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Domain Names |
What Is A Domain Name?
A domain name is your unique address on the
Internet. The domain name functions as an alias for the numerical IP
(Internet Protocol) address assigned by your host provider. Since people
can remember names much better than numbers, a domain name helps visitors
find your web site simply by entering the web name (e.g. www.ecommerce-reference-desk.com
) instead of a hard-to-remember IP address.
Why Do I Need A Domain Name?
For a business your domain name serves as your
online brand and in a sense as your online business card. Many people
don't realize the importance of having and then keeping their domain
name until they lose it and realize that they have lost their unique
online identity.
Can I Choose Any Domain Name?
In theory, you can register any domain name that is available.
In practice, however, there are some restrictions. You should not register
a name that you know to be the registered trademark, service mark, or
copyrighted property of another company because it violates the copyright
or patent laws of the United States and other countries.
How should I choose a domain
name?
There are some basic guidelines for choosing a good domain name. A good domain
name should:
- Be relevant to your business - the domain name clothes4men.com would
be more recognizable then clothingthedude.com but
both are relevant to a men's clothing store. Just remember that if
the reference is too subtle, the customers might not understand it.
- Be easy to remember - would you remember it accurately if you heard
it on the radio?
- Be easy to spell - if you were to register a name such as clothes4men.com,
you might want to buy both clothes4men.com and clothesformen.com.
Then have your hosting company set it up so that both names point to
your web site so potential customers will end up at your site no matter
how they type in your domain name. Spelling becomes even more of an
issue with international clients.
- Register as .com if at all possible - the .com extension is universally recognized and remembered and is the default extension for most web browsers. That means if I just type in clothes4men in the address bar of my web browser, it will automatically add the .com extension. The other extensions are all right, it's just the .com is better for the times when people are just remembering the domain name.
What About Using Hyphens In A Domain Name?
There are many opinions about using hyphens. Some search engines rank
sites more highly if your domain name contains keywords, for example
in our clothes4men.com domain we might want to us the keywords: clothes
and men. Without the hyphen, you lose the benefit of key words for
the domain name. But you can include them in the keywords Meta tag
in the home page's HTML code.
Basically, what it comes down to is that search engines like hyphens, but for short name like clothes4men, humans prefer the name without hyphens, but for long names like the name of this site's domain ecommerce-reference-desk.com, hyphens are more readable for both humans and search engines. (Would you really prefer having to type the name ecommercereferencedesk.com?)
How Can I find Out If A Domain Name Is Available?
To search for a domain name, simply type the
name in the search box on a registrar's website. Within
seconds you will know if your selection is available!
How Much Does A Domain Name Cost?
It varies with the registrar. It can be anywhere
from $9.95 to $35 per year for the .com, .net and .org extensions.
Other extensions may or may not cost more.
What If I Misspell My Domain Name?
Unfortunately, once a domain name has been registered,
it cannot be changed. Please type your domain name carefully when registering
it.
What Happens When My Domain Name Expires?
You will always have the option of renewing your
domain name before it expires. Most registrars have an auto-renew feature
that sends you an e-mail giving you the option to renew 30 days before
your domain name expires. Some registrars charge for this service.
Can I Change The Owner Associated With My
Domain Name?
You can change the owner, but some registrars charge
for this service.
Is My Domain Contact Information Available
To Others?
Your domain contact information is available
to anyone who performs a whois search on the Internet. This rule is
set by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
who is responsible for oversee all domain registrars.
Where Can I Registrar A Domain Name?
With any registrar accredited by ICANN.
Domain Registrars
What Is A Domain Name?
A domain name is your unique address on the
Internet. The domain name functions as an alias for the numerical IP
(Internet Protocol) address assigned by your host provider. Since people
can remember names much better than numbers, a domain name helps visitors
find your web site simply by entering the web name (e.g. www.ecommerce-reference-desk.com
) instead of a hard-to-remember IP address.
Why Do I Need A Domain Name?
For a business your domain name serves as your
online brand and in a sense as your online business card. Many people
don't realize the importance of having and then keeping their domain
name until they lose it and realize that they have lost their unique
online identity.
Can I Choose Any Domain Name?
In theory, you can register any domain name that is available.
In practice, however, there are some restrictions. You should not register
a name that you know to be the registered trademark, service mark, or
copyrighted property of another company because it violates the copyright
or patent laws of the United States and other countries.
How should I choose a domain
name?
There are some basic guidelines for choosing a good domain name. A good domain
name should:
- Be relevant to your business - the domain name clothes4men.com would
be more recognizable then clothingthedude.com but
both are relevant to a men's clothing store. Just remember that if
the reference is too subtle, the customers might not understand it.
- Be easy to remember - would you remember it accurately if you heard
it on the radio?
- Be easy to spell - if you were to register a name such as clothes4men.com,
you might want to buy both clothes4men.com and clothesformen.com.
Then have your hosting company set it up so that both names point to
your web site so potential customers will end up at your site no matter
how they type in your domain name. Spelling becomes even more of an
issue with international clients.
- Register as .com if at all possible - the .com extension is universally recognized and remembered and is the default extension for most web browsers. That means if I just type in clothes4men in the address bar of my web browser, it will automatically add the .com extension. The other extensions are all right, it's just the .com is better for the times when people are just remembering the domain name.
What About Using Hyphens In A Domain Name?
There are many opinions about using hyphens. Some search engines rank
sites more highly if your domain name contains keywords, for example
in our clothes4men.com domain we might want to us the keywords: clothes
and men. Without the hyphen, you lose the benefit of key words for
the domain name. But you can include them in the keywords Meta tag
in the home page's HTML code.
Basically, what it comes down to is that search engines like hyphens, but for short name like clothes4men, humans prefer the name without hyphens, but for long names like the name of this site's domain ecommerce-reference-desk.com, hyphens are more readable for both humans and search engines. (Would you really prefer having to type the name ecommercereferencedesk.com?)
How Can I find Out If A Domain Name Is Available?
To search for a domain name, simply type the
name in the search box on a registrar's website. Within
seconds you will know if your selection is available! Click Here to see if your domain name is avaialble.
How Much Does A Domain Name Cost?
It varies with the registrar. It can be anywhere
from $9.95 to $35 per year for the .com, .net and .org extensions.
Other extensions may or may not cost more.
What If I Misspell My Domain Name?
Unfortunately, once a domain name has been registered,
it cannot be changed. Please type your domain name carefully when registering
it.
What Happens When My Domain Name Expires?
You will always have the option of renewing your
domain name before it expires. Most registrars have an auto-renew feature
that sends you an e-mail giving you the option to renew 30 days before
your domain name expires. Some registrars charge for this service.
Can I Change The Owner Associated With My
Domain Name?
You can change the owner, but some registrars charge
for this service.
Is My Domain Contact Information Available
To Others?
Your domain contact information is available
to anyone who performs a whois search on the Internet. This rule is
set by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
who is responsible for oversee all domain registrars.
Where Can I Registrar A Domain Name?
With any registrar accredited by ICANN.
Domain Registrars
Click
Here to register your domain name.