Help and How-To Guides
35 step-by-step articles across 8 topics — from registering your first domain to recovering a hacked site.
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Domain Names
Register, transfer, and manage your domains.
How to Transfer a Domain to Maxinames
Move your existing domain to Maxinames in 5–7 days with no downtime. EPP code, unlock, approve — full transfer walkthrough.
Searching for and Registering a Domain
How to search domain availability across TLDs and complete a registration at Maxinames in minutes, with WHOIS privacy included free.
Managing DNS Records and Nameservers
The difference between nameservers and DNS records, and how to edit each in your Maxinames dashboard. A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT.
WHOIS Lookups and Domain Privacy
What WHOIS exposes, why it matters, and how to enable free domain privacy in your Maxinames dashboard to hide your contact details.
Renewing Your Domain (and What Happens If It Expires)
How auto-renew works, the redemption period, and how to renew a domain manually before it lapses. Recover an expired domain step by step.
Buying a Premium or Aftermarket Domain
What premium and aftermarket domains are, how pricing works, and what to verify (trademark, history, renewals) before you buy one.
Web Hosting
Set up cPanel, files, email, and databases on shared hosting.
Setting Up Your Shared Hosting Account
First-hour setup for a new Maxinames hosting account: cPanel login, DNS, file upload, free SSL — your site live in minutes.
cPanel: A Quick Tour for New Users
A plain-English tour of cPanel: Files, Domains, Email, Databases, Security, Software, Metrics — what each section is actually for.
Uploading Files via FTP and SFTP
How to connect with SFTP, where to put files, common pitfalls, and when the cPanel File Manager beats launching an FTP client.
Setting Up Email on Your Hosting Account
Create mailboxes, connect Apple Mail / Outlook, and add SPF, DKIM, DMARC so your messages reliably land in inboxes.
Creating and Managing MySQL Databases
Create a MySQL database, add a user, connect from your application, and manage tables with phpMyAdmin. Avoid the common pitfalls.
Scheduling Cron Jobs and Other Advanced Settings
Set up scheduled tasks (backups, sitemaps, CMS housekeeping) with cron in cPanel. Schedule format, common commands, advanced settings.
SSL Certificates
Installing, renewing, and choosing the right SSL certificate.
Installing an SSL Certificate
Free auto-installed SSL via Let's Encrypt, force-HTTPS, and how to install a paid certificate in cPanel — verified in minutes.
SSL Renewal and Common Troubleshooting
Why AutoSSL fails, how to fix mixed content, and how to recover from an expired certificate. A quick playbook for SSL issues.
Free vs Paid SSL: Which One Do You Need?
DV, OV, EV, wildcards, multi-domain — what each option offers and why a free Let's Encrypt cert is enough for most sites.
Billing & Account
Account management, invoices, payments, and refunds.
Managing Your Maxinames Account
Update contact details, add sub-accounts for team members, set notification preferences, and secure your account with 2FA.
Invoices and Payment Methods
How invoicing works, how to download invoice PDFs, accepted payment methods, and how to add a VAT number for your invoices.
Upgrades, Downgrades, and Cancellations
How pro-rated upgrades work, when downgrades take effect, and how to cancel a service at end-of-period or immediately.
Refund Policy
30-day money-back guarantee on hosting, non-refundable domain registrations, and how to request a refund — eligibility and timelines.
Technical Troubleshooting
Diagnose and fix common site, DNS, and access issues.
Website Down? A Diagnostic Checklist
Step-by-step checks for an unreachable site: response codes, DNS, hosting status, application errors. Find the cause fast.
Why DNS Changes Take Time to Propagate
How DNS caching works, typical propagation times, lowering TTL ahead of changes, and tools to verify propagation worldwide.
Login and Access Problems
Reset passwords, recover from too-many-failed-logins, fix 2FA issues, and unblock cPanel access through your client area.
Diagnosing Slow Site Performance
Find the cause of a slow site: images, caching, plugins, database. PageSpeed-grade improvements you can make this week.
Getting Started
New customer onboarding, first launch, and provider migration.
New Customer Onboarding: Your First Week
Hour-by-day checklist for new Maxinames customers: confirm email, enable 2FA, point your domain, install your CMS, schedule backups.
Connecting Your Domain to Your Hosting
Three ways to point a domain at Maxinames hosting — automatic, nameserver change at your registrar, or A-record only.
Launching Your First Website
From platform choice to launch day: installing WordPress, essential settings, the pre-launch checklist, and submitting to search engines.
Migrating to Maxinames from Another Provider
Free white-glove migration or DIY playbook: backup, restore, lower TTL, cut over without downtime. Email migration covered too.
Enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Five-minute setup with any authenticator app. Recovery codes, lost-phone procedure, and where else to enable 2FA across your accounts.
Malware Scanning and Removal
Confirm an infection, restore from a clean backup, manual cleanup with Imunify, and how to prevent reinfection.
DDoS Protection Explained
What we mitigate automatically, when to add a CDN/WAF like Cloudflare, and what to do if your site is under active attack.
Account Security Best Practices
Strong passwords, 2FA, software updates, limited access, regular backups, and a workable incident plan — the security checklist.
Policies & Legal
Plain-English summaries of our terms, privacy, and compliance.
Our Terms of Service Explained
A plain-English summary of the Maxinames Terms of Service: what you agree to, what we promise, cancellations, and dispute handling.
Acceptable Use Policy Summary
What you may not host or transmit, network rules, resource use on shared hosting, and how to report abuse.
How We Handle Your Privacy
What personal data Maxinames collects, why, who we share it with, retention windows, and your rights as a user.
GDPR and Your Data
Maxinames as controller and processor, your DPA, data hosting locations, and how we help with subject access and breach reporting.