'll also see that I've listed domain prices when available. However, some of the hosts listed above do include domain registration with their hosting plan. Please read carefully the terms and conditions of included domain registrations--you want to make sure that the domain is registered in your (or your church's) name, and that you can take it with you if you ever move to another host. One of the hosts above will pay for your domain as long as you are their customer, but it is stipulated that they own the domain, and that you can't take it with you. Most churches I know would rather pay the $9.00 a year, simply for that added flexibility.

By the way, even if you choose one of these other hosts, we'd be happy to serve as your registrar. You'll see that our domain registration prices are among the lowest that you'll find.

If you own or operate one of these hosting companies and feel that I have somehow misunderstood or misrepresented your hosting plan, please contact me so I can correct this post. And, if you'd rather not be listed here at all, just let me know and I'll be happy to remove your company's name and information.

Obviously, I want to serve your church or ministry. I'd also like to help you save money, which you can use to help strengthen your other ministries. I'd be more than happy to help you transfer your website to our servers, or to discuss other options with you. Please don't hesitate to send me an email: sales@yourchurchweb.net.

Grace and Peace,

Jonathan Twitchell
YourChurchWeb.net

Labels: domains, hosting, prices

posted by PastorJon @ 3:39 PM

For a limited time only, you can purchase a .info domain for only $.99
(+ $0.22 ICANN fee) for your first year registration. No, that wasn't a typo! I'm serious...just $1.21 gets you a domain that you can use for whatever you want.

What do you want an extra domain for?

Perhaps you need a "throwaway" domain to do some website development. I know some webmasters like to do their development at a domain that nobody (but them) knows about. You can purchase this domain for this low sale price, and simply not renew it next year.

Or maybe you want to give your pastor his own domain--you could associate a blog with the domain (either our hosted "Quick Blog" or the free "Blogger" tool). A .info domain would be just perfect.

And, remember that all of our domains come with free extras, including: forwarding, masking, email forwarding, 1 Complete Email (25mb) address, a starter web page, and a free Online Photo Filer account.

In fact, the free Online Photo Filer account alone is worth much more than the $1.21 you'll spend for the domain! You'll get 1GB of disk space to store your photos, 25GB of monthly data transfer, and the ability to print your photos directly from our low-cost photo store.

Your .info domain will renew at our regular rates in one year...but even so, at our current renewal rate of $8.75/yr (plus $.22 ICANN fee), you can't go wrong.

This offer expires at midnight on June 30, 2007 -- so don't wait -- purchase your .info domain today!

Grace and Peace,

Jonathan Twitchell
YourChurchWeb.net

Labels: .info, blogging, domains, email, photo filer, photo store

posted by PastorJon @ 6:12 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

I'm really excited about the sale that I arranged for March, April and May of 2007. For every non-domain purchase that you make, you can register one brand-new domain (.com, .net, .org, .us, .biz, .name, or .info) for only $3.99. That's less than half of our regular price for .com, .org, and .net TLDs. (Your domain will renew at our regular price in effect at the time of renewal.)

To take advantage of this special offer, just purchase any new product and add your domain to your shopping cart before you check out. Both the non-domain product and the domain must be a new purchase.

This is a perfect time to try out one of our products for a few months to see if it will help expand your ministry. Maybe it's time to get your pastor started on blogging--you can even register the domain in your pastor's name as a special gift. Or perhaps you might want to try our Online Photo Filer and attach it to a special domain for your youth ministry. Whatever you choose, I hope you'll take advantage of this special offer.

Grace and Peace,

Jonathan Twitchell
YourChurchWeb.net

Labels: domains, Sales

posted by PastorJon @ 7:40 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

In a previous post, I mentioned churches and ministries that are paying $35 a year to register their domain. In most cases, all the registrar does for you is maintain your DNS entry, so that people can find your website. Here at YourChruchWeb.net, you can simplify maintenance of your web-presence by consolidating your domain and your website in one easy-to-manage interface. Plus, you get a free Complete Email Address (25mb) with your domain registration (a $9.99 value).

So, what do you do if you're registered at one of these other registrars? Is there any way out of their high-priced domain services?

Absolutely!

You can transfer your domain to us for only $9 (.com, .org, or .net TLDs). You'll keep all the time on your existing registration, and we'll add a full year to your registration. You'll get the free Complete Email Address (25mb), and have access to our powerful Domain Control Center™.

Transferring a domain can be confusing, and it varies from registrar to registrar. However, we're ready to help with online tutorials, our automated system, and 24/7 transfer support at 1-480-505-8866.

