Domain Registration

::: Importance Of Domain Names

One of the first things people will remember about your website is the domain name. Therefore, it is very important to select a domain that represents your site, reflects your brand to the world, provides a bit of keyword relevancy, short in length and easy to remember. Domains are relatively cheap, but have become a profitable business to some people as the names have been know to sell for thousands of dollars. Overall, what seems to be an easy process for starting a website, can be quite tedious and yes, stressful in selecting the right domain... So, remember the following helpful tips:

1. Keep it short, concise and easy to remember - You will want a domain name that is not easily mispelled, attractive and again, easy to remember.

2. Add keyword relevancy to your selection - It may assist with search engine rankings, eventhough it is debatable, but it doesn't hurt.

3. Select a domain that closely resembles your site - This gives credibility to your site, as surfers will have an idea of what your site is about.

4. Try to get a .com extension prior to any others - Select any extension, but .com is more popular with people and most recognized on the web.

5. Cheap purchases are not always better - Register your domain with a reputable domain registrar or web hosting provider to avoid security issues.

6. Keep it together & avoid hyphens - As tempting as it may seem, keep it simple and easy for people to remember without adding unnecessary characters.

7. Remember your product, brand, service - When people hear your domain name, it should instantly reflect the type of website you are conveying.

::: Register, Transfer, Renew - Simple, Huh?

Before registering your domain name, make sure you have a list of possible domains available just in case the few you have in mind are already taken. Now, go to any reputable domain registrar and follow the steps, such as entering the name or phrase into the search field followed by selecting the suffix / extension. An available list of domains will be generated, so you will be able to select your domain if available or keep searching until you get the desired results. Remember, it could take several attempts, but keep trying until you find the right one. Once you have found a simple, catchy and memorable domain name... Grab It! Register It! Pay For It! For those in need of reputable registrar, I have listed a few on the right side to check out. These hosting companies offer domain registrar and have attained millions of domain names under its management. TIP: Look for an ICANN accredited registrar.

Once you have registered your domain name(s), it is time to focus on the second part of website development by finding a hosting company that will serve your site on the internet. You can either choose to go with the same company where you registered your domain, or choose a different one. Either way, your domain name can be redirected to the a different hosting company or transferred at a later time. Always, make sure to always read the fine print for disclosure of any restrictions concerning your new domain, such as transfers, privacy and renewals. Moreover, domains are purchased on an annual basis or even for multiple years at a time, but can easily be released to another individual or company by forgetting to make payment or through fraudulent activity; Therefore, consider the auto renew and domain locking features.

Now, even if you have a selected domain, but not ready to create a website or still working towards completion of one, you can put an "Under Construction" page to inform visitors your site is coming soon, or post a "For Sale" notice in hopes of making money by selling it. The latter has become a very big and prosperous business venture with some domains selling for unbelievably high prices. Lastly, all domains can be set to private, meaning your personal information, i.e. name, email address, mailing address and so forth, is hidden from the public.

By the way, if you ever wondered what the domain extensions mean, see the below explanations of the more popular web extensions:

1. .COM - Represents to word "commercial" and is the most sought after and commonly used domain extension.

2. .NET - The extenstion stands for "network", but is permitted to be used by anyone and considered the second most popular.

3. .ORG - Stands for "organization" and has no restrictions on the usage, meaning it can be purchased and used by the public.

4. .GOV - Government owned and not open to the public or private sectors. This extension is strictly used by government agencies.

5. .BIZ - Short for "business" and attainable by any person and/or entity. Seems to be more popular then the .info extension.

6. .MOBI - Stands for "mobile" and must be used for mobile-compatible sites and a great way to attract the growing amount of mobile device users.

7. .TV - Designed to indicate sites packed with videos or multi-media content. An easier way of making your site stand out from the rest.