Originally posted by Michael Milley mikemilley@hotmail.com at www.alon-cohen.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.
