Registering A Domain Name

If you have a web site, you should seriously consider registering your own domain name. A domain name is a name like “myshop.com”, which you can use to refer to your website. Note that you do not have to be a company or organisation to register a domain name. Any individual can do it too.
Importance of a Domain Name

There are a number of good reasons for having a domain name:

• If you ever change your web host, your domain name goes with you. Your regular visitors or customers who knew your site name as www.thesitewizard.com (for example) would not have to be informed about a change of web address (also known as “URL”). They would simply type your domain name and they’d be brought to your new site.
• If you are a business, a domain name gives you credibility. Few people will be willing to do business with a company that does not have its own domain name.
• If you get a domain name that describes your company’s business or name, people can remember the name easily and can return to your site without having to consult their documents. In fact, if you get a good name that describes your product or service, you might even get people who were trying their luck by typing “www.yourproductname.com” in their browser.
• If you want good sponsors (advertisers) for your website, a domain name is usually helpful. It tends to give your website an aura of respectibility.

Registration Overview
Getting a domain name involves registering the name you want with an organisation called ICANN through a domain name registrar. For example, if you choose a name like “example.com”, you will have to go to a registrar, pay a registration fee that costs around US$10 to US$35 for that name. That will give you the right to the name for a year, and you will have to renew it annually for (usually) the same amount per annum.

Some web hosts will register it and pay for the name for free (usually only the commercial web hosts), while others will do it for you but you’ll have to foot the registrar fees.

Domain names disappear extremely fast. Many people claim that all the good domain names are gone. I doubt that — but it is probably true that most good domain names that are descriptive of products and services have been taken. If you want a domain name for your site, I suggest you act now, or face the anguish of having lost that name later. After all, US$10 (more or less) for a year’s ownership of the name is pretty cheap when you realise that you’re cornering a good name for your website.
Step By Step Instructions

If you want to register a domain name, here’s what you need to do. Please read it all before acting.

• Think of a few good domain names that you’d like to use. It won’t do to think of only one — it might already be taken (it probably is!).

There’s more to it than meets the eye

• You will need either a credit card or a PayPal account to pay for the domain. This is a requirement of most if not all registrars. It will allow you to claim and get the domain name immediately on application. This is not an option (unfortunately).

• If you already have a web host, obtain from them the names of their primary and secondary nameservers. Don’t worry if you don’t understand what these things mean. Just save the information somewhere. The information can usually be obtained from their FAQs or other documentation on their site, usually under a category like “domain name” or “DNS” or “domain name transfer” and the like. If you can’t find it, email them. You’ll need the information to point your domain name to your website after you buy your domain.