Understanding the Domain Game

Domain names serve many benefits to the internet business. Some use them simply to do away with the unprofessional email domain supplied by their ISP. Others do so to add more credibility to their website, giving the impression that they are their own brand and independent entity. There are exceptions, such as when a company wants to present a form of affiliation by showing that they are a part of an existing site, whether its connecting them with a specific organization or region. Even in this instance, autonomy is more assured when having a domain of your own rather than using a page on a third-party site.

Domain names are classified by extensions. The most sought after domain extension by commercial organizations is .com with .net being the most popular alternative. Other endings such as .biz and .edu are generally unfamiliar to web surfers, mainly because they tend to be harder to remember. Even the webmaster building their site for personal reasons goes after the .com extension as it is usually the way most people refer to a website. The part of the domain that proceeds the extension is typically based on the company’s name or niche. There are exceptions such as if the name has already been registered, a factor that is becoming more likely these days.

Registering the Name

After finding a domain that is just right for your site, registering the name is pretty easy. The actual registration process can be done online with the aid of an ICANN accredited registrar, a web hosting company or even your ISP. The price on domain names has dropped significantly over the years, costing $5 or less with some services. In most cases, the more you buy, the cheaper they become. Many domain registrars will entice you with different variations of your name such as .net, .biz, etc. After the initial purchase, domain names generally have to be renewed every one to two years.

As mentioned before, if you have come up with something clever, there is a possibility that the domain has already been registered. You can save yourself the trouble and frustration by doing research on the name in question. WHOIS is one service that allows you to check the ownership of a particular domain. Keep in mind that this service and others are usually 48 hours behind the actual registration, which is typically how long it will take for your domain to become active.

Once the domain has been registered, you then have the option of leaving the name parked for use later down the road, or pointing it at the server on which your website resides. This can be achieved by changing the DNS (Domain Name System) settings so that the domain points to your web host. Almost all domain registrars provide a free user interface to make adjustments to these settings.

If you are looking for a domain, there are numerous services to choose from. GoDaddy is the most well known service but names are also provided by a number of web hosting companies and resellers as well.

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