Domain Names - Choosing the Right One - A How-To

How to register and choose the right domain name for your business.

The first thing you need to think about before you just go off and register any name, you need to understand some things.

1. Just what is a domain name? - To put it simply a domain name is how both prospects and search engines will find your website. The domain name can be your first and last name, your company name, or a name that has your keywords of what your website will be about. So, as you can see, this is a critical step when you register a domain name. Think of your domain name the same as you would the address of your house or apartment.

2. How do you choose a domain name? - Think about what your website is about, for an example, it's easier to use one of my domain names - laurasbasicstowebdesign.com I choose this name for a few reasons.

1. It has my name in it, this will make it easier for people to know who I am
2. My keywords on what my blog is about - basics to web design. Yes it is a bit long and you do want to avoid this. As of this writing, I haven't had any problems with it, but keep this in mind when choosing your domain name, you want it to be short and to the point of what your website is about, not only so your visitors can remember it but it's better for search engines as well.

3. Some things to think about when you are thinking of a domain name is simplicity, think of words like fast, easy, guide, steps, things like this to add to your domain name.

4. Now what about registering your domain name? Now there are hundreds to thousands of websites that will register your domain name for you. You can do a search for a registrar, this is what a company is called that registers domain names. Keep in mind while you are looking for a registrar that all you need is to register a domain name, DO NOT get anything else but a domain name, I'll explain that in a minute. To help you out though, I highly recommend and have been using Godaddy.com for over 6 years without any problems ever, their support is outstanding and they are always there to help.

5. Why should you register a domain name at a different place than your hosting? This is pretty easy to understand if you've been doing anything at all online for any amount of time. Things change, and they change quickly. If you have your domain name and hosting at the same company, there is always a chance that company might get sold or go out of business, this would mean your entire website might be gone too. And it is hard to move your website and domain name at the same time. This is why you should have them in 2 different companies. It's also a lot easier to manage your domain name with one company and to manage your hosting with someone else. If your hosting company disappears tomorrow, you still have access to your domain name and can easily just move your website to another hosting company without worrying about your domain name.