So, you’ve registered a domain. You could always build a website or set up a custom email address with it, but let’s say you’re not quite ready to use it this way. One of the easiest things to do with domains is “redirect” them.

Do you have a Facebook page? Or maybe a Twitter or Instagram account? If you do, you may have had a hard time telling your friends how to find you. “W, w, w dot Facebook dot com slash spell your first name dot spell your last name one two three four.” You might get through half of that before you give up and say, “Just go on Facebook and search for me!”

But what if you could just say “(Your name) dot com” and have it go straight to your Facebook page. Wouldn’t that be cool?

Websites and domains aren’t “stuck” together permanently

It’s easy to think of a website and domain as one in the same, but that isn’t always the case. True, when you type in “www.google.com” you’re always going to go to Google’s search page, but if they really wanted to, Google could point “www.google.com” at any other page they wanted.

The same thing is the case when you register a domain. Don’t think of the domain as your house, think of it as the signpost that directs people to your house. Once you own that signpost, you can point, or “redirect” it to different websites. So yes, it is possible to point your domain to your Facebook page. Better yet, if you ever get tired of Facebook, you can change it to lead people to something else. You might point a domain to your LinkedIn account or online resume. Maybe you have a small business you’d like to start promoting. Domains aren’t locked into any one site, you’re free to change them whenever you want.

Now, you may have tried registering (your name).com and found that it was already taken, especially if you’re just going by your first name. Fortunately, there are now many more ways to end your domain than dot com (called top-level domains, or domain extensions). Try (your name).SOCIAL, (your name).ROCKS, (your name).NEWS, (your name).GURU, (your name).SITE, (your name).WORKS, or any one of hundreds of other possibilities. You can get started by searching for any domain you want, we’ll even list several different domain extensions if the one you want isn’t available.

So, you want to point your domain somewhere else, now what?

The beauty of redirecting domains is how quick and easy it is to do. Just sign in to your account and go to “My Dashboard.” Find the “Manage Domains” link and go to that. Click on the domain you would like to redirect, and go to “Host Options” on the next page. In the first two fields (www and @), change the Record Type to “URL Redirect” and type in the address you’d like to point to in the next box. Hit save, and the domain should be redirecting to the new address shortly.

Who to ask for help?

As easy as redirecting can be, it never hurts to ask for help, that’s why we offer several ways to get it. You can go to our Help Center, to search for answers, get instant answers from the Help tab you should see on the right side of our homepage, or call us at (425)-274-4500.

What to ask?

Ask specifically how to “redirect” your domain to a different site. Be sure to have the following information on hand:

• Which domain you want to redirect
• The address of the website you want to redirect it to

Digital privacy and security are hot topics these days. Between Apple’s battle with the government over encryption, to the perennial headlines of cybercriminal attacks (particularly during tax season), end users are understandably bewildered and fearful for the safety of their identity and online data.

Despite the anxiety over security, many of the web’s top sites still don’t employ some basic precautions for their users. All it can take is one high profile data breach for customers to lose faith in a website. And while no one can promise perfect protection from hackers, there are a few products and services that make it much harder to break through.

But who should you be marketing these security features to. Customers at the enterprise level may already have an army of IT specialists protecting their digital assets. But small- and medium-sized businesses often do not have in-house access to these kinds of resources. They’re going to look to you for guidance and security, so it’s good to know what’s actually out there that can help them.

The vulnerability of small businesses

With privacy and security concerns at the front of everyone’s minds, trust has become a valuable commodity online. It won’t matter if a product has superior features, or a price point beats the competition, if customers can’t trust a business to conduct their transactions safely, nobody’s going to be buying.

Unfortunately, cybercriminals know that small businesses often aren’t fully protected. Even though smaller businesses don’t have the sensitive data volume of an enterprise, 31% of online attacks are still aimed at companies with 250 or fewer employees. The fact that they’re soft targets is what makes it worth hackers’ time to attack them.

What you should be offering

For many of your customers, you will be the first (and maybe only) link between themselves and their business’ online footprint. You need to be the expert, which means arming yourself with the facts yourself. Fortunately, there are many resources available online, both for your own education, as well as for passing information through to your customers.

Symantec offers many such resources, none more appropriate than the guide to “Securing Your Small Business Online.” The ebook covers several contemporary security concerns for business owners, even those they may have thought they were already protected against. For instance, a business may have safeguarded its login and transaction pages with SSL, not realizing that hackers have since developed new methods of hijacking sensitive data when users have navigated to unsecured pages on the same site. The solution, in this case, is to employ Always-On SSL certificates, which encrypts data from the moment users first arrive on the site.

This guide and these security products are just the tip of what Enom and Symantec can help you set up to offer your own customers. Making these features part of your own service lineup can prevent expensive and embarrassing breaches, saving everyone involved from numerous headaches. Drop our sales team a line if you’d like more details on integrating security products into your sales flow.