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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

"Suggestion tool makes it easier for business registrants to find a good .nl domain name"

xel and XXL Hosting help customers looking for suitable .nl domain names

Laptop screen showing the 'Find your ideal .nl' page on the SIDN website
  • Friday 23 July 2021

.amsterdam, settling on the best domain name for a business can be difficult nowadays. If the .nl version of your first-choice name isn't available, should you register that name with another extension (e.g. .shop) or think of another name that's still available as a .nl? After all, .nl is easily the Netherlands' favourite top-level domain. Dutch internet users see the .nl domain as the most secure and trustworthy. And 80 per cent of Dutch internet users prefer to visit .nl sites. Against that background, we and our partners developed the .nl Suggestion Tool to help business registrants find suitable domain names. Registrars can implement the free Suggestion Tool API on their websites to make choosing a domain name easier for customers and resellers. Sander Cruiming (founder of XXL Hosting) and Mido Ahmed (CEO of xel) were involved in testing the Suggestion Tool and now have it operating on their sites. They've been talking to us about the implementation, their experiences and the benefits of the tool.

.nl Suggestion Tool

Someone looking to register a domain name for business can easily check a name's availability using the .nl Suggestion Tool on our home page. If the name is already taken, the tool suggests alternatives. The user can then refine the search and see more ideas to help them find the .nl domain name that's right for them. Our Suggestion Tool is also available to registrars in the form of an API, which enables them to implement the same search functionality on their own websites. This article (only available for .nl registrars) explains how the tool works.

xel and XXL Hosting

XXL Hosting has been serving the Dutch market for more than twenty years. The company offers WordPress hosting, complete web hosting packages, e-mail marketing and other hosting and related services. xel also supports its customers with a range of hosting services, from WordPress and website hosting to domain name registration. The two companies share a commitment to helping business customers succeed online.

From testing to API implementation

Portrait of Mido Ahmed, CEO of xel
Mido Ahmed, CEO of xel

"A while back, we had the opportunity to try out a beta-version of the tool, when it was still under development," recalls Mido. "At that stage, the documentation was somewhat sparse, but since we gave our feedback, SIDN has added and clarified a lot. We implemented and adopted the Suggestion Tool API as soon as it came out. Our Support Department finds the tool particularly useful for helping customers arrive at domain names that work for them." Sander paints a similar picture. "Like xel, we were involved in testing the API. And we too started using it immediately. SIDN gave us an API key, so that we could implement the tool on our own website. We were also provided with extensive documentation, including specimen code blocks, meaning it took us less than a day to integrate the Suggestion Tool with our website. It was easy to set up alongside our existing domain name checker."

Best tool for .nl suggestions

Mido: "SIDN took up a lot of the suggestions we made in our test-phase feedback, and modified the Suggestion Tool accordingly. The current version is suitable for implementation and use in a production setting, but there's still scope for further development. You could extend and improve the synonym lists on the basis of artificial intelligence (AI), for example. The Suggestion Tool already has a few filters that let users refine their searches: you can allow or disallow hyphens, common suffixes or synonyms, for example. But, with AI, you could make the synonyms even 'smarter'. It would also be good if the tool suggested English alternatives to Dutch words. After all, Dutch people often use English words, so it's no problem having them in your .nl domain name." According to Sander, "Another thing SIDN could consider is offering .com or .eu suggestions alongside the .nl suggestions. Then the user could immediately register other versions of their .nl domain name." "Before adopting the .nl Suggestion Tool, we looked at alternatives, such as Verisign's NameStudio," says Sander. "We always advise our customers to go for either .nl or .com as their extension. Because NameStudio is an international tool and suggests only .com domain names, it's less attractive from our viewpoint. For anyone who wants to trade in the Dutch marketplace a .nl domain name is pretty much indispensable. And SIDN's tool makes the best .nl suggestions." Mido says that his company followed a similar path. "The other suggestion tools we looked at all fell short in one way or another. Then SIDN's API dropped in our laps, and we immediately saw the potential of it."

Page visits and conversions

Sander Cruiming, founder of XXL Hosting

Sander: "Since we implemented the .nl Suggestion Tool on our website, the number of visits to the page that features our domain checker has increased by about 20 per cent. In other words, people are checking the availability of domain names more often. Whether you're talking new versus existing customers, or Suggestion Tool usage and conversion rates, it's important to optimise measurements and clarity. Our Customer Service Team report that the Suggestion Tool is definitely helping people to find available .nl domain names." Mido endorses that view: "Many visitors to our website use the embedded .nl Suggestion Tool. And our Service people tell us that the tool has a positive effect on registrations. Satisfying the customer, enabling them to go home with a domain name they like, is ultimately what it's all about. The .nl Suggestion Tool definitely helps in that regard." Want to know more about the .nl Suggestion Tool? Visit the registrars' site or contact our Account Manager Alfredo Garcia Frias via alfredo.garciafrias@sidn.nl or +31 682 912 222.

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