A domain name is similar to a street address for a house or business. It identifies a specific website by a unique name and directs visitors to it. There are millions of domain names in existence. To obtain and keep a domain name, you have to pay an annual fee to maintain the rights to use that name. A domain name check must be done first, since no two domains can share a name.

The last segment of a domain name is known as the top-level domain (TLD). It usually identifies the website by type or geographical area. The different TLDs have registries managed by designated organizations. Common TLDs include .com, .net, .com.sg, .sg, and many more. Certain TLDs require certification or verification, such as .edu.sg TLDs that require an official certification from the Ministry of Education.

Registration of domain names depends on the TLD. Some domain names can be registered for up to 10 years at a time. You may check it through our Domain Checker site.

For .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .name, and .us domains, your domain must be registered for at least three months before you can transfer it.

Any domain transfer to Vodien will include a mandatory one-year renewal. Domain renewal fees will be based on our domain price list.

You will have full access to the domain ownership, information, name server, registrar lock, and domain transfer password.

You are not required to buy hosting through Vodien. You may host your domain name and email account with a different hosting provider by editing its name in the Domain Name System (DNS) settings through the client area.

The DNS is the main directory of existing domain names. Please refer to our Knowledge Base for step-by-step instructions on how to do this.

Domain private registration is optional. You can protect your personal information from being obtained from the public WHOIS system using Vodien's Domain Privacy service. With Domain Privacy, your contact details will not be visible through a public search, helping you to keep unwanted attention and email spammers away. You can buy Domain Privacy at an additional cost of $12/year.

Please do note that Domain Privacy is not prorated, and the expiration date will be the same as that of the domain name.

Due to registry restrictions, Domain Privacy cannot be used with .asia, .bz, .ca, .cn, .uk, .co.uk, .de, .eu, .in, .me.uk, .nu, .li, .ch, .fr, .sg, .com.sg, .org.uk, .us, .es, .com.es, .nom.es, .org.es, .com.au, .net.au, .nyc, or .org.au domains.

For .sg domain name registration, Singapore registrants' information is hidden by default.

If your domain name expired, visitors will be unable to visit your website and will be directed to a page showing that the domain has expired. This will not only affect your business operations but also affect your reputation. On top of that, you may have to pay a hefty redemption fee to get it back.

Once the domain name expires, the domain will go through a 29-day expiration phase. Within this expiration phase, you can still renew your domain. This is done by updating the payment method. If you do not renew it, the domain name will go into a 30-day redemption period. You will still be able to renew the domain name, but you will be required to pay a redemption fee on top of the renewal fee.

To understand more of the domain life cycle with Vodien, please refer to our knowledge base link.

Successful businesses in today's world need a stellar website. To have a website, you must have a domain name. Great domain names are easy to remember and are easily connected with your business. After choosing a name and completing the process of domain registration, Singapore businesses can build an online presence and be found by potential client.

Need more information on what domain names are and how to choose a domain name? Please visit our Knowledge Base.