To get your web site on the Internet, you need a domain name and a
hosting company. The following information answers frequently-asked
questions about domain name registration and hosting.
Choosing an effective domain name is important to attract potential
buyers, increase visibility, convey a professional image, and inspire
trust.
What is a domain name?
Having your own domain name is a must for a business web site. Your
domain name or web address is a unique name, identifying a specific web
site, for example,
You can register your domain name with .com or other extensions,
including .net,.org,.info, and .us. Always register the .com name since
most people are familiar with it. In addition, consider registering
your domain name with.net to prevent competitors or speculators from
registering a similar name.
Follow these tips when selecting a domain name
• Choose a descriptive domain name that conveys professionalism and is
easy to remember and type.
• Consider a domain name that represents your business name, product
name, or indicates your type of business.
• Consider variations of your domain name like making it plural, adding
dashes, or underscores.
• Include relevant keywords in your domain name to boost your
search-engine ranking.
More tips about domain names
• A domain name can include up to 67 characters, including the .com,
.net, .org, .edu, or other extensions.
• Domains cannot contain spaces.
• Domain names are NOT case sensitive, so you can spell your domain in
uppercase, lower case, or a combination of both, e.g. or • You can use
numbers, letters, and hyphens (dashes) in your domain
name, but the web address cannot start or end with a hyphen.
• Special characters such as ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) and ? are not
permitted in web addresses.
• Avoid confusing characters like 0 (zero), l (one), 2, s, and z to
minimize the risk of typos. The number zero (0) can be confused with
the letter O, and the number "1" with the letter "l."
• If you register a domain containing hyphens, also register the same
name without the hyphens, for example,
www.your-domain-name.com
and
www.yourdomainname.com.
You can check the availability of a domain name at
http://klusterfuk.com
or any of the registrars listed by
http://www.internic.com.
Registering a domain name
It’s best to choose a hosting company first before registering your
domain name. Have the hosting company register or transfer your domain
name for you.
You can register your domain name yourself through domain name
registration services, known as registrars. Internic provides a list of
ICANN-accredited registrars (the organization governing domain names)
at
http://www.internic.com/regist.html.
When submitting a registration or transfer, the registrar will ask for
the name of two domain name servers that contain your IP address. Your
host will give you that information. Once your domain name has been
registered or transferred, it takes approximately 72 hours before it
becomes active.
Fees for domain name registration
Each registrar sets its own price for registering domain names. The
fees to register a domain name for one year range from $3 to $35 a
year. It's a small price to pay to gain your prospects' trust. You can
register a domain name for one or several years. At the end of the
registration term, you must pay a renewal fee to keep your domain name.
If you don't renew, someone else can take your domain name. Some
registrars offer free or discounted registration services in connection
with other offers, such as web hosting. Make sure they are reliable.
Receiving a $10 discount is not worth the delays and hassles you may
encounter. Ask your professional web designer for a referral.
Parking a domain name
If you want to reserve a domain name but don't have a hosting company
yet, you may have to pay a fee to a hosting company or registration
service to hold or "park" the name. Some registrars charge $40 and
others offer parking for free. Make sure they are reliable.
Protect your business and product names by registering them as a domain
name before someone else does, and renew the registration before it
expires.
IMPORTANT TIP: When registering your domain name, make sure you are
both the billing contact and administrative contact. If your hosting
company lists itself as the billing contact, you won’t have much
leverage to keep your domain name if you decide to switch hosts.
