Domain Name Registration
Why is a domain name important to you – whoever you are?
Domain names are no longer exclusively for large businesses. Regardless of how “advanced†your use for a domain name may be, a domain name is going to be an essential commodity for any business or person. Read on to find why an internet name presence is essential to you.
Imagine what life would be like for John Doe without his name. He’d rarely participate in any conversations, take part in any games, be able to start his own business or even legally marry (well, lets not go too far but you see the point!).
Who? Me?
Whoever you are and for whatever use, a domain name is going to be important to you. It is forever becoming increasingly important that people and businesses separate themselves from others – so people remember you, and in the case that they forget you can easily search for you.
Suppose a business based on a highstreet. If people have been referred to this business and need to look up your location information, where would they go? Telephone directories are quite obsolete. More and more do people turn to the internet to look up information about businesses – contact information, profile as well as online shopping services. Regardless of how “advanced†your use for a domain name may be, a domain name is going to be an essential commodity for any business.
Suppose you have no business interest in buying a domain at all. The cost of registering domains is so low that an investment in a personal internet identity is very worthwhile.
Instead of your usual, long e-mail address that came with your internet account, why not register a more personal, memorable name that you came up with? It is easy to set up e-mail with your domain name.
More importantly – business or not – you want that domain name before the other John Doe registers it instead!
Planning Ahead
The cost of registration of a domain name, or even the cost of hosting a web site is so small that not securing your internet presence should be out of the question, even if not for immediate use. A domain is yours for as long as you wish to keep it. It is important though, that if you have an idea for your internet identity, you register it before someone else does.
There are thousands of “domain squatters†– who identify business names, register them and do nothing more than sit on them. People searching for your business name or trying to find your web site may come across one of these “squatted†names and will not find information about your business, but instead will find information about another.
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What Is A Domain Name?
A domain is a name that identifies IP addresses on the internet. The domain name Yahoo.com represents about fifteen (15) IP addresses. Domain names are used to identify Web pages. For example, in the URL http://www.gohome.com/index.html, the domain name is gohome.com.
You register a domain name by registering with a domain name services registrar
. The domain name industry is regulated and overseen by ICANN, which is an organization responsible for providing standards and procedures for certifying companies as domain name registrars.
Domain name registration has grown over the years. Network Solutions was the first domain name registrar to ever provide such a service. That was over ten years ago but today there are many accredited registrars. Only a domain name registrar is permitted to access and modify the master database domains that are on InterNIC servers. The fee is determined by the registrar as far as getting a domain name and some registers have special domain name packages.
Do You Really Need a Domain Name?
You use a domain name to create an identity on the World Wide Web and domain names can also be used for branding purposes, such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. In picking a domain name, the title shouldn’t stray far from what your company is all about. This will allow you to market your web-site as a subsidiary of your business and put your domain name on business cards and advertisements.
Once you select a domain name, you must register it with a domain name registrar. This is a task you can do easily. Many ISPs offer a complete package that includes hosting and the registering of the domain name for you. Fees probably will include a one time set-up fee for all of the backend technical work that needs to be accomplished. Then pay your service provider a monthly, semi-annual or annual fee for Web site hosting services.
Many domain registrar services have competent online tools to help you get your domain name and hosting site up and running.
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