A Domain Name is your Internet
Address. It's what you'll advertise for your website and email
address. Domain names can be up to 63
characters, but keeping it as short as possible while still describing your
business is your objective.
What name do I choose? Those
new to websites tend to over-think
or under-think during this
choice process. Try not to get
too wrapped up at this first step.
You'll find that most names have
already been taken and you might
have to get a little creative. Find a name
that best describes your general
business. You can be creative
because your domain need not be
exactly your business name - or even
doesn't have to be your business
name at all.
Multiple Domain Names. The great
part about domain names (unlike
actual business names) is that you
can have as many as you can afford
in all variations of your business
name, what you do, and where you do
it. You don't need websites
for all the domains as they can all
point to your main website. If
you DO have websites for all your
domains, they are called "landing
pages". A landing page will
typically mirror your main website -
or be specific to a service or
product, yet still linking to your
main website. I have a client
right now that has over 30 domain
names - with all of them having
landing pages. For this
service, I have just one domain
name.
How
much do domain names cost?
Domain Names can be purchased for
about $10 - $15 per year. You
may get a first year deal, but I
would stay clear of companies
offering domains for anything over
$15. Some companies have
promotions from time to time with
first year at a very low cost. When you buy a
website
hosting plan many companies give you
one or more domains free for the
first year. You can purchase
multiple years up front or set it up
to automatically renew. The
one thing you never want to happen
is for your domain to lapse.
It that happens you are effectively
out of business. Getting your domain
name back will take time and be
very costly - IF you can get it
back at all.
Where can I buy a domain name?
Hostgator.com is a major,
well-known, company that has just
about the lowest prices for domain
names all year long. Godaddy
is "OK", but there is a never-ending
bombardment of ads that you
"approved". 1and1.com is
probably my favorite
What else do I need to know?
You'll need to "point" your domain
name to the hosting company where
your website will reside. For
those who want to "do it yourself", If
you purchase a domain name and
hosting account from Hostgator, or
some others, that's usually done for
you. Buy a hosting account
from Hostgator for under $5 a month
and up. They'll even give you
one or more domain names free for
your first year.
Dot
Com, Dot Net, or what? Lastly,
the
right-most label in a domain name is
referred to as its "top-level
domain" (TLD).
The most common are .com, .net.,
.org. You may get tempted to
go with tld's outside of .com, or
.net but I would not recommend it.
They are costly and confusing to
your potential customers.
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