Thursday, February 28, 2008

Choose a Domain Name

When you're thinking about a domain try and keep it clear and concise. You might want to avoid long sentences, dashes, and hard to remember acronyms.

Check Domain Name Availability

You can type in the address to see if someone else already owns it, but keep in mind that someone may own the domain but not have anything up yet.

Your best course of action is to go to one of the many web hosting companies such as bluehost.com or godaddy.com. Today I'll actually go to verio.com and here – like on many other sites- there is a box where I can enter in the name of the site I want.

Test Domain Name Availability

I'll type in "about" and hit go. That domain is obviously unavailable, but I am offered similar domains such as abouts.info. It's generally a good idea to stick with the more popular .com, .org, and .edu. .Com is often used for both business and personal uses, .org for organizations and non-profits, and .edu for educational institutions.

I'll click 'try another name,' and now type in my own name. Now I'll hit 'search.'

It's actually available, and for $9.95 a year I can register the domain. Keep in mind that this does not mean I have space to put up the website. I'm just laying a claim to that domain name for as long as I keep paying.

Research Web Hosting Plans

If I click 'order now,' I can buy it. As with many companies I can now add a web hosting plan. Here's one plan (the bottom one) that includes 10 gigabytes of disk space and 200 email accounts for 19.95 a month. Many sites offer many different rates and services, so you may want to shop around before settling on one.

Register the Domain Name

Once you purchase your domain and hosting plan you'll receive an email with instructions on how to access your site.

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