Domain Registration 101 ~ GAMES AND GADGETS

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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Domain Registration 101

Okay, so you’re bent on making your own website or if you already have a blog you want to host it on your own domain. There are many companies on the web that offers domain registration and their prices vary. If you’re thinking of buying your domain, here are few tips.

  1. Think about the theme of your website and make sure that your domain name is relevant to your theme.
  2. There are thousands of domain names available for registration, however, there are also millions of domain names already registered and chances are your desired domain name may already be in use. If your desired domain name is already in use, here are some things you might do.
    1. Try a variation of that name or put a hyphen in between words
    2. Try a different domain suffix (e.g., .info, .me, .tv, .us, .net, etc)
    3. Some companies offer a waitlist or backorder service wherein you pay a certain amount and when the domain expires or becomes available, the company will try to grab that domain name for you. The fee you pay may be applied to other domains you wish to register if you get tired of waiting.
  3. Choose your domain suffix wisely. A .com domain is more expensive but people usually associate websites with a .com but you can also choose other domain suffix. If you want to target a specific country, it’s also wise to use a domain suffix for that country, e.g., if you want to target UK residents, buying a .co.uk domain name would help.
  4. Choose which company you would like to buy your domain from. You should look for value added services like free web hosting, free email, 24/7 customer support, URL forwarding, etc. If you’re ready to launch your website, look for a web host right away as they include the domain name registration for free, otherwise, use the companies that specializes in domain registration.

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