How do I find out when my domain name expires, or what the current administrative Contact information is?

How do I renew my domain name?

I can't remember my password for my dotcanuck Customer account or CIRA account.

Domain Name Registration (dotcanuck Customer Login or for CIRA confirmations)

If you need to change administrative contacts or DNS settings, or manage domain name registrations you need access to your dotcanuck customer login user name and password.
These would have been chosen by you the first time you purchased a domain under that account. If you cannot remember what it is, use our password lookup. You will be prompted for either the user name of your dotcanuck account or any domain name in your account.

I want to point my domain name to a new host (change DNS settings).

Your DNS settings may be updated by first logging in to your dotcanuck customer account, then choose 'DNS Settings' from under either the '.CA Domains' or the 'All Other Domains' heading. Selecting the domain from the drop-down box will bring you to a page where you may update these settings.

Your web hosting company will provide you with the names of the primary and secondary nameservers which your domain should be pointed to (eg. ns1.dotcanuck.net and ns2.dotcanuck.net).

If your site is currently hosted with dotcanuck and you no longer wish to continue the service, be sure to email us notice of cancelation 30 days prior (must be sent from your administrative contact email address).

I need to change the administrative contact information for a .CA name.

• First you must log in to your dotcanuck customer account, choose the 'Admin Contact' link under the heading '.CA domains'.
• After you have completed entering your new contact information, click the 'Update Information' button at the bottom of the page. The information will not be updated until you confirm the change with CIRA.
• You should then receive 2 emails from CIRA, one will contain your CIRA User Account (a 6 digit number) and Private Password (usually 12 digits – letters and numbers). You will also have a copy of this information from the first .ca registration on this account.
• You will be instructed to go to the CIRA confirmation page on their website and enter this information there. Once logged in, you will see the details of the change under 'Change of Registrant Critical Information' and required to click 'Approve' at the bottom of the page.

If your admin contact e-mail on file is invalid BUT you have your CIRA and dotcanuck login information, then you can update this through the website interface. Once you have updated your information through your dotcanuck account you may proceed to CIRA's confirmation page.

If you do not have your CIRA login information AND the e-mail address on file is invalid, then CIRA requires a different process to be completed in order to update your Admin Contact Email. Once completed you will be able to have the CIRA login information sent to you so you can make any other changes.

This process is called a Manual Change of Administrative Contact Email. You can check our WHOIS lookup to determine if the registrant name is an individual or not. If you information is hidden, that indicates the registrant of that domain is an individual.

Complete the appropriate form, print and fax to 1-866-999-6825:

Individuals (e.g. Canadian citizen) Non-Individuals (e.g.: Canadian Corporation)

How do I transfer my .CA domain to a new registered owner?

To change the ownership of a .CA domain (Registrant Transfer) the gaining registrant must either have an existing CIRA account (at least one active .CA domain registered to them) or one must be created for you by a dotcanuck support representative.

Both parties must be able to receive email at the address specified for the Administrative Contact. You may find this information by performing a 'WHOIS lookup' for a domain registered through the CIRA account.

Once payment has been received (A one year renewal fee of $19.95 will be required at the time of the request as well as a $20.00 transfer fee - HST not included) we will initiate the transfer process. The current registrant will then receive an email directing them to the CIRA registrant login page to confirm the transfer. After this confirmation process has been completed the new registrant will receive an email requesting the same from them.

When both registrants have given their confirmation, look up the WHOIS information for the domain. If successful, the gaining registrant will be listed as the 'Registrant'. If this is not the case or if any other questions or difficulties arise please phone dotcanuck support as soon as possible. The entire process must be completed within 14 days.

As this is a manual process it must be initiated by phone – please contact us (toll-free 1-866-822-6825 ex.101) when you are have all information and a credit card ready.

How do I change the administrative contact information for all other (.com .net .org .biz, etc.) domain names?

You must first log in to your dotcanuck customer account, choose the 'Contacts' link under the heading 'All Other domains'. Choose the appropriate contact from the drop-down list and click 'Select'. After you have completed entering your new contact information, click the 'Update Information' button at the bottom of the page. To assign different contacts, click on 'Assign Contacts' under 'All Other domains'.

Updating your dotcanuck customer account email address:

This is the email address that renewal reminders for all domains (except .ca) are sent to. Once you login, you may update this by clicking 'Account Password' (under 'Other Options') and then clicking 'Change Email'.

What is Web Hosting?

When you register a domain name, you do not automatically have a website. Instead, you must speak with a Web Hosting provider to have this set up. A typical Web Hosting package includes a specific amount of disk space, a specific amount of traffic, and extra features to help your website operate better.
Click to find out more about our Web Hosting packages, or click to sign up.

I can't remember my password for my hosting account (Email, FTP or SiteAdmin).

If you need the login information for retrieving your email, uploading your web site (FTP) or for the Site Administration area first refer to the setup email we sent you. If you have lost this or changed the password, please call customer support and we will reset your password.

Do I have to register my domain name with you to have you host it?

No. You can register your domain name anywhere. In fact, it does not even need to be a top-level domain offered by dotcanuck in order for us to host it.

How can I design my web pages?

There are many companies that provide design services for websites, such as TransitionalMedia Inc.

If you want to do it yourself, you will need to design your web pages in HTML. There are many programs which can assist you with your HTML programming, such as Dreamweaver, Adobe GoLive, and Microsoft FrontPage.

