What is a domain name?
Do I need to register a domain name for my business?
How do I choose a name?
How much is this going to cost me?
Once I have the domain name registered, what do I do?

What is a domain name?

A domain name is an easier way to remember the “address” to the storage spot of your web site. Each web site has an Internet Protocol, or IP address which tells the browser where to go looking for the site. Try opening your web browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape, for example) and typing this IP 65.108.175.94 in the address field. You should see Graham-Caswell Design’s home page. But if you type www.graham-caswell.com, you are also directed to that address. It’s much easier to remember graham-caswell.com, don’t you think? So a domain name is basically www.yourname.com.

Do I need to register a domain name for my business?

No. But there are some really good reasons to do it.

a. If your company name is your domain name, like graham-caswell.com, it will be easier for your customers or clients to remember and easier for them to find you.

b. If you choose a domain name that includes words that describe your business, like www.mainehandcraftedbookends.com, it is possible that search engines will rank your site higher for those words because they are in your name. (More on this ranking stuff on the Promotion page.)

c. It just seems more professional.

How do I choose a name?

First, you should know that you can only use letters, numbers, and hyphens ( - ). No other characters are valid in domain names. You may use up to 67 characters, including the four characters in the .com (or .net, etc.) ending.

When choosing the name, consider your company’s name or your key words, as mentioned above. Remember that you’ll be giving out the address, so try to make it simple and easy to remember.

How much is this going to cost me?

Cost is a big concern for many startups or small businesses, with good reason. While some ISPs (internet service providers) waive a setup fee to register a domain name, others charge up to $50 for that service. Then the registrar, the company that actually keeps track of the registration, charges a separate fee for reserving that name for your use; these fees can range from $6 or $7 a year up to $35.

Once I have the domain name registered, what do I do?

If you don’t have a host yet, you may ?park? the domain name until you’re ready for it. This is a free service at many registrars. You can make a construction page which will appear when someone enters your domain name in a browser. Or you can have the domain name point to an existing site by requesting URL forwarding. If you simply want to park your domain, you can leave the Domain Name Service (DNS) information unchanged in your registration form.

If you are using the name immediately and not just reserving it for future use, you’ll need to find hosting, and we get into that in more detail in the Hosting section.