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Changes to domain transfer policies coming in December

domaintransfer

Last week, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization that effectively governs Internet infrastructure, announced an official date for a new policy regarding domain name transfers for all gTLDs (non-country code domains). The change will go into effect for all users on December 1, 2016. While six months may seem like a while from now, the policy will require some adjustments, so we wanted to give all of our customers, partners, and developers as much time to prepare as possible.
The Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy

ICANN is revising its Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) in an effort to reduce the risk of fraud and “domain hijacking.” It will now require domain name registrants to complete additional steps in order to confirm a transfer to another party. At the same time, it will also affect any domain name registrant making routine changes to their contact information. Here is a summary of the policy changes:

This policy comes into effect any time a gTLD domain registrant’s first name, last name, or email address is changed
Whenever a change is made, both the current registrant and the new registrant must confirm the change (even if those two are actually the same person or entity)
Both registrants will receive notification that the change is pending, and be given the ability to decline the change
After the change has been confirmed, the domain cannot be transferred to a new registrar for 60 days*

*ICANN does allow current registrants to opt-out of the 60-day transfer-lock period for domains transferred to new registrants. This does not change the requirement for both parties to approve the changes before they are applied.

If either the current or new registrant rejects the change, or if they fail to confirm the change within a certain time period (which RFE Hosting will set), then the transfer/change will be canceled, though the domain itself will not be suspended.

What this means for RFE Hosting end users:

Any time you change the first name, last name, or email address for a gTLD domain, you will receive an email to confirm the change. If you are transferring the domain to someone else, the new registrant will also have to confirm the change. If that change isn’t confirmed, the name or email address will stay the same.
Any time you confirm a change to the first name, last name, or email address for a gTLD domain, that domain will be locked into the same registrar for the next 60 days.

What RFE Hosting will be doing:

While this is a big change that will affect thousands of users every day, we’re committed to maintaining the stability, security, and compliance of the RFE Hosting Domain platform, and support our customers using the platform. We appreciate your patience as we continue working on the implementation of the policy up to the December 1st deadline.

8 Tips for Choosing the Perfect Domain Name

If you’re planning on starting a website of your own, one of the first items you will need to consider is your domain name. In this day and age, availability if obviously going to play a role in what domain you end up selecting. That being said, there still exists quite a bit of autonomy when it comes to selecting a domain name, and the decision warrants a fair amount of thought and careful consideration. Here are 8 quick tips for choosing the perfect domain name.

Begin by brainstorming keywords related to your industry/interest group in order to keep your domain name relevant.
Avoid selecting names that are too similar to already existing websites.
Keep your name short and easy to spell—this will make branding far easier.
Select a name that is memorable and original.
On a related note, avoid hyphens and numbers, as they can confuse (and thus drive away) potential traffic.
Do your research in order to avoid copyright infringement.
If your business is based in a physical location, consider targeting that area in your name.
Generally speaking, dot com is the way to go.

By following these tips, you will be able to find a domain name that accomplishes several tasks all at once. The perfect domain name should capture the attention of your audience while also sticking in their minds due to its memorability. It should give your audience an idea of what kind of website it is. It should lend itself to further branding without being too reminiscent of another company. And it should be easy to type in order to accumulate direct traffic. If your potential name fulfills all of those requirements, it’s time to see if that name is available!