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CREATE A DOMAIN
NAME
About domain
names:
Domain names are basically your web sites
identity. If you are creating your website simply for
your own personal gratification, then perhaps it need not
be memorable to anyone but your family and friends.
Therefore, your domain name could be
TheSmithFamily.com
However, if you're using your website to
promote a product or sell something to the public, that's
a different story. You'll want people to more easily
remember your site. The domain name you create
should be relevant in some way to the product or concepts
you're selling. Think in broad terms. You might have a
retail outlet that already has a name which you might
use. Or you may be planning to do your entire business
on-line and need to think up a name.
There are two steps involved to create
a domain name. The first is to think up several
names you would like. Remember that there are millions of
domain names already owned. You could elect a domain name
already registered under the extension .com and if it's
available, your domain name could have the extension
.net. There are quite a few extensions usable but .com is
the most prevalent and therefore the most desirable since
the public is most conditioned to
.com's.
Once
you've decided upon several potential domain names, you
then will attempt to register those names. Registry
companies generally have a process on their site that
allows you to key in your desired domain name and check
the desired extension (.com). When you do
this, click the search button, you will find out
if the name you wanted is already owned.
In many cases, it will be owned if your name is straight
forward and generic. Try the other names you thought
up.
If you can't find
a name that isn't owned already, make a few small
modification. For instance, carpets.com would no doubt be
taken. Make a few simple variations to the
name....carpets4home.com or carpetsandmore.com. Keep
making simple variations until you've found a name that's
available.
Once you've found a name that isn't owned,
it's time to register it on the same web site you did
your search. Different registry sites charge different
prices. They are usually an annual fee and very
inexpensive. As a rule, you shouldn't have to pay more
than around $10.00 a year.
Most will require a credit card to register
and usually this would be done as a "standing" order.
Which means that the registry company keeps your card
information and bills you annually. I would say that most
of the popular companies are very secure or else they'd
go out of business. Many have been around for years.
Creating a "standing" order preserves the annual renewal
of your name so that you don't have to remember each year
to renew. Losing a domain name accidentally due to
forgetfulness could be disastrous for you.
You can do your own research into
companies that register domain names. I have provided a link on
the right panel to one of the leading registrar's, godaddy.com.
Godaddy also can host your site and provide various
tools. In some cases, you'll
want to transfer your domain name to a web hosting company.
There should be no fee to do this and the registry company
should make it easy. The web hosting company you select will
give you the information you'll need. It's usually a series of
numbers that represent you on their site. The company you
originally register with should provide a transfer area with
fields that take your hosting company information. The registry
company I've put a link to on the right panel makes it a simple
and free process.
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