Domains FAQ

Will my contact information be shown in the public Whois information for my domain? Can I change the Whois information?

International regulations (ICANN) require that valid contact information be publicly available for every domain name.

By default, the contact information displayed in the Whois is the contact information for your YouStart account.

As an alternative, you can supply contact information that applies to the individual domain, or to different aspects of the domain: the registrant, technical contact, administrative contact, and/or auxiliary billing contact.

TIP: You can subscribe to Private Registration for most domain names. This optional paid service shows our name and street address, and an email address that forwards any messages we receive to you.

When I register a new domain name, how long will it take to go live on the Internet?

After you register a domain name, it can take 12 to 48 hours to go live, or "propagate" to the World Wide Web. Your new domain name will not resolve to your web site until propagation is complete.

Propagation is under the control of the Registry; unfortunately, there is no way to speed it up.

What does it mean to "register" a domain name?

When you register a domain name, you gain exclusive rights to it for the life of the registration. Domain names are registered for a specific period of time (usually increments of one year) and you have exclusive rights to renew it before it expires.

What happens if I forget to renew, and my domain expires?

If a domain expires, it becomes inactive, you lose ownership rights, and all the services attached to it shut down. We provide a limited grace period during which we may be able to retrieve the name with the payment of an administrative fee, but when the grace period ends the domain may be auctioned or deleted. It eventually becomes available for others to register. Each registry has different rules for their grace periods.

We highly recommend that you turn Auto-Renew on, or keep track of your domain expiration dates and renew well in advance to avoid unintentional down time or loss of the name. The renewal period is always added to the end of the current registration period (for example, the new expiration date is the same whether you renew two months early or the day before expiration).

I have six names in my shopping cart awaiting checkout, but there is one name I do not want. Can I delete just that one, or do I have to delete all of them and start over?

You can delete one name by clicking the "remove" link next to the domain you do not want.

What if I change my mind, or spell a name wrong. Can I get my money back?

No, all sales are final. Once a domain is registered, the registry will not refund purchases.

Can I register my domains for more than one year?

Yes, the registration period can beset in your shopping cart.

In the shopping cart, just use the dropdown menu to choose a registration period for each domain.

TIP: You can also set a default registration period in your account settings. In your account settings, click on the My Account tab, click on the Account Defaults menu item. On the Account Defaults page you can set your default registration period, and click Save My Settings to save it.

Keep in mind that whatever term you set the account default to, this will apply to ALL new domains that are registered in your account. We cannot refund additional years purchased by mistake.

Can I get a receipt for my domain name?

We do not provide paper receipts. However, you will receive an order confirmation by email listing all details of your transaction.