Domain Names: a critical component

Best practices for domain name registration, configuration, and management

Domain Names, have you ever had issues with them? Make sure you take a moment to understand what this critical component is and why we offer so much value to your business.

We don't just register a domain name for you, and we fully manage it.

Your domain name registration can be pretty turn-key, which you get with other web design companies. You end up with a mess of DNS records that pollute your domain name with insecure settings and pollute email inboxes from all kinds of spam. Most people don't even know how central these domain name records are to verifying the legitimacy of your business online.

A domain name points to a bunch of records like this.

When you hire a web design company, they won't have a lot of experience with domain names, and they will use any $10/year registrar and merely get your website working. They may use Cloudflare or another intermediary, which is an improvement over a basic default, but they probably don't take the time to comb through the details as we do.

First, we use the right tools for the job. We're not entirely automated, but we're also not manual either. We use robots to make tasks easy, but they are only tools, and we put intelligence behind them.

We manage a fleet of name servers, including our PowerDNS cluster (aptly named Freyja in pursuit of records) and Amazon's Route 53. Owning our nameservers affords us redundancy and the flexibility we need to pivot to new security technologies.

You don't just get a domain name; you get:

DNSSEC ensures that no one can manipulate a nameserver in the middle to change these records' values. Signatures prevent others from impersonating your domain to other machines on a network. Are you interested in learning about Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC)?
DKIM adds a layer of encryption to your email signatures to ensure that as your email transmits from one mail server to another, it is not tampered with, and people know the emails come from you. Learn more about DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM).
DMARC adds instructions for handling email errors and provides contact information. If there is a problem detected, there are instructions on how to inform the domain name owner. Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) information is here.
CAA records - because SSL keys are fantastic. They encrypt all websites and a lot of email traffic from sender to recipient. However, most people use them. We also include CAA records on the domain, which contains instructions on SSL keys authorization. It would suck to know you encrypted only to find out you were talking to the wrong person—more about this DNS Certification Authority Authorization.