Before you begin your transfer, you'll want to login at your old registrar. Make sure that your contact information (especially your Administrative Contact email address) is up-to-date. You'll also want to unlock your domain in preparation for transfer. And, you will need to request an "Authorization Code" or "Auth Code." This will often be sent to you by email--hang on to it for later.

Then, you will begin the transfer with our special online tool. Enter the domain you are transferring, and work through the checkout process. Once you have purchased the transfer, the Administrative Contact of the domain will receive an email containing a Transfer ID and Security Code.

Return to YourChurchWeb.net and login to "My Account." Click on "Pending Domain transfers," in the first column, which will open the Domain Control Center™. Enter your Transfer ID and Security Code. You'll then need to authorize the transfer by entering the "Auth Code" which you retrieved from your former registrar. You may also need to take certain steps at your former registrar in order to confirm the transfer.

It may take up to a week after you've completed those steps, but you'll then receive an email indicating that the transfer was a success and that you can control it directly through your account at YourChurchWeb.net.

Before you start your transfer, you might also want to read our "Insider's Guide," which will answer many of your questions about domain transfers. Our support personnel are ready to help you at any step along the way--you can use the online support system, or call a transfer concierge at 480-505-8866.

I look forward to serving your ministry with domain, email, and hosting services for many years to come!

Grace and Peace,

Jonathan Twitchell
YourChurchWeb.net

Labels: domains, products, transfers

posted by PastorJon @ 8:33 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Once you've settled on a domain name and begun the registration process, you will be provided with a variety of offers which may be useful to you. The purpose of this post is to detail the benefits of each option so you can make an informed decision.

Multiple Domain Names: You may be presented with the opportunity to register additional domain names, sometimes at a discount. Please note that any discounts presented are for the first year of registration only. There may be benefits to registering multiple domain names: helping more people find your site, presenting multiple versions of your site to different groups (teens, college students, members, non-members), and helping those who might frequently misspell your name. While perhaps not as important for churches, businesses will often register multiple versions of their domain name to protect their brand from competition.

Privacy: Before you checkout, you should consider whether or not you wish to register your domain name privately. Since WHOIS records are public, a private registration actually involves a third-party service called Domains By Proxy®. Domains By Proxy® will register your domain for you, protecting your personal information (phone number, address, etc) from the world. While the service does cost $7.95/year, there are some benefits that you should consider. I've seen outside companies attempt to bill churches for their domain in an effort to force a transfer away from YourChurchWeb.net (and charge them $35-50/year in registration fees). I often receive junk mail and spam based on entries in the WHOIS database. And, if you are using your personal address to register your domain(s), you may appreciate the privacy that this service provides.

Renewal Options: I've seen it happen--a church misses a renewal deadline on their domain registration, and all of a sudden their website disappears. Often, the domain can be reinstated, but sometimes there are extra fees for buying the domain back. And sometimes, if you go well beyond the expiration date, another company will buy your domain simply to "squat" on it, and then try to charge you an exorbitant price to purchase the domain back. To prevent that from ever happening, we recommend that you select the "Auto" renewal option for any domains you intend to keep long-term. You will get renewal notices 90-, 60-, and 30- days away from your renewal, so you can always change your status before your payment method is charged. (Besides, auto-renewal doesn't cost you anything! And it will protect your domain name from expiring.)

Certified Domain: Demonstrate that you are who you say you are. A domain certification seal allows a visitor to know that your domain belongs to your church, and that valid contact information was supplied with your domain registration. Cost: $2.99/yr. Do you need it? Probably not...unless you are going to operate a store (although at that point, you'll also need an SSL Certificate), or are concerned that another group is attempting to impersonate your ministry. If your site is going to collect a lot of personal information, it might be important to protect against a potential phishing scam. In which case, this might be a useful add-on for you.

Email: You will be given the opportunity to add email to your domain as well. You do receive a complementary 25MB email address with your domain, (and 500 10MB addresses with your economy hosting package). However, if you want a lot of online email storage, or are not purchasing a standard hosting plan, you might want to purchase an email package to go with your domain. Read more about choosing the email plan that's right for you.

Set Nameservers: If you're hosting your site elsewhere, you can enter the appropriate nameserver information right from the shopping cart. You'll get this information from your webhosting company. If you're hosting your site with us, don't worry about this, you'll take care of it automatically when you setup your hosting space.

Hosting, Quick Blog, or WebSite Tonight® : If you haven't purchased hosting (or another product to go with your domain), you may do so before you check out. While you may "park" your domain for free, you'll eventually need to purchase something that your domain points to: Online Photo Filer, Quick Blog, a WebSite Tonight® account, or a standard hosting account.