Essentially, HTML is simple text. You could even program it using a text-editor like Microsoft NotePad.

There are many very good resources on the Internet about HTML. Here are a few resources to start with:

• webmonkey – a useful resource covering many web development topics.
• NCSA – A Beginner's Guide to HTML.
• HTML 4.01 Specification – Straight from the source, HTML specifications. W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium.
• HTML help.ca – Some basic HTML tag-specific help.
• Google – Search for "Beginning HTML".

How do I move my web pages from my computer to my website?

There are two methods. The first, if you have an editor compatible with Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions, then you may request we enable this option for you, and you upload your files directly from within your HTML editor. Most clients, however, send completed HTML and graphic files to their website using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program.

First, if you do not already have one, download an FTP program and install it on your computer. Here are a few programs:

Once you have an FTP program, you need to set up the connection information.

Following are examples for WS_FTP:

• Profile Name – A memorable name you make up (usually including the name of the site you registered)
• Host Name – The web-site name you registered (including the leading "www.")
• Host Type – Leave this as Automatic Detect
• User ID – As assigned by us for your site
• Password – As assigned by us for your site
• Remote Host – Set to /web or /httpdocs for sites hosted with us

Check Auto Save Config to save changes to your entry automatically. Check Save Password if you do not want to re-enter your password.

Each time you log in (if you share your computer with other people, you may wish to leave this unchecked). To login, click the "Ok" button.

The left box shows you files on your computer. You must find the directory where you stored your HTML and picture files to upload. On the right side is the actual directory for the web-site. To send a file to your website, click on the file on the left side of the screen to highlight it, then click on the arrow button which points towards the right box (the web-site directories).

How do I register my website on search engines?

Before you register on search engines, write a description and think of some "keywords" for your website. You might also wish to add this information to META tags.

Once you have your information together and your META tags posted to your site, you start registering. The details involved in optimizing the visibilty of your website to various search engines has become extremely complex, specialized and competitive. If being found this way is a critical strategy to your business we recomend contacting a specialist such as stepforth.com or metamend.com. You may also find more information on the topic here.

What are CGI scripts?

CGI stands for "Common Gateway Interface". Basically, a CGI script is a routine that runs on the website host computer to perform a particular function on a website. Generally, you will install CGI scripts yourself (or you may hire one of our technicians to assist you).

For customer convenience, we offer access to FormMail.pl, a very common script that allows you to very easily write forms that send you an e-mail message that includes the contents of the form. This is useful for a simple order form, request form, or "ask a question" form.

• FormMail.pl – You must contact us to have your domain name added to the permission list for the script.
  Click for the author's complete instructions on implementing FormMail.
  
  The following is a very basic sample of a form that will work on your website to send an e-mail to "test@dotcanuck.com". Copy the code to your page, but remember to change the "recipient" to an address at your domain name, and note that the form posts to "http://www.dotcanuck.biz/cgi-bin/formmail/FormMail.pl".
  
  
  <html>
  <body>
  <form method="POST" action="http://www.dotcanuck.biz/cgi-bin/formmail/FormMail.pl">
  <input type="HIDDEN" name="recipient" value="test@dotcanuck.com">
  <input type="TEXT" name="testbox">
  <input type="SUBMIT" value="Submit">
  </form>
  </body>
  </html>

What are META tags?

META tags are special tags that define data items within your HTML document. There are many types with many explicit purposes.

The most common use of META tags on the web is to help search engines categorize your site.

Hints:

• With keywords, start with the keyword most likely to be used to find your site, and end with the least likely.
• With description, use lots of colourful adjectives that people might search on, and try not repeat words. Also, do not use too many words, as most search engines will stop reading after a certain number of characters, so your description may appear on theirsite, ending mid-sentence.

Format:

• META tags must be contained within the <HEAD></HEAD> section of your HTML document.
• Format of keywords is as follows: <META name="keywords" lang="en-us" content="vacation, Greece, sunshine">
• Format of description is as follows: <META name="description" lang="en-us" content="Greece Vacations Central is a website with vacation planning, reservations, and so much more.">

What is the difference between 'Hits' and 'Visits'?

Hits: A term used that represents the number of files downloaded from a server. For example, if a page has nine different graphics, and someone visited it, it would count as ten hits, one for the page load, and nine for all the different graphics.

Visits: When your website is visited by unique ip addresses, no matter how many pages are viewed.

What are my payment options, and how do I change them?

Web Hosting payments are more flexible than that for domain name purchases. Here are the common options:

• Recurring automatic monthly payment on your VISA, MasterCard or American Express.
• Quarterly, Semi-Annual or Annual cheque or money order payment (invoices e-mailed).
• Remittance of 6 or more monthly cheques post-dated for each month of service.
• Monthly automated PayPal payment for full amount, including HST and PayPal service charges.

To change your payment options, please contact us. Never e-mail your complete credit card information, please phone us instead.

My credit card is about to expire. Where do I update the expiry date for my account?

When your credit card is nearing expiry, you need to contact us. If your credit card expiry is the only part that is changing, simply e-mail us the last 4-digits of your card and the new expiry date (for security reasons, never e-mail your complete credit card information). If you have a new credit card number, simply call our toll-free line, indicate the domain name you are hosting and the new credit card information.