DNS Information

DNS Information Track Down

The purpose of DNS Information Track Down is to get everything put together so we can launch a website. DNS information track down can be done at any point during the build of a site.

However, it does not become crucially important until the very end of the site build process. When we’re building websites, the domains usually look something along the lines of “ClientName.staging.wpengine.com”

DNS is what allows the development team to put the site on the actual domain that the client would like it placed on. They paid money for this domain, and their brand equity is built on that name. Most clients have purchased a domain from GoDaddy, although there are several other web hosting companies.

Website Access Diagram

While the processes set in place for our development team will be easy enough, it is actually the client who may have difficulty in getting us some of the pertinent information that we need.

Some clients don’t know who has their domain name. Internal research has found that only about 30% of our clients will have the information ready. In addition, most of them don’t even know where to begin in the process of finding this information.

A lot of coaching will have to be given to the clients when this occurs. The following process can help guide them through the otherwise arduous task of locating the required information.

Step-by-step breakdown:

  1. Go to Whois.icann.org
  2. While in ICANN, type in a domain name.
  3. ICANN will tell you who actually owns the domain name.
  4. If you scroll down to the “Registrar” section, you can see where a website’s domain was bought.

Another good tool:

  1. Go to www.intodns.com
  2. Type in the domain of the website you are searching for
  3. Press the “Report” button
  4. In the first row titled “Domain NS records”, an important clue will be given to you for who the web hosting company is

In the event that no one is volunteering access information to us for client use, the next step would be to have a conversation with the person who pays the bill for the domain name. That person for will have the access information we need. Armed with the credit card on file, they would call the registrar and be able to receive the information.

In the event that we still can not get the access we need for our processes, we can begin to look into registration laws.

A Little History

There have been situations in the past where clients have purchased domain names through their agency. For example, a plumbing company will hire an advertising company for all things web related.

They just want to do plumbing, not tech or data or marketing. To go the extra mile, the agency will purchase the domain on behalf of the plumbing company. Then, for one reason or other, the plumbing company will accidentally leave the domain name with that agency.

While this may be an annoyance, sometimes it does take reaching out to our client’s previous agency and getting the information we need from them.

The official Globe Runner policy regarding purchasing domains for clients is: We don’t do it. In extreme cases if client wants us to assist them, we will ask them to register the account first. Then, we can sign in under their account and make the purchase.