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The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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.
"The website's been a big success ever since it went live."
Wednesday 15 July 2020
.nl is big, very big. The number of .nl domain names now tops six million. Most registrations are for business, with experienced entrepreneurs rolling out initiatives and newcomers taking their first steps in the world of e-commerce. Often, the trigger is the pandemic's impact on traditional trading. And, behind every registration there's a story. A story of vision and ambition. A story of exploration in the world of e-commerce. We're celebrating reaching six million by telling some of those stories. This week it's the story of Gijs-Jan Witkamp, a real estate agent who has branched out to create digiborrel.nl. His new venture offers turnkey refreshments and entertainment packages to business customers.
I was active in a very different line of business: real estate. One of my main focuses was the expat market, which has unfortunately collapsed since the pandemic. So earnings took a big hit. Meanwhile, my partner and I were getting married. Because of the lockdown, plans for a big gathering had to be dropped. Instead, we arranged for friends and relatives to watch the ceremony on Zoom and we sent each of our 'guests' a drinks pack so that they could all toast us online. That gave us the idea of marketing online drinks packs. And digiborrel.nl was born!
And things moved quickly from there?
"Very quickly. I already had some experience from setting up my real estate business. First step was to come up with a domain name. I toyed around with one or two ideas, but none of them were catchy enough. Then I thought of digiborrel.nl ('digi-tipple') and was amazed to discover that it was still available. After registering the name, I built the website in three days using a commercial WordPress template. The next step was to recruit a team. I quickly got a handful of students on board, and we now have twelve people involved."
So how does Digiborrel work?
"Quite a few service providers offer drinks packs, but we're taking the concept a step further. We offer a comprehensive reception package. Instead of just delivering a box of drinks, we organise entertainment, decorations and accessories. Entertainment in the form of games is a really important part of the offering. One of the games we organise is Truth or Fiction: someone tells an unlikely-sounding story and the others have to decide whether it's true. It creates a proper party atmosphere, with people exchanging anecdotes and having a laugh."
And you went ahead with the launch quite quickly?
"I improved my Adwords campaigns myself and used Yoast! to do some SEO for my site. After that, the site went live and was immediately a big success. We were soon top of the Google rankings, and we benefited from having a fairly unique offering. The combination of drinks and entertainment appealed to the business community. We immediately started getting enquiries from big companies in a wide variety of sectors. The response was really positive."
This was all on top of running your real estate business? You must have been working long hours!
"Yes, to begin with I was doing everything myself. I was at the wholesaler's at 6:30 in the morning. Then I'd do my real estate work during office hours, before processing the Digiborrel orders in the evening. But it was only for a short period. I had to get other people on board quickly, because doing it all single-handed wasn't sustainable. I'm still busy – on weekdays we send out between 500 and 1,500 drink packs a day – but I have more help now."
Is this the new normal, or do you envisage going back to how things were?
It's impossible to say. Digiborrel.nl is exciting, energising. It gives me very tangible goals and stimulates my creativity. So I'm just going to see how it goes. A lot of big companies plan to keep staff working from home for the rest of the year. After that, who knows?"
Do you have any advice for other people looking to set up an online business?
"You can mull over a plan for ages, but sometimes business is less about careful planning than about action."
