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Frequently asked questions

  • I am looking for a domain name registrant. Where can I look it up?

    The Whois is an easy-to-use tool for checking the availability of a .nl domain name. If the domain name is already taken, you can see who has registered it.

    On the page looking up a domain name you will find more information about what a domain name is, how the Whois works and how the privacy of personal data is protected. Alternatively, you can go straight to look for a domain name via the Whois.

  • I would like to transfer my domain name to another registrar. What is the procedure?

    To get your domain name transferred, you need the token (unique ID number) for your domain name. Your existing registrar has the token and is obliged to give it to you within five days, if you ask for it. The procedure for changing your registrar is described on the page transferring your domain name.

  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date. How can I get them updated?

    To update the contact details associated with your domain name, you need to contact your registrar. Read more about updating contact details.

  • Why is my domain name in quarantine?

    When a domain name is cancelled, we aren't told the reason, so we can't tell you. You'll need to ask your registrar. The advantage of quarantine is that, if a name's cancelled by mistake, you can always get it back.

    One common reason is that the contract between you and your registrar says you've got to renew the registration every year. If you haven't set up automatic renewal and you don't renew manually, the registration will expire.

  • Ik heb een klacht over mijn provider/registrar. Kan ik daarvoor bij SIDN terecht?

    Wanneer je een klacht hebt over of een geschil met je registrar dan zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden om tot een oplossing te komen. Hierover lees je meer op pagina klacht over registrar. SIDN heeft geen formele klachtenprocedure voor het behandelen van een klacht over jouw registrar.

  • What conditions do I have to meet as a registrar?

    Would you like to be able to register domain names for customers or for your own organisation by dealing directly with SIDN? If so, you can become a .nl registrar. Read more about the conditions and how to apply for registrar status on the page becoming a registrar.

More frequently asked questions

Easier website access for blind people and those with impaired vision

SIDN Fund supports automated accessibility checker project

Close-up of hands operating a braille keyboard for the blind
  • Wednesday 22 April 2020

Nowadays, we get nearly all our information from the internet. What challenges does that pose for people with impaired vision? Many of them use screen readers -- software that reads website content aloud -- so that they have access to internet content like everyone else. Unfortunately, however, screen readers can't handle everything. As a result, some things on the internet aren't fully accessible to blind people and those with impaired vision. The trouble is that it's difficult and time-consuming for a website developer to make sure that a site they're building can be accessed by everyone. With support from SIDN Fund, Enrise has therefore come up with a tool that enables programmers to check their code for access issues during the test phase. Henk-Jan van Voorthuijsen, the Enrise developer behind the project, talks about the tool and the assistance given by SIDN Fund.

Time-consuming accessibility checks

AmberScript: live transcription for people with hearing problems
Henk-Jan van Voorthuijsen, developer at Enrise
Henk-Jan van Voorthuijsen, developer at Enrise and initiator of the Continuous Accessibility Checker

If a site lacks a clear header structure or includes poorly labelled forms, a screen reader may not be able to interpret the content correctly. As a result, something that's a cinch for sighted users -- ordering an item of clothing from a webshop, say -- can be very hard for someone who's blind or can't see well. "There are all sorts of rules that a web developer should follow," says Henk-Jan. "There are rules on the use of contrasting colours, for example, and 'alt tags' to describe what's in a picture. And rules on how to use 'landmarks' to distinguish content blocks, such as menus and body text. So that people who are navigating by keyboard don't have to listen to everything on the page, but can go straight to the part they're interested in." However, making sure that a website is accessible to everyone is a complex and time-consuming business. That was brought home to Henk-Jan when working on a project for a local authority in the Netherlands. "Checking everything against the accessibility rules took ages. So we wanted a way of automating the process: a tool that would cut out the manual checks and ensure that nothing was overlooked."

Automatic accessibility checking

That led to the birth of the Continuous Accessibility Checker. "It's standard practice amongst web developers to test the quality of your finished code. So we thought, what's needed here is a tool that can be used at that stage to check for accessibility issues," continues Henk-Jan. What the Checker does is scan a developer's code for compliance with the accessibility standards cited in Dutch legislation. It checks contrast, for example: are the chosen font and its size and colour appropriate for the background? Each element of the website under development is checked the same way. If any element is problematic, the developer gets a report listing the issues.

Open-source software

Automation of the accessibility checking process saves a great deal of time. So it's much easier for developers to make sure that all internet users can access site content. Believing that the benefits of the tool should be shared as widely as possible, Enrise has published the code on GitHub. As a result, any web developer can integrate the tool into their own test routine.

Enabled by SIDN Fund

Henk-Jan wrote the code for the Continuous Accessibility Checker with a colleague. Support from SIDN Fund enabled them to devote the necessary time to the task. Marieke van der Kruijs, Project Coordinator at SIDN Fund, explains why the Fund was pleased to back the idea: "The Continuous Accessibility Checker enables web developers to test their code at an early stage for compliance with the WCAG 2.1 accessibility rules. So this open-source tool is helping to make the internet more accessible to all end users, while also raising accessibility awareness within the developer community." Want to know more about the Continuous Accessibility Checker? Fancy giving it a try? Visit the Enrise website for full details.

More great projects supported by SIDN Fund

Read more articles about projects that contribute to a stronger internet.