Register Domain Names
By: Michael Milley mikemilley@hotmail.com
The largest river in the world and a numeral one followed by one hundred zeroes.
Those are the registered domain names of two of the Internet's biggest success
stories. A domain name like amazon or google can be striking and memorable
enough to help your business, and the good news is that it's easy and
inexpensive to register a domain name. You just need to choose one that's
available.
A domain name is the part of a web address that is commonly
found after "www." and it directs your browser to access a certain location on
the Internet where the site is hosted. The actual location has a numerical IP
address, but the domain name system allows users to remember words rather than a
series of numbers.
You can register almost anything as your domain name.
It can be can be based on your name, the name of your company, or the product
your company sells. Consider your domain name choices seriously. When you
register a domain name, you are registering your presence on the Internet. The
domain name is how users will find and remember your site. It should be simple
to spell and easy to remember.
When you decide to register a domain name
you will perform a search on a registry site to determine if the name you'd like
is available. A domain name must not contain any spaces or punctuation other
than the hyphen. Many sites will offer alternatives if the name you enter is
registered by someone else.
There are a number of extention, or top-level
domain (TLD), options available to register. The most common are .com, .net, and
.org, but many of the preferred domain names within these have been taken. There
are other TLDs available if you're interested in something that is already
registered in the other top-level domains. TLDs such as .biz and .info are meant
for businesses and informational sites, respectively, but their use is
unrestricted, meaning they can be registered by anyone for any purpose.
Restricted extensions are those that allow only certain users, like .gov for
government agencies or .edu for schools, colleges, and universities. In general,
it is best to stick to the most common extension available with an acceptable
domain name. While extensions like .to and .vg might allow you to choose the
initial domain name you would like, the TLDs of Tongo and the British Virgin
Islands are not as common or memorable to Internet surfers. Keep in mind that
while you may find a trademarked or copyrighted name available with a new or
foreign TLD, you could be challenged legally and have to give up that domain
name, should you choose to register it.
Your Internet service provider
may allow you to create and keep pages on their servers. However it is still a
good idea to register a unique domain name. It is much easier for you to market
a web site with a simple name that means something as opposed to a long generic
URL with little bearing on the site's content. It will also allow customers to
remember your domain name for future visits or to pass along to a friend. Having
your own domain name presents a more professional image than a name that gives
your Internet service provider higher billing than your own company.
Once
your domain name is registered, it's time to get your site up and running. At
Alon-Cohen.com Internet Solutions, we can help you register your domain name as
well as assisting you in the design, hosting and marketing of your web site.
|
|
|
|
|
