Diving into the world of whois searches, you will soon stumble upon many new terms and info categories that might need explaining. The ScalaHosting Team has conducted deep research on the topic, so we can bring you this extensive guide on the common terminology when it comes to public domain lookups.

Whois Glossary

• Domain name – the textual representation of your website’s content location. Users type the domain name in the URL bar of their browser in order to access this content in the easiest possible manner. The domain name is unique for a website and cannot be tied to multiple online projects.
• Domain extension – each domain ends with an extension, that’s the suffix part of the name. There are different types of domains depending on their extension – gTLD (.com, .net, .org), ccTLD (.es, .fr, .jp), new gTLD (.club, .cafe, .guru), and more. .COM is still by far the most popular extension to register a name with.
• IP Address – this is a protocol that assigns a unique numerical value to each separate device on a network. The computers use IP addresses as means of communication when they need to perform a certain operation or retrieve a piece of content. Public IP addresses can be static (fixed) or dynamic (regularly change over time).
• ICANN – the abbreviation of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, an American nonprofit organization that is tasked with the coordination and maintenance of all domain namespaces over the Internet. ICANN consists of a board of directors with 16 voting members and 4 non-voting ones. 
• Domain Registrar – accredited companies that help end clients easily register domain names. Every registrar operates under the guidelines of the associated domain registry. 
• Domain Registrant – the owner of the registered domain name. They hold all rights to the domain name until the registrant info on file has been updated, or the domain has been transferred to another entity. 
• Domain Privacy / ID Protection – an additional service provided by the domain registrar, masking your registrant information with fake details. Any whois search conducted on such a domain will bring no real contact info. The option can be turned off whenever needed, like in cases of a domain transfer, for example.
• Whois Lookup – a web search intended to bring details about a domain name owner. Depending on the type of whois lookup, you can see basic domain info, registrar data, or full registrar + registrant details.

Whois Lookup Results – What Can I see?

1. Domain Information

• Creation Date – when was the domain name first registered.
• Expiration Date – when is the domain name supposed to expire.
• Last Update – when was the domain name last updated (renewal, contact info change, etc.).
• Nameservers – where does the domain name point to.

2. Registrar Information

• Name – the company which registers your domain name.
• Whois Server – an ICANN-operated server that contains updated information about all domains under it.
• URL – the web address of the domain registrar.
• Domain Status – there are several different domain statuses, depending on the phase the domain is in. Popular statuses include Active, Registrar-Lock, Registrar-Hold, RedemptionPeriod, PendingDelete, etc.

3. Registrant Information

• Registrant Contact Information

* Name – domain owner’s name

* Organization – domain owner’s registered business

* Address – domain owner’s physical address

* City – domain owner’s city

* State/Province – domain owner’s state/province

* Postal Code – domain owner’s postal code

* Country – domain owner’s country of residence

* Phone – domain owner’s phone number

* Fax – domain owner’s fax number

* Email – domain owner’s email address

• Administrative Contact Information – same as registrant information unless specified
• Technical Contact Information – same as registrant information unless specified

Should you need more information or help with whois lookup searches – contact the Scala Team, and we will gladly assist you further!

With an SPanel managed VPS, you can create as many different accounts with as many domain names as you want. If you want to start a new project, you can always set up a new account and get started in no time.

However, if you want to use the same files with a different domain, it makes sense to repurpose an existing account instead of creating a new one. This means changing the account’s main domain.

Here’s how to do it.

Changing the Main Domain of an SPanel Account

Swapping one main domain for another takes no more than a couple of minutes and is really easy. You need to bear in mind, however, that if the new domain is to work, it needs to be registered and pointed to your VPS. After that’s done, follow the steps below to change your SPanel account’s main domain.

STEP 1: Log into SPanel’s Admin Interface.

You will be managing one of your SPanel accounts, so the Admin Interface is where you need to go. The default login URL is [your server’s IP address]/spanel.

STEP 2: Locate the account you want to modify.

On the homepage, you’ll see a list of all the SPanel accounts created on your VPS. The same list is also available on the Manage Accounts page available in the navigation panel on the left.

Make sure you find the account you want to modify. To save time, you can also use the search functionality and look them up by a domain or a username.

STEP 3: Open the Actions Drop-Down and Select Change Domain.

Next to each account, there’s an Actions drop-down menu. Open it and select Change Domain.

A popup appears asking you for the new domain. All you need to do is to enter it and click the Change button to apply the changes.

