A Note for Newbie Webmasters: The Domain Name Business — Register Domains Domestically or Abroad? Choose a .CN Domain?

I got into websites back in high school, my first peek at them, and it’s been nearly four years now. I’m writing down some of my experience for webmasters newer than me, so you can avoid detours and get it right the first time. I too went through many detours before summarizing this.

Choosing a domain registrar

There are too many registrars, roughly divided into domestic and foreign registration companies, each with its own pros and cons. Let me go through them one by one:

1. Domestic registrars

Pros of choosing a domestic registrar:

1. Safe — the domain transfer password requires mailing ID and other proof materials before you can get it.
2. Convenient — Chinese management panel, Chinese customer service, services more suited to China’s conditions.
3. Payment in RMB, supporting Chinese payment methods like online banking and Alipay.

Cons of choosing a domestic registrar:

1. No freedom — the domain transfer password should be something you hold yourself, but in China it’s withheld by the registrar.
2. Subject to government control; the domain resolution can be suspended by the administration at any time, paralyzing the site globally.
3. Messy pricing, uneven high and low; cheap first year, expensive renewal.

2. Foreign registrars

Pros of choosing a foreign registrar:

1. Full control of the domain; free and fast transfers; you hold the transfer password and can transfer out or change ownership anytime.
2. Not subject to Chinese government control — say “No” to “clientHold.”
3. Preferential prices, provided you choose the right registrar, with promo codes or events.

Cons of choosing a foreign registrar:

1. Less safe — since you can get the transfer password anytime, once your email is compromised, almost all your domains are stolen.
2. No Chinese panel, no Chinese customer service; requires a high level of English to use.
3. Inconvenient payment — often requires USD, a credit card; rarely supports online banking or Alipay.

Choosing a domain suffix

Domain suffixes are dizzying — how to choose? Choose a .CN domain or not? The order when registering a domain should be: com, net, cn, com.cn, org. Other suffixes are basically worthless. Why? com, net, org are global domains used everywhere in the world, managed by ICANN — global domains. ORG is commonly used by non-profits. cn, com.cn, and domains ending in cn are China’s country domains, managed by CNNIC — that is, managed by our own country. This poses a hidden risk for us: the domain may be suspended from resolution by relevant departments. I’ll mention a few historical cases later so you understand the seriousness.

Real historical cases

Say “No” to “clientHold.” Recently, relevant departments found a more convenient method than unplugging network cables at the data center: notifying domestic domain registrars to impose “clientHold” (domain resolution suspension) on domains. clientHold is the simplest means for a registrar to disable a domain. In recent years, several incidents occurred where domestic well-known sites were “clientHold”ed by domain registrars (partial list): [2010-01-05] Xinnet suspends resolution of 51**.com** and IT168**.com** etc.: http://tech.163.com/10/0105/17/5S9GP09A000915BF.html [2010-01-05] Site domain blocked, a million users can’t reach “Blogbus”: http://it.people.com.cn/GB/42891/42894/10729530.html [2010-01-21] TechWeb**.com****.** cn domain stops resolving: http://it.sohu.com/20100121/n269753011.shtml [2010-01-25] Liba.net stopped from domain resolution service by Xinnet: http://tech.163.com/10/0126/10/5TUR6JP8000915BF.html [2010-01-27] “Shunwang,” run by Jinan Daily Newspaper Group, had its domain resolution suspended by HiChina: http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-01/704184.html

Reflection from history

1. Try not to use domestic domain registrars. When relevant departments shut down a site, urgently resolve the domain to an overseas server to reduce losses.
2. Try not to use China (or other countries’) domains; use global ICANN-managed domains like com, net, org.
3. Site services shouldn’t be limited to domestic; keep data backups overseas.

Recommended foreign registrars

1. For enterprises: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC (http://www.networksolutions.com) A WHOIS lookup shows that Sina’s sina**.com**, NetEase’s 163**.com**, NetEase Mail’s 126**.com**, Sohu’s sohu**.com**, Sogou’s sogou**.com**, Tencent’s soso**.com**, Kingsoft’s kingsoft**.com**, Kingsoft’s xoyo**.com**, even the state-run CCTV’s cctv**.com** and Xinhua’s xinhuanet**.com** are all registered with foreign domain registrars, and all with the same one: “NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.” Network Solutions was founded in 1979 with 30 years of history, the world’s earliest company to provide domain registration. In 1993 it signed an agreement with the U.S. National Science Foundation to undertake InterNIC’s domain registration and information services and to provide network technical services and consulting, etc. It now has over 7 million domains registered with it. Therefore, transferring your domain to Network Solutions is relatively the safest. But its prices are higher — a .com domain is about $30/year — so it suits enterprises. Of course, if you have money, you may also choose Network Solutions. 2. For individuals: Godaddy (http://www.godaddy.com), Name.com (http://www.name.com/), Enom.com (http://www.enom.com/) Godaddy is the world’s largest ICANN domain registrar, with an 18% market share. Godaddy lets you search for various promo codes when registering, transferring, or renewing domains. Most importantly, it supports paying in RMB via “Alipay” (international card). eNom was founded in 1997 in Washington State, the world’s second-largest ICANN domain registrar and one of the largest domain drop-catching organizations. Name**.com** is also a decent registrar with low prices.