Business Registration: You can opt to purchase an enhanced WHOIS listing that is customizable. You can provide links to your website (or particular pages on your site), your church logo, and detailed contact information. While this is a product designed primarily for businesses, you may wish to consider if it will benefit your church's visibility. Once you've registered and paid for your domain, you can do a variety of things with it, including: assigning it to hosting space (or other product), parking it, creating a (free) starter webpage, forwarding it to another website (or a subfolder of another site), or assigning a third-level domain (subdomain) to point to another website or online service.

As you can see, YourChurchWeb.net offers a variety of options to help you customize your domain registration to suit your needs. If you are unsure of which options would be beneficial to you, feel free to send me an email at sales@yourchurchweb.net.

Grace and Peace,

Jonathan Twitchell
YourChurchWeb.net

Labels: domains, privacy, products, renewal

posted by PastorJon @ 7:44 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

In my last article I mentioned the old numbered email addresses that were given to the original CompuServe users. Can you imagine meeting someone who moved to your community, talking about your church, and then telling them your email address--when that email address was a long string of numbers? Aren't you glad you can have an easy to remember email address?

Now, imagine if domain names didn't exist, and instead your website was identified by a long string of numbers and dots, called an Internet Protocal (IP) address. You'd never be able to get the word out about your website--nobody could remember how to find it. While your website still lives on a computer that's identified by its IP address, everyone expects you to have an easy to remember domain name that will help other computers in the world find your webserver.

An essential part of any website or web application is your domain name. Your domain name is the first part of your Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL points to a specific file or resource located on the web. For instance, this blog is located at the URL: http://www.yourchurchblog.net/index.html. The domain name that begins that blog is www.yourchurchblog.net.

A domain name is divided into three parts:

1. Top-level domains (TLDs) refer to the last part of the domain name: .com, .net, .org, etc.
2. Second-level domains refer to the middle part: yourchurchweb, yahoo, msnbc, etc.
3. Third-level domains (commonly called sub-domains) refer to the very first part - www, email, blog, etc. For instance, your email will be accessible at email.yourdomain.com. If you had a blog, you could assign a third-level domain to that folder, so that it appeared at blog.yourdomain.com.

Top-level domains (TLDs) are controlled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN provides accreditation for registrars, which register domain names to end users. YourChurchWeb.net uses an ICANN accredited registrar for all of your domain purchases.

At YourChurchWeb.net, you register your domain name in the name of your church or ministry. While you register it through us, your church retains ownership over the registration. You can transfer it to another registrar, point it to another web-host, forward it to another domain, or (as most of our customers choose to do) continue to register/renew it through us, and point it at one of our other products (Web Hosting, WebSite Tonight®, Online Photo Filer, Quick Blog, etc.)

Registering a domain is fairly simple--as long as it's available. You'll want to have payment information available when you start your search (I've seen domains get registered by someone else between the time a customer found the available domain and was ready to purchase it). You'll start your search by using our domain search box (either at our home page or in the bottom right corner of this blog. Enter the domain name you're interested in, and see if it's available. If it is, simply choose it and begin to work through the checkout process.

If the domain you want is not available, our program will tell you if it's available in any other TLDs. (For instance, you might not be able to register yourchurchname.org, but yourchurchname.net might be available.) We also have a tool that will suggest other possible domain names for you to consider. You might want to brainstorm with other leaders in your church to see what other names you might consider.

YourChurchWeb.net offers one of the lowest domain registration and renewal rates in the internet industry. I'm always amazed to visit websites of other registrars and see prices like $35 a year, when we offer our domain registrations at $9 a year. And then I stumble across the occasional registrar that doesn't even make their prices publically available. We make our prices available to you before you setup your customer account, so you know what you're getting.

From time-to-time, we may even offer some special pricing on new domains. Promotional and sale pricing will generally only be available for the first year of a new registration, but your renewal rate will be the standard retail price of $8.75/yr (plus an ICANN mandated fee of $0.22/yr). You can't go wrong with registering your domain at YourChurchWeb.net.

Once you've registered and paid for your domain, you can do a variety of things with it, including: assigning it to hosting space (or other product), parking it, creating a (free) starter webpage, forwarding it to another website (or a subfolder of another site), or assigning a third-level domain (subdomain) to point to another website or online service.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the registration process. I'd also be happy to help you brainstorm a domain name which will work well for your church or Christian ministry.

Grace and Peace,

Jonathan Twitchell
YourChurchWeb.net

Labels: domains, products, renewal

posted by PastorJon @ 7:29 PM 0 Comments Links to this post