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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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

.nl in the spotlight: jas.nl

"My dream was to be so successful that I could retire after two years and spend the rest of my life on the beach."

  • Tuesday 11 August 2020

As an internet marketing consultant, Floris van Vredendaal from Almelo used to help businesses improve their online performance. And, in the course of his work, he noticed that there wasn't much competition around the search term 'winterjas' ('winter coat'). Six years on from spotting that gap in the market, Floris runs jas.nl, a platform that helps shoppers find the right coat.

It's an unusually short and catchy domain name, Floris. Was it still available to register?

No. But, with my marketing background, I was well aware just how important a good domain name is. I started with winterjassen.com, but the competition increased and I decided that I needed a distinctive .nl domain name. So I approached jas.nl's previous owner. After six months of negotiations, we agreed a price and I took over the name. It's one of several domain names I have that include the word 'jas' ('coat'/'jacket'). Some of them have other extensions, including .io and .shop. I have the other names mainly for defensive reasons.

Why coats?

Although I don't have a background in fashion or retailing, I got the idea of doing something with coats from analysing search behaviour linked to various keywords. As an online marketer, I noticed a few years ago that there was relatively little online competition on coats. I suspected that, with a good domain name and a smart approach, I could play the coat market successfully. My dream was to be so successful that I could retire after two years and spend the rest of my life on the beach.

How does jas.nl work?

The idea of jas.nl is to save people the trouble of browsing lots of different webshops when they want to buy a coat, by showing them all the coats on the Dutch market in one place. The site makes use of a customised technical platform built by Digital Ocean. I get an XML feed detailing all the coats on offer from Dutch outlets. The incoming data is then sorted and presented on the platform in a logical, shopper-friendly form. A shopper selects the coat they want on jas.nl and is automatically directed to the shop that's selling it. The shop then pays me a kickback fee for the referral. The most labour-intensive aspect is categorising the coats. What counts as a summer jacket? And what's a trench coat? Almost all visitors reach jas.nl via a search engine. To maximise the visitor flow, I focus mainly on organically high Google rankings (SEO), rather than advertising (SEA). SEO is much more sustainable, because the effects last longer.

How happy are you with your business?

Pretty happy, although I'm not in a position to retire to that beach just yet! We work with retailers a lot, and things have been hard for them. However, the pandemic has driven a sharp upturn in online sales, and that's worked in our favour. Before the crisis, it was already apparent that we faced stiffer competition from players such as Zalando and Bol.com. Their size gives those platforms a strong negotiating hand and makes it easier to achieve high search engine rankings.

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs with similar ideas?

Invest in a really nice site and a strong domain name. Don't use a standard WordPress template, but create a distinctive style of your own with an eye-catching logo and so forth. Your website needs a distinctive identity.

Want to read more business stories?

Take a look at other entrepreneurs and startups and their .nl.