Simple Steps to Get Your Domain Name
No matter what sort of site you are intending building, you
should consider getting yourself a domain name. Your domain name
is your personal web address and can reflect anything you
desire, including your own name or the subject of your business.
There are several reasons why an internet business requires its
own domain name including: * A domain name makes your site more
credible and reliable * The URL of a domain name will never
change even if you change you website hosting, so that customers
are not needed to be informed should you change hosting. *
Choosing a good domain name will make your site more memorable
to your clients, so that people will recall your company easily
which spells more profits. * Advertisers and sponsors are more
likely to sponsor websites who have their own domain name. *
Your won domain name allows you to set up various email
addresses for specific uses, e.g. support@yourdomain.com and
sales@yourdomain.com
The organization that is responsible for maintaining and
co-ordinating the entire domain name system is called ICAAN. TO
register any domain name you need to use an ICAAN accredited
domain name registrar.
There are numerous domain name registrars and fees for domain
registration vary from $8.95 to $35+. Some web hosting companies
now offer a free domain name registration as part of their
hosting packages.
Registering your domain name is essentially a four step process
as follows:
Step 1: Carefully consider what domain name you would like, try
to make your domain name as concise as possible and specific to
the site you have in mind. Construct a list of alternative
domain names, in order of preference. This is because with the
huge number of websites in the Internet, some of your ideas for
the ideal domain name might have already been taken already so
the more names you can think of, the better.
When deciding on your domain name also consider the top level
domain TLD) extension you want. The TLD is the .com part of the
domain name domainname.com. There are a variety of domain
extensions, and the one you wish to use may well affect the
price you will have to pay.
The range of TLDs includes .com, .net, .org, .info and .name
(used with a personal name e.g. JezLacey.name). None of these
TLDs have specific requirements. In addition to these universal
TLDs there is also .biz, which is for commercial and business
use only. Finally, there are also country specific TLDs, which
can only be used by persons who are citizens and residents of
that country and by businesses and organizations present in that
country where domain extension is applicable, example include
.us (USA), .co.uk (UK) and .fr (France).
Step 2: Obtain the IP address or domain nameserver from your
hosting company. A nameserver is a special type of domain that
is used to identify a particular server. After registration you
will need this information in order to set up your domain for
use.
Step 3: Prepare for payment. The usual method of payment with
domain registrars is via a credit card.
Step 4: Apply for your domain name. You can use your web hosting
company to do this, or one of numerous accredited domain
registrars. Good examples include enom.com, the ever popular
GoDaddy.com, Dotster.com and many others.
When registering your domain name, ensure that you are the
registered domain owner. This important because a web host can
set themselves as the domain owner, and if they do, then you
have no say in what happens to the domain name. For example, if
you decide to transfer your domain to another registrar. For
this reason you should also ensure both the technical and
administrative contracts should be you.
When transferring a domain the new registrar will try contacting
the domain owner first, then if that fails the administrative
and then the technical contact. There have been cases where the
web host has registered itself as the administrative and
technical contact for a client. They can then make it difficult
for clients to move to other registrars by pending the move or
by even refusing. So, stay in better control and avoid this kind
of situation.
With these guidelines, you are now well equipped to register
your own domain name. As good domain names are getting more and
more difficult to find, if you already have an idea for a great
domain name, register them now before it's too late.
About the author:
Jez Lacey is co-owner of 4-packs. Check out our latest release,
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websites in minutes and makes site management as simple as 1-2-3
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