By default, SPanel will assign the public_html directory as the document root for your new main domain.

Bear in mind that the change will wreak havoc with your existing subdomains, custom DNS settings, and email forwarders; so always proceed with caution.

Need Support?

If you need assistance changing your primary domain or have questions, reach out to our support, and we’ll be willing and available to help.

Most people see https://www.domain.com and https://domain.com as the same page, but search engines don’t—they see them as duplicate content. 

Google sees duplicate content as “appreciably similar” content in more than one URL. 

The major problem with duplicate content is that it’s difficult for search engines to decide on the version to include in the search index and rank for query results. 

This confusion could impact search engine rankings negatively.

But you could fix this by redirecting all non-www URLs to their www version, and thankfully, here’s how.

Redirecting Non-WWW URLs to WWW

You can create web redirects by adding some lines of code to your domain .htaccess file—a server configuration file that lets users make quick changes to their server settings. Use this code to redirect from non-www to www.

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain.com [NC]

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com/$1 [L,R=301]

Please replace domain.com on the code with your domain name and save the changes. 

Always add your redirect rules below the RewriteEngine On line, unless you have it already at the top of the .htaccess file. 

If you do, then use the code without the RewriteEngine On line to create the URL redirect. 

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^yourdomain.com [NC]

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.yourdomain.com/$1 [L,R=301]

Now follow these steps to add the rule to your .htaccess file.

Step 1: Log into SPanel’s User Interface.

The default login URL is https://yourdomain.com/spanel/ (don’t forget to replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain).

Step 2: Open the File Manager

Locate the FILES section on the homepage and click File manager.

Navigate to your domain’s root directory in the file manager and open it.

If you’re setting up the redirect for your root domain, then the root directory should be the folder named public_html.

If it’s for a subdomain or addon domain, choose the folder bearing its domain name.

Step 3: Add Your Code

Locate a file named .htaccess in the root directory, right-click the file to reveal a menu, then choose Edit to open the editor.

Now, copy and paste your redirect rule into the editor and save. Then, type your URL without the www in your browser to confirm it’s redirecting to the www version.

Need Support?

If you need assistance creating this redirect, kindly reach out to our support for quick help, and we’ll be available to help.

You can also rewrite ugly and unwieldy URLs (like www.mystore.com/p=72829) to make them intuitive for shoppers, for example, to something like  www.mystore.com/computers/laptops/hp. 

The link is easier on the eyes, looks clean, and visitors can extract semantic meanings.

Of course, enabling the mod_rewrite module makes this possible. So let’s learn what it’s, how it works and how to enable it for your account.

What’s Mod_Rewrite?

The mod_rewrite  is an Apache module that helps users manipulate or rewrite URLs from the server, allowing them to offer different URLs for the same file.

The module uses a rule-based rewriting engine to let users rewrite URLs.

Users can enable the .htaccess file after activating the mod_rewriting module to let them rewrite URLs via the file on their account control panel instead of on their remote servers. 

The .htaccess file allows people to configure server settings without accessing its configuration files.

How the Rewrite Rule Works

The mod_rewrite module relies on rules to match URLs.

When a visitor makes a URL request, the module checks the incoming URLs against existing rules, which use regular expressions to define the match condition or pattern. 

If the URL matches a rule, it checks the defined condition and proceeds to the next rule until there are no more rules left, and then executes the substitution.

For instance, if you set up a rewrite rule that forwards users from www to non-www when they make a page request, the module will compare the URL against all existing rules>

If it matches the www to non-www rewrite rule and other defined rules (for instance, HTTP to HTTPS redirect), it executes all the rewrites at once.

The mod_write syntax follows this pattern RewriteRule Pattern Substitution [Flags]:

• RewriteRule specifies the name of the mod_rewrite directive you want to use.
• Pattern shows the regular expression that matches the requested URL.
• Substitution defines the URL of the page you wish to forward to or display.
• Flags specify additional but optional parameters.

Here’s a sample mod_rewrite rule syntax for redirecting non-www URLs to www.

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

Importance of Mod_Rewrite

Mod_write’s flexibility makes it so powerful and exciting; let’s examine some of its benefits quickly:

• The module helps users to rewrite ugly URLs into friendlier and clean URLs.
• It allows users to redirect visitors from www to non-www URLs or vice versa, which helps address duplicate content issues.
• You can redirect web visitors to your new domain name when you change the domain using a mod_rewrite rule.
• You can block specific or multiple IP addresses using a rewrite rule.
• Most international eCommerce uses mod_rewrite rules to forward visitors from certain countries to the right place, category or store.
• You can deny users access to certain file types, like .pdf, .css, and others.
• It helps web admins force their websites to load securely using HTTPS. 

