Your domain name is the name people will use to find your site on the Internet. Similar to the address of your house, your domain makes it easier for people to find your website.
What Domain Name Should You Use?
This really depends on what the topic of your site is going to be. If your website is going to be about “dog training” you probably don’t want to register the domain name kitchensink.com.
Choose something that fits in with the theme of your site. If you are building a brand, use that name. If you are branding yourself, register your name. For instance, this site is erictransue.com. Even if you aren’t branding yourself I would suggest your register your own name. You may want it in the future.
How Do You Register a Domain
For those of you wondering how to buy a domain, you register a domain through a domain registrar. A domain registrar is a company that creates and hosts all the records correlating to your domain name. I may go into more detail in a later post, but for now all you need to know is that you register a new domain through a domain registrar.
What Domain Registrar Should You Use
I have used several registrars in the past that claim to have the cheapest domain registration, but lately I have been sticking with two main ones.
- Namecheap.com – This is the company I use the most for my website domains. They seem to be the quickest to update my sites and replicate the changes throughout the Internet when I make them.The price for a “.com” domain name on this site is $9.69 but if you do a quick search on Google for “namecheap coupons”, you can often find some special codes. Currently, if you enter the code “INTERFACE” at checkout you can get a “.com” domain for $8.81.
- GoDaddy.com – GoDaddy is another popular Domain Registrar that has a simple interface. They provide great support so if you are unfamiliar with a lot of the things involved when managing domains you may like GoDaddy’s help sections and support system.The price for a “.com” domain at GoDaddy is currently $9.99. It’s a little more expensive than NameCheap but if you think you will need the extra support provided, you may want to go with this option.
Final Words on Domains
When registering a domain you are going to see several different options such as “.com, .org, .net, .info”. I suggest you stick with “.com” domains. I have seen the best success with my “.com” domains.
Also, when registering check the box to “auto renew”. This will prevent your site from going down, should you happen to forget to login and renew your service when it expires.
When registering you can select to pay for multiple years up front. If you have the cash, I suggest you register for at least 2 years. Some seem to think, Google has preference for sites that have multi-year registrations.
Once your domain is registered you will need to host your website. Here is what you need to know when it comes time to purchase Web Hosting.
