Your Domain Name Registration How to Guide

A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Frances Rhea

What Domain Name Registration Is

If you have a web site, especially if it is a business site, you should seriously consider your own domain name registration. A domain name is what you use to refer new visitors or customers to your website. You do not have to be a company or organization to register a domain name. Any individual can do it even with their own personal name.

The Importance of Domain Registration

If you decide to change your web host, your domain name goes with you. Regular visitors or customers who know your site would not have to be informed of changes. They would type your domain name as usual and be taken to your new site.

If you are a business, domain name registration gives you credibility. There are not many people willing to do business with a company with a URL like http://www.geocities.com/location/987654.

If you register a domain name that describes your company's business, people remember the URL easily. They will return to your site without having to look it up.

Reliable and name brand sponsors will expect your domain name to be registered as it tends to give your website respectability.

Domain Name Registration Overview

Registration involves paying for the name you want (a credit card is necessary) with an organization which lists the information through a registrar database. Registration fees range between US$5 to US$35 which gives you the right to the name for a year. Some registrars allow you to choose longer periods for registering. You either renew it annually (or later if you paid for it).

Some web hosts will register your domain name for free. Others will do it but you pay the fees which are usually about US$35 per year.

Do It Yourself Domain Name Registration

I prefer to register the domain myself. That way I am sure that I am registered as the owner and the administrative contacts. The technical contact should always be registered as your website host. Being the owner is vital. The administrative and technical contacts are less so, but still important. For example, administrative approval is required before a domain name is transferred from a web host. If he/she cannot be contacted, the technical contact is used. Information is always verified by the account owner.

In recent years, domain names have disappeared extremely fast. Many people claim that all the good domain names are gone. This is not true. It is probably true that most good domain names descriptive of products and services have been taken. If you are considering domain name registration, do it now.

Make sure you are armed with several names before choosing a registrar. If the name you want is taken, consider alternatives such as putting a dash (-) between the words or one of the new alternative domain suffixes which have recently surfaced. You can purchase previously owned domain names but this is usually very expensive since the name is already established.