As you work with Mere on a new website, you may hear us refer to 'DNS' quite a bit. We might also talk about 'pointing your site' in order to launch it, 'migrating domain name registration' to Mere so that we can take care of it, or 'pointing nameservers' so that Mere can help you manage your website domain. What does all this mean?
Here's a brief primer:
What is DNS?
DNS, or 'domain name system,' is a way to easily access websites through URLs (for example, www.google.com (http://www.google.com/)), instead of through hard-to-remember IP addresses (for example, 127.0.0.01). Here is a pretty good summary:
DNS is in its basic form is kind of like the phone book on your mobile phone. Whenever you want to call somebody, you have to either dial their telephone number from your memory or search the contact name in your phone book for their number. And let’s be honest, we almost always use the phone book because it’s far easier to remember a name than a number.
Similar to the phone numbers, the internet uses a bunch of number to uniquely identify a device connected to it. Such a collection of numbers is known as an IP address. DNS is a mechanism that maps these IP addresses into domain names for the convenience of the users [...].
Nipun Sampath (DNS for Dummies)
In other words, DNS is the way that your website files becomes accessible to all of your website visitors at your particular address (for example, mychurch.com). Your website files are stored at your web host. When we point your domain, we're providing instructions so that your particular domain address points to the files stored at the web host. That way, when visitors type in mychurch.com, they'll see your website!
Let us manage your DNS headache
Mere's preferred way to manage your website domain is to take over the domain name registration ourselves, and bill you for the renewal of the domain each year. To accomplish this, we'll ask you to log in to your domain name registrar (such as GoDaddy, eNom, or 1and1 Ionos) to help us transfer the domain to our domain name registrar.
Note: some web hosts also offer domain name registration services simultaneously (GoDaddy, for example). In this case, your web host and your domain name registrar may be the same company.
We'll provide help for your particular registrar so that you can unlock your domain and issue a transfer code, and then we will transfer the domain into our registrar.
At this point, your domain name will be registered in Mere's name, and we'll make sure that it renews every year and other information stays up to date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I still own my domain name?
Absolutely! While your domain will be registered in Mere's name while you have an active account, it is still yours and you own it.
Should you ever close your account with Mere, we will generate a transfer code for you and provide all of your DNS records for you to take with you when you leave.
What if I don't know where my domain name is registered?
We can help you! You can use the who.is service to check where your domain is registered. From there, you can contact registrar support to gain access to your domain and transfer the domain to our registrar.
What will you do with my domain name?
We will keep your domain registered and up to date. You won't have to worry about renewals, keeping your payment method up to date, or adding DNS records to your domain. We'll take care of it all.
What if I need to add something to my domain DNS?
Some third party services, typically email, will require extra DNS records to be added on to the domain. When you run up against this, just send us an email to our support inbox, and we will get them added for you.
Can I access my domain name registration directly?
Yes, we can set this up on a case-by-case basis for clients, but an extra monthly charge may be incurred.
What if I don't want you to manage my domain name?
You can manage your domain name directly. We have a short waiver for you to sign stating that we're not responsible for issues with domain configuration or renewal, since we don't manage the registration in that case.
No matter your needs, reach out to us: we'd love to help.
