Website Basics-Someone Else Already Has My Domain Name
 by: Richard James


So you’ve found the perfect domain name for your proposed website, but there’s one catch: someone has beaten you to the punch. Don’t despair, you do have options, and there is a chance you still might become the owner of that shiny new domain name. Before proceeding be sure to find out who owns a domain name, using the WhoIs database. You can search available domain names using the domain search engine provided on www.StartMyWebsiteToday.com and then click on the link for more info. Once you find out who owns a domain name, below are your options:

Buy Direct If you were able to out who owns the domain name and obtain contact information of the current owner of the domain name it may be possible to contact them directly via email or phone and to work out a deal directly with them to buy the domain name. Be advised that in this case you are dealing with a seller’s market, and the owner of the domain name is under no obligation to sell the domain name to you or anyone else. Therefore they have control over the price they will charge, and you will have to decide whether or not it is worth it to you to pay their asking price for the coveted domain name.

Expiration When conducting a domain info search in the WhoIs database one piece of information you will get is the upcoming expiration date of the domain name. WhoIs will show you when the domain name was originally purchased and when it is due to expire, which sometimes may be several months or years in the future. You can elect to wait until expiration and then hope the domain name becomes available on the open market so that you can purchase it.

Backorder You can enter a backorder for a domain name, meaning that you put in an order for the domain name to transfer to you as soon as it expires. In this scenario you may or may not end up owning the domain name, depending on whether or not the original owner actually allows the domain name to expire. But if the owner does allow the domain name to expire, a backorder places you in line for ownership. You are “in line”, because if other parties have also entered backorders for the desired domain name, the domain name will then be up for auction between all interested parties, and awarded to the highest bidder. www.StartMyWebsiteToday.com has an option allowing for backordering domain names HERE.

Those are your options, and best of luck. But ultimately you may decide you wish to create your own unique and custom domain name, and start from scratch. And of course, there is also the consideration of going with another domain name extension, such as dot net, org, biz, info, mobi, us, etc. (Known as "TLD"). And there is no reason not to. In fact, there is good reason to consider these types of domain names now that the dot com “land rush” has caused so many domain names to already be taken. The next article explores the whys and wherefores of purchasing other types of domain names besides dot com.


About The Author
Richard James created StartMyWebsiteToday.COM as a resource for experienced and newbie website builders. You'll find more of his articles by visiting: http://www.startmywebsitetoday.com This article is copyrighted, please do not alter in any way.