Enabling Mod_Rewrite Module

Scala Hosting installs and enables mod-rewrite modules on Apache web servers by default. If the module is not enabled for you, contact our support, and we’ll get it done.

But if you wish to enable it yourself, then head to your server and find the global configuration file, httpd.conf.

Locate the section that loads a bunch of modules and find the line below within the file.

LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod\_rewrite.so

Uncomment the line if it’s commented out by removing the hashtag (#) at the beginning of the line. Please ensure to make a backup of your file before modifying the global configuration file.

Need Support?

Scala Hosting installs and enables Apache mod_rewrite on your server by default, so you don’t have to worry about modifying your server global configuration file. 

But if you have questions relating to mod_rewrite, you can reach out to our support, and we’ll be glad to answer them.

In the past, this information would be made available through publicly accessible whois search engines like https://whois.domaintools.com/. These search engines could reveal a domain owner’s name, email and postal addresses, and telephone number, as well as the domain’s registration and expiration dates, the registrar-lock status, and the nameservers.

When the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect, ICANN, the international organization governing the registration of domains, was forced to redesign the entire whois system and its data handling procedures.

Right now, by default, domains registered by EU citizens won’t reveal the registrant’s personal and contact details. The exact redaction mechanisms differ from TLD to TLD, but the upshot is that the sensitive information is not shared with the whois search engines and is stored and managed by the registrar. 

Regulations state that registrars need to provide a way for the domain owner to be contacted without revealing their email address.

Bear in mind that Whois redaction is not synonymous with ID protection. ID protection is a paid service that protects the registrant’s privacy by replacing their contact details in the whois output with fake ones.

DNS servers contain records that help browsers, computers, and servers perform successful DNS lookups. 

Over 20 DNS records exist today, but eight are in common use; they include:

• A Record (Address Record)
• CNAME Record (Canonical Name Record)
• MX Record (Mail Exchanger Record)
• TXT Record
• NS Record (Name Server Record)
• SOA Record (Start of Authority Record)
• SRV Record (Service Record)
• PTR Record (Pointer Record)

But this article examines the AAAA, SRV, and TXT records. So let’s get started. 

AAAA Records

The Address “A” record is a DNS record that points domain names or subdomains to their IP addresses, making it the most fundamental DNS record. It helps resolve the human-readable domain names to their IP addresses, making it possible for you to visit our website with the domain www.scalahosting.com instead of its IP address—the language servers understand.

Adding multiple A records to your domain helps provide redundancy and protect against outages. The AAAA record is similar to the A record but only points domains and subdomains to IPv6 addresses, while the latter only holds IPv4 addresses.

If you have an IPv6 address and wish to add the record to your DNS zone file, kindly contact our support for quick help.

SRV Records

Some internet protocols rely on the SRV record to function correctly. The SRV record, short for Service record, is a DNS record that specifies the host and port for specific services like instant messaging, VoIP, and other third-party services.

It defines the server location for the specified service and how the domain handles that service. An SRV record contains the desired service, transport protocol of the desired service, the domain name for which the record is valid, and the time to live—the time the DNS server refreshes the record.

If you wish to add an  SRV record to your domain, get in touch with our support. 

TXT Records

The DNS TXT records contain text information for DNS servers. It lets web admins leave notes on the domain name system to verify domain ownership or configure email security.

For instance, users can upload TXT records with information that helps verify their ownership of the domain. They could also use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC TXT records to authenticate their emails and protect them from spoofers.

Adding TXT records to your domain is intuitive and straightforward. You could follow these steps to get it done.

Step 1: Log into SPanel’s User Interface

The default login URL is https://yourdomain.com/spanel (don’t forget to replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain).

Step 2: Open the DNS Manager

On your account’s control panel, scroll down to the DOMAINS section and click DNS editor to open your DNS manager.

Step 3: Add Your TXT Record

On the DNS editor page, select the domain you wish to add the TXT record to from the pull-down menu.

Type your record name in the Name text box.

Enter a TTL (time to live) value for your TXT record, or use the default value.

