Before the Design: Claim Your Domain
Before you think about your website design, you’ll have to find a good domain name and host so your site will have a place to live.
But what is a domain name? What’s a host? How do you get these things and do you really need them?
In today’s market, the Internet is a force to be reckoned with. That’s why every business needs a website. It’s also why every business owner needs to understand what a website is, what it needs to succeed, and how ownership works. A domain name has everything to do with ownership.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is the address of a web site: www.yourdomain.com. When you own your domain, you can add subdomains and web pages to it.
A subdomain looks like this: www.subdomain.yourdomain.com
A page on your site might look like this: www.yourdomain.com/pages/information.html
Each of these is an address. The general address of a site is usually its domain. Another term often used for a web address is URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
Why does this matter?
Owning a domain is like owning a piece of real estate. It’s digital real estate, but it’s real estate, and it has a value, especially if you’re going to use it as your online business headquarters.
The reason this is important is that some web developers and website designers will offer to set up your domain for you. This is a reasonable service for them to provide, but you need to make sure that the ownership of your domain is in your name.
If the person you hire to manage or create your site owns the domain, they have complete control over it. Should your business relationship go sour or if anything happens to that person or the company they represent, they can take your site down with them (or just run off with it).
What about all those free sites?
Free sites are great for kids, amateurs, and folks who are testing the waters of the web. Having your own domain tells people that you take what you’re doing seriously.
You can register a domain for under $10 and get a pretty decent hosting package for under $120 a year. If you’re not willing to invest that much in your business and online presence, then people will take that as a sign that you’re not serious about what you’re doing – or they might assume you don’t know what you’re doing.
What’s a hosting service?
A website is basically a bunch of electronic files that are stored on a special computer called a server. The server is configured so that the files are accessible to people with internet access. A hosting service owns the servers where your website files sit and makes those files available to web users.
You own the files, you own the domain, the host owns the computers the files are stored on and all the technology that makes your site accessible to the web-viewing public.
So, how do I buy a domain and pick a hosting service?
One popular place to buy domains on the cheap is godaddy.com but I’ve never used them personally and can’t make an official recommendation. If you choose your hosting service first, you can purchase your domains through them. It’s a standard service that every hosting provider offers.
Also, some hosting companies have pretty good technical support – people you can call or email who will help walk you through the process. They may even have designers on their staff who can help you build your site. Another option would be to hire a professional designer to create your site and whoever you hire will be able take care of the technical details for you. As previously mentioned, just make sure you own the domain.
If you decide to seek out a host, take some time and do a little research first. There are plenty of reviews online but read them with caution and discretion because you never know – the hosting company themselves may have written the review or paid someone to write it for them. As with most products and services, nothing beats a good recommendation, so start asking around.
How to Choose a Domain Name
Unfortunately, there’s a good chance that your number one choice for a domain name won’t be available. Here are some things you can do if that’s the case:
- Check the site and see if it’s active and relevant. If it’s not, you may be able to contact the owner and make an offer to buy it.
- Consider using dashes (your-domain.com).
- Add another word to the title (professionalyourdomain.com or yourdomaininc.com).
- Use one of the alternate extensions such as .org or.net.
- Pick a different title and domain name.
- Make up a name or word (like I did).
- Purchase a domain name close to the title of your site or name of your business. For example if your site will be called “Your Site” but yoursite.com is taken, you might be able to purchase “yoursite360.com” and just call it “Your Site” anyway. The title of your site doesn’t have to be the same as the domain name. But you’ll still need to use the accurate URL or domain for links, business cards, etc.
Got Questions?
Learning how all this stuff works is confusing at first – especially for people who are new to doing business online. If you still have any questions after reading this, feel free to post them in the comments.
And good luck with your domain!
About Melissa Donovan
Domain is sooooo important for a business. Really informative great article for people.
@screenwritingforhollywood, I agree but of course the problem is that all the good ones are taken. If you have lots of money, you can buy one. If you’re creative, you can invent one. However, I think that even more important than the name is just the fact that you own your own domain. That’s essential.
Choosing a domain is one area that I’ve put much thought into and spent more efforts in the beginning. Call me a perfectionist, I’d not simply pick a domain. No dashes, no .net or .org… you can imagine how difficult it is to choose one when I take away those criteria.
Yan
Blog for Beginners’s last blog post..20 Reasons Why I Choose WordPress
@Blog for Beginners, For the most part, I’m a perfectionist about domain names too and that has made buying them extremely difficult. All the good ones seem to be taken, which is why when I developed Scribizzy, I just decided to go Shakespeare and make up my own word
I figure you are too but it took me a while to get used to “Scribizzy”. It’s unique if you ask me, just don’t ask me to spell it one more time….;)
Yan
Blog for Beginners’s last blog post..20 Reasons Why I Choose WordPress
@Blog for Beginners, I almost wrote a post to explain the name. “Scrib” is the Latin root word for writer or scribe. As you know “biz” is shorthand for business. “Bizzy” is sort of a combination – on the one hand, “busy” and on the other hand “bizzy,” (which I guess might mean “little business”). See? That’s not so hard to remember!