Choosing a Domain Name
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is a fancy phrase for a website address (examplename.com) used to access a particular website. Domain names are (or were) sometimes called URLs (Universal Resource Locators). it is now referred to as a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier), according to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which is just a complicated definition for the name given to locate a particular resource on the internet. Domain names aren't owned, they're registered. A domain name is yours as long as you make payments to keep the registery of that particular domain name. Minimum registration periods are for one year. You must renew your domain name registration every year, or you could possibly lose it.
Keep it Short
Some registrants allow you to register a name with up to 63 characters, but you should keep in mind that people should be able to remember your domain name, and it should be easy to type into the address bar of the browser.
Dot What?
Suffixes (.com, .net, .org) are explained on the Register.com site. Choose the appropriate suffix (or extension) for your business or line of work. For businesses, we recommend a .com suffix.Domain Name Availability
Go to Nameboy.com and type in desired words or phrases to see if a domain name made with those words is available. If it is not available, alternatives will be suggested. It is better to use more than one word for your domain name for SEO purposes; incorporating hyphens may also help, though there are different schools of thought on dashes versus underscore versus no dash. We prefer dashes, unless they're unnecessary. Underscores are used often in coding, and looks less professional aesthetically.
Character Types
Domain names can only consist of letters, numbers, and dashes. Symbols and spaces are not allowed. Domain names are not case sensitive. Visually, you may be able to present your domain name in a more appealing way since case is not an issue. For instance, what's more appealing:
www.tlcwebsitedesign.com
www.tlc-website-design.com
www.TLC-Website-Design.com
We like the capitalization combined with the dashes. Easier to read. Some consortiums are of the belief that your domain name NOT contain dashes. Some of the reasons provided are that dashes are cumbersome to type and unprofessional looking. We're here to say, "Nuts to that!" If you're SEO campaign is working properly, a simple search should bring visitors to your site (or main domain name), either via your business name, or a project you've completed, or by a search phrase you've given a potential visitor. Hard-typing your domain name should rarely occur, if at all.
Registering a Domain Name
A well known site to register: Register.com. Domain names are $35 per year for a .com .net .org. An alternative for cheaper domain names is Nameboy or Namecheap. Others: Network Solutions and Go Daddy.
You must point your domain name to the location where your site is hosted. When you register, you'll create a user name and password to set up your domain name. Print this information and keep it for your records and for your website designer.
Avoid Trademarks
It’s not professional. We've all heard the stories about Joe Schmoe who bought some "million-dollar-company.com" and sold it back to the company for enough money for his retirement. Those companies have spent time and money creating brands. Companies no longer open their checkbooks to get their domain names back; they just call their lawyers.Register Your Domain Name Now
Unless you want to get stuck with the "domain-no-one-wants.bit". You don't need a Webmaster or an IT department; you don’t even need a website. Register the domain name you want before you lose the opportunity to get it.
One, two, three?
If you have money to spare, it isn’t a bad idea to register several similar domain names. If you obtain "yourname.com", register "yourname.net", so no one else does. You can register your full company name and an easier-to-remember version. You don’t need a separate website for each domain name you register. Several domains can point to the same website.
Get Feedback
When you have settled on a couple of available domain name choices, check your friends and/or your clients reactions. A name that may make perfect sense to you may not make sense to other people. Is it hard to spell? Do you have to explain the domain name you chose? If so, you may need to re-think it.
Don’t Spend a Lot
At one time, companies were getting away with charging reservation fees plus a "mandatory" $70 InterNIC fee. Recently, it was decided that there should be competition in domain name selling; prices have dropped dramatically. The fee for registering a domain name for 1 year ranges from $10-$35, depending on the registrant. Read the small print to be sure you'll have complete control over your domain name registry, if not you will run into problems in the future.