Using a shorter TTL value makes propagation quicker. You could consider reducing the value before adding your record. Keep it between 3600 seconds and 86400 seconds after propagation.

Select TXT as your DNS Type.

Enter your TXT record in the Value text box and click the Add Record button to apply the changes.

Need Support?

Adding DNS records to your domain could be challenging. So if you need assistance setting up any record, do contact our support for quick help.

This article guides you everything you need to know about a subdomain name, how to create one and how to set up a subdomain website.

What’s a Subdomain Name?

A subdomain is a domain within a domain. It helps organize a website into sections, for example, blog.domain.com, m.domain.com (for mobile website version), store.domain.com, or help.domain.com to host your support center.

Owners of multi-languages websites often rely on it to organize their websites into language sections to cater to different languages.  For instance, you could use en.yourdomain.com to host your websites’ English version, es.yourdomain.com to run the Spanish version, and fr.yourdomain.com for the French version. 

These subdomains allow you to run the three websites without any additional payments. You could even run them from a single WordPress installation and dashboard using the WordPress multisite feature. The feature allows users to create a website network and manage them centrally.

Subdomain name allows web visitors to access a subdomain using an easy-to-remember name. It’s what visitors type in their browsers when visiting a subdomain.

How to create a Subdomain Name

You can create a subdomain name by adding a prefix to a domain name you already own. To get started, sign in to your SPanel’s User Interface. The default login URL is https://yourdomain.com/spanel (don’t forget to replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain).

Scroll down to the DOMAINS section and click Subdomains.

Enter your subdomain name in the Subdomain text box and select the domain you wish to add the subdomain to from the drop-down menu.

Click the Create Subdomain button, and Scalahosting takes care of the rest.

Installing WordPress on a Subdomain

After setting up your subdomain, the next is to create the website content. Unlike a domain that requires hosting after purchasing a domain name, a subdomain goes live the moment you create the subdomain name—all you need to have a functional website is to design the interface and add the content. 

Using WordPress allows you to set up a website quickly without any coding skills. It lets you customize your website and extend its functionalities using over 7,000 themes and 56,000 plugins. You could install the script to your subdomain in two ways—via WordPress Manager or Softaculous.

Via WordPress Manager

WordPress Manager is SPanel’s intuitive interface for installing WordPress with quick steps. To get started, log in to your account’s control panel, scroll to the Tools section,  then click WordPress manager.

Click Domain/Path to open a drop-down menu and select the subdomain you wish to install from the list of your active domains and subdomains. Please, leave the Folder name field blank. It’s only applicable if you’re setting up WordPress on a subdirectory (for example, domain.com/help or subdomain.domain.com/help).

Enter your login username and password in the appropriate text boxes. 

The login credential helps you log into your WordPress admin backend—so ensure it’s secured. You could use the Generate button to create a strong password. Type your admin email address and click the Install WordPress button.

Via Softaculous

Softaculous is a commercial script library that allows users to install open-source web applications to a website.  It allows you to install other scripts besides WordPress, like Joomla (another powerful CMS), AbanteCart (an eCommerce script), phpBB (a widely used forum solution), ClipBucket (for creating a YouTube-like website), and others.

To install WordPress on your subdomain using Softaculous, log in to your control panel and click Softaculous under the Tools section.

On Softaculous, under Top Scripts, select WordPress > Install.

On the WordPress installation page, select the latest version of WordPress, choose your protocol, then your domain, and don’t forget to leave the In Directory field empty.

Under Site Settings, enter your website name and a description.

Click the checkbox if you wish to enable the Multisite feature.

Under Admin Account, enter your admin username, password, and email.

Select your language, enter the email address that’ll receive your installation details, then click the Install button to run and complete the installation.

Wrapping It Up

Using subdomains is entirely free. It allows you to create a new website on an existing domain, saving you the cost of buying a new domain name and hosting plan. It also helps you organize your website into logical sections.

If you need support with anything relating to a subdomain, then reach our support by chat, email, or phone, and we’ll be glad to help.

In the Domains menu, add the new domain name you wish to add to your hosting account. Just beneath the domain name field, you can specify the root folder of that domain name. The new folder will be a subdirectory within the root folder of your primary domain name.

When done, click “Add Domain.” The newly specified domain name will join the list of existing domains on the bottom half of this display. 

You can also use the “Actions” option on the right of each domain name to make modifications, such as changing the root folder associated with it. If you wish to have two domain names pointing to the same content, specify the same root folder when adding the new domain name.