Register a Domain Name

There are two basic steps to get your site online and registering a domain name is the first.

Put simply, a domain name is an internet website address that people use to find you or your company. Just as your house or apartment has its own identifying address for the post office. It’s the internet address that people type into the browser to go to a specific website.

A domain name can end in .com, .net, .gov, .edu, .org and more. Dotcom and dotnet are the most popular for businesses. Dotorg is for government, dotedu is for schools, and dotorg is usually for non-profit organizations.

For example, our domain name is: Website-Tutorial.net

How do I get a good domain name?

That’s one of the most frequent questions asked by beginning webmasters. So first, let’s focus on choosing the best domain name for your site.

Good domain names are becoming increasingly hard to find today, since so many of them are already taken. Recently some new domain name extensions have been introduced due to most of the good dotcom and dotnet domains are gone. Dotinfo and Dotbiz domains are becoming more popular, and a lot of good names are still available.

If you have a hard time in finding good domain name for your website, don't give up. Be creative! If your website talks about dog training, and dogtraining.com is already gone, you still could try several variations likes:

• trainmydog.com
• smartdogtraining.com
• well-bahaved-dog.com
• dogtrainingtips.com

Choosing a Domain Name:

• Short: The maximum allowed size is 63 characters, but keep your domain name as short as you can manage. You don’t have to use all 63 characters.
• Memorable: You want your domain name to be easy to remember. Use hyphens if your domain is more than 3 words long.
• Descriptive: A good domain name describes what the site is about. it’s important for a person to be able to get some sort of sense what the website is about just by reading the domain name.

How can I get a domain name for free?

If you are planning to publish content onto your website, pointing to your domain name, you will also need to find a web host to store your website files (more info provided in the next lesson). In fact, many web hosts offer domain name registration for free when you choose to subscribe to their hosting plan. However, when you are about to renew your domain name, the domain renewal cost will be yours as web hosts usually do not include domain renewal with their hosting services. I personally would recommend DotEasy's SSD Hosting plan it includes both domain registration and renewal for free as long as you continue subscribing to their service. Click here to get a free domain name with DotEasy SSD Hosting, starting at USD$5.75/mo!