I am totally brand new to all this, and have so many questions. I've done a lot of reading here and elsewhere, and still so many questions... I hope some of you can help me with basic "for dummies" type answers.

Here are my first couple of questions:

I am really confused by the difference between "add-on" vs. "parked" domains. I think I would like to register additional domain names and have them go to my main site, but would that be add-on or parked??

Another question is about domain names. If I pay to get a name, would that be MY name? In other words, would I be able to move it and take it with me if I want to switch host companies at a later time?


Thanks in advance for any help!!

If you buy the domain, yes it is yours and can be moved to any host you want at any time.
Assuming there isnt any thing saying that cant be done in the terms of service agreement.

Hi mrs_c,
Parked Domain? Well this would be an excellent pre-sales ? for your potential host as they could clarify for you. We offer parked domains and with us the parked domain simply points back to the MAIN account. Its pretty useful (e.g.) if you have one site being the .com but also have the .net and .org. They would point back to the main .com site.Again you would need to clarify this with your host.

Domain Names? I HIGHLY recommend you register your domain name yourself. You can go to godaddy.com or namecheap.com and register your name for about 8.00 per year. You will be assigned a domain management interface where YOU will be able to login and update your own domain record yourself. When you then sign up for a webhost all you will need to do is login to your account and add your host DNS info. Usually this info is included in your Welcome email which should contain all your account info. Then presto....you are good to go!

I answered over at wht as well, and included a few resource links for you there:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=532831
Good Luck

You can also buy the domain somewhere like Godaddy then get hosting. Any domains that you would like to point to your main domain you can do where you bought your domain at using a forwarder.

If using cPanel you can add-on domains that will all be located in a folder under public_html. This way you can manage all add-on domains from one FTP login. cPanel would probably be an easy start for you over most other control panels.

If you want to basically forward your additional domain to go to the main domain. That would be a parked domain.

Addon domain on the other hand will allow you to have an additional domain, which acts like stand-alone account even though your files are in the same public_html folder as the main account. I like add-on domain feature in a way that you can simply manage more than 1 site in one FTP.

I would strongly recommend to buy a domain separately from hosting account. Avoid the one package thing, like domain + account. It would be harder to separate them when you decide to switch to a different provider. I like godaddy.com as domain registrar because their DNS propagation is very quick and their admin control panel is sweet. Moreover, godaddy.com is very good in notifying you 90, 60, 30 days in advance before your domain is expiring.

Just my two cents =)