Website Addresses/Domain Names -
Choose, Check, Register and Host
Choosing a website address or domain name is one of the first steps in establishing a web presence. Your website address/domain name identifies your website on the Internet and looks something like this www.mywebsite.com.
There are three steps required in getting a website address:
- Choosing the domain name
- Checking if the domain name available
- Registering and hosting the domain name
Choosing a Website Address/Domain Name
Domain names are, in effect, like business names, and often they are they same; as in Microsoft corporation ( business name) and microsoft.com ( domain name).
Domain names like business names are decided on by the person/company registering the name. The only criteria is that the domain name cannot already have been registered.
However unlike business names, domain names have a structure as you can see with the example microsoft.com. Here you can see that full stops (dots) are used to separate the different name segments microsoft and com.
It isn't really necessary to go into the technical detail on the exact structure in order for you grasp the basics of what a domain name is.
Domain Name Selection
Most people automatically think that they should have a domain name ending in .com and usually use businessname.com as the domain name. For Example if your business name is J smith and sons then your domain name would be:
Jsmithandsons.com
There is nothing wrong with this, and it is indeed a good choice. However it is not the only possibility. It is the number 1 choice for anyone with a North American based business or an International business.
However; if your business is local in nature and is located outside the USA/Canada then a geographic name like businessname.co.uk (UK ) is usually more appropriate.
Avoiding Domain Name Scams
Domain names are cheap costing less than $20. I have heard of small businesses paying $100 for a domain name by "so called" domain name registration companies.
Beware of any company that tries to sell you a domain name over the telephone or through the mail and charges more than $20.
Checking if the Domain Name/Website address is Available
When choosing a domain name you have to be aware that others may have already registered the domain name. Therefore part of the name selection process is eliminating those names that are already registered.
I use the 1&1 UK domain check tool on the 1and1 website. Using the tool doesn't mean you have to buy the domain name from them.
Registering Your Own Domain Name
There are many domain registration companies available and you should always register your own name. If it is registered on your behalf by your website designer then you should always insist that it is registered to you/ your company.
Here are the registration details showing myself as the owner for one of my domain names.
Further down the form you will see 1and1 Internet ltd listed as technical support. This is the company I used to register the domain name. This is perfectly normal and what you require.
The process is simple and here, for illustrative purposes only, is the procedure I went through in registering a domain name for one my websites.
Domain Names Need Renewing
When you buy a domain name you are actually leasing it as you will need to renew the name periodically usually yearly. If you forget you lose it!!!. Therefore I recommend you choose a domain registrar that does automatic renewals on your behalf.
Domain Names and Email Addresses
You can use your domain name as an email address and most domain name registration companies provide the ability to create and manage email addresses as part of the domain name registration package.
Unfortunately many small business owners seem to miss the fact and many still advertise a yahoo, Gmail or hotmail account as their business contact when they could be using their own company domain name.
Domain Names and Websites
A domain name is not a website. To have website you need to have a website host .
You can consider the website host to be equivalent to the company premises and just as you can change company premises and keep the same company name you can change website hosts and keep the same domain name.
However I always recommend that you use the same company for both the domain name and web site hosting. So don't buy the domain name until you have decided on a suitable hosting provider.
Most hosting providers also provide a free domain name. Which is why you should register the domain name with the hosting provider.
Moving Hosts/Domain Name Registrars
If you are unhappy with your present domain name registrar or host you can always move. See Moving Host and Domain Name Registrars to see how I did it. However I do consider this a last resort and should not be done lightly.
Dividing Your Domain Name-Subdomains
Once you have a domain you can use it to create other domain names using subdomains.
This technique is used by large sites like Google, The BBC, etc but can also be useful for smaller sites. See Understanding, creating and Using subdomains for more details. Most providers allow for multiple sub domains.
Related Articles:
- Understanding domain names
- Personal Domain Names
- Website Hosting and Domain Names
- Hosting Multiple Domain Names
- Domain Name Videos