How do I… Set Up My Account?

How Do I… Set Up My Account?

Setting up your Network Solutions Account seems like a logical place to kick off the “How Do I…” series.  After all, the first step IS choosing a domain.  So you’ve finally found the domain you want and there’s no time to waste!  You’ve GOT to register it.  But wait- you have to set up an Account to put it in first.  What you may not realize is that this is one of the most important steps in the whole process!

Individual or Organization? THAT is the Question…

I know you want to hurry up and register that domain, but you’ve got to take a few extra seconds to think it through… Am I registering this domain for myself?  Or am I registering this domain for my business?  It’s a critical question that will help you to maintain control of your domain registration in the long run.

If you are registering the domain for yourself and you are the individual who is solely responsible for maintaining and taking action on the Account, you should select an Individual Account type and register the domain in your own name.

If you are registering the domain on behalf of a business or organization, you should choose a Business/Organization Account type.  Don’t worry- of course we know that an organization isn’t going to be accessing Account Manager to set up this domain for you!  Chances are that if you are registering the domain, you will likely be the one managing it for your business, so enter your first/last name in the first/last name fields when setting up the Account Holder Information and you’ll be listed as the Primary Contact for the Account.

Contact Information

Whether you set up an Individual or Business/Organization Account, you’ll be asked to enter contact information.  Make sure this information is accurate and stays up to date.  (If you’ve got concerns about releasing your contact information to the public, we do recommend adding Private Registration, which we’ll learn more about in an upcoming post.)  If you set up a Business/Organization Account, make sure you keep the Primary Contact’s information up to date too!  This is how we’ll be able to get in touch with you to send renewal notices and other important messages.

Other Contacts

I know, I know.  You’ve got a friend, co-worker, or designer who’s going to help you get the domain name and website linked up and they’ll need access to the Account too.  That’s great!  Now hang tight…  Don’t share your User ID and/or password with anyone!  No matter who is helping you right now, you want to make sure that you or your organization remain in control of the domain registration.  You’ll be able to assign other contacts who will have access to the Account (that you can control) with their very own User IDs once you’ve got the domain secured.  As a matter of fact, we’ll talk more about assigning those Account Contacts in our next post.

Oh no! I’ve already set up my Account!

Relax… If you’ve already set up your Account and you need to make some changes, you still can!  Access Account Manager and check out these helpful articles courtesy of the Network Solutions Support Center:

• Update Your User Information
• How to Edit Account Holder

And if you still need help, let us know!  You can reach us 24/7 by calling or opening an Online Support Request.

Learn more about Safeguarding Your Domain Registration in the Education Center too.

Until next time- let us know what you think and what you’d like to hear more about in the “How Do I…?” Series.  You can comment below, connect with us on Facebook, or tweet @netsolcares with #nsHowTo!

Image by Flickr user boetter (Creative Commons)