Web Hosting Getting Started Guide 12 

Chapter 2: Learn About Your Domain Name 

About Your Domain 

domain name (web address) 

A domain name is also called a web address, and like a memorable street address, it 

can help people find you online. You might base your domain name on your own 

name, the name of your company, keywords that describe your business, even a 

short phrase   anything that will make your web address easy to remember. When 

you sign up for Yahoo! Web Hosting, you can select a new domain name or choose to 

use one you already own with your Web Hosting account. Once your domain has 

been activated, you can build a public web site at your own web address (such as 

http://www.widgetdesigns.com), create a personalized email address (such as 

me@widgetdesigns.com)   even develop subdomains (such as 

http://photos.widgetdesigns.com or http://music.widgetdesigns.com).  

When you signed up for Yahoo! Web Hosting, you chose a domain, or web address, for your 

business. Your customers will use your domain (such as widgetdesigns.com) to find your 

business online, and your customized email addresses (such as sales@widgetdesigns.com) 

will include your domain name. 

If you just signed up for your plan, your domain may still be pending. Pending means that 

your domain is not yet active across the Internet (if you are registering a new domain 

name) or that changes to your name server settings have not yet taken effect (if you are 

using a domain name you registered elsewhere). The pending state occurs for all domain 

registrations and changes. A new domain takes 12 to 48 hours to propagate across the 

Internet, depending on the extension you have chosen.  

The main effects of having a pending domain are:  

Web address: If you are registering a new domain, visitors who try to go to your web 

address will get a Page Not Found error. If you are using a domain you registered 

elsewhere, visitors will see the page or web site that is currently active, depending on the 

settings you have made at your registrar. 

Web hosting: You will not be able to perform certain functions, such as activating 

FrontPage, or publish your site at your chosen web address while your domain is pending. 

However, we have provided a temporary web address that will allow you to upload files and 

preview your site while you re waiting. You ll find this temporary web address on the Home 

tab of your Web Hosting Control Panel.  

Copyright   2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.