Domain Names
So, you have the idea for your website and you've found a good web hosting service. Now it's time to register your domain name.
First, you must come up with the best domain name for your site.
Second, you must check to see if that domain name is available.
Third, you must register your domain name with a web hosting company.
Choose your Domain Name
First off, to clarify, the domain name is the actual URL address that people will type into their web browser to access your website; for example: www.mywebsite.com or www.build-website-make-money.com.
To come up with the best domain name for your website, you must do research relating to your content keywords. You want to choose a domain name that is a popular search term or phrase in a Google search but you also want something that is brief and easy to remember.
From my own personal example, I chose the wrong domain name for my FIRST website, daytrippin.com. That was the name of the magazine I was trying to promote, but the URL wasn't helping me attract any new visitors who didn't already know about the magazine. A better choice would have been daytrippin-beatles-magazine.com.
Do a Domain Name Search
You can find out instantly if your proposed domain name is available. Most domain hosting companies will allow you to do an online search through their website to check if your domain URL has already been registered by someone else and therefore, not available.
If your domain name is NOT available, you could add hyphens in-between the words, or you could change the extension (.com, .net, .org). You can do a domain name search right now to see if your domain URL is currently available through the 1and1.com site.
Register your Domain Name
When you register your domain name with a web hosting company, they will in turn register your domain name with ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. This is the company that keeps tabs on EVERY domain name that someone registers, and makes sure no two people or companies register the SAME domain name.
To register a domain name, you need to provide personal information like your name and mailing address, phone number, e-mail address and company name, if applicable. If your address changes, you need to notify your domain host, so they can keep your information up to date for the ICANN database called WHOIS.
Your domain registration is valid for one year at a time. Every year, you have to renew your registration and depending on what web hosting company you use, you will have to pay a renewal fee.
As I said before in the web hosting section, you probably should find a web hosting company first and see if your domain name is included as part of your web hosting package. This is one of the features I like at 1and1.com.
It usually takes about 24-48 hours for your domain name to be registered. Once you get the notification from your web hosting company, your website is LIVE!
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