How do I get a domain name?

[atgcpaul]

My wife is thinking about setting up a business (and so am I). The thing I'd
like to do first is reserve domain names in case we ever have a web presence.
How do I do this without spending too much?

It seems you can have a site hosted for about $10/year. Does it have to cost
that much to just reserve a name, too? If you currently have a site, how much
are you paying per year to have it hosted? Were there any gotchas?

Thanks, Paul

[crokett]

Most site hosting companies will include domain name registration and let you do it all in one step.
These guys are hosting my wife's site:

http://www.hostmonster.com/

Their plans include domain name registration. If you want Windows server-based hosting it costs a little more because of the licenses. It is a little easier to manage than Linux based. However with Host Monster the front-end tools are good enough that I was up and running in a few minutes.

[pelligrini]

I've got a few domains registered through dotster. They're pretty easy to use, I don't think they are the cheapest though. If you don't want to mess with hosting right now you can register your domains and just park them.

I've been using Liquidweb for hosting since F5.hosting got bought out and went bad. I really reccomend Liquidweb. Their support is truely superior. Speed and uptime couldn't be better. I've got a couple of their Standard packages for $14.95 a month. They aren't the cheapest either, but you usually get what you pay for.

[pecker]

http://www.netfirms.com/ will register your name for you cheap, and they have a variety of hosting plans. I haven't had any problems with them...although I haven't used any other service for comparison.

[stocktr8er]

I have used godaddy.com

I even recieved a call from a rep on a website I have not activated yet to see if I needed help setting it up. They have a free (ad supported) hosting as well as many extras avalible and supprt a phone call away.

[Alex Franke]

I used to use Dotster, but have since moved everything to godaddy.com. I host several domains/sites.

The domain will probably cost you anywhere from $1 to $20/year. *.info domains are pretty inexpensive, but the *.tv domains cost more. *.com domains will probably run you about $10 or so.

My hosting is only a few dollars a month. You need to figure out what kind of software you want to use for your site -- whether it's a CMS system, blog software, or if you want to write your own or use your hosts "site building" software, which is often included for a period of time with the cost of domain registration, and is sometimes ad supported. On a lot of hosts, you can choose between windows and linux (usually less expensive), but unless you want to do something fancy, it probably doesn't matter which you choose.

I'd suggest starting with one of the big registration companies (again, I'd recommend GoDaddy.com) and pick up their most basic package. Then see what you need from there.

I'd have to say that probably the biggest "gotcha" is believing that you need more than you actually do. It's really easy to think, "For only $10 more, I can get 100GB of storage instead of 10GB!" but you're probably never going to use the original 10.

If you outgrow the standard packages, then shop around for what you need. Once you register your domain, you can "point" it anywhere. The company you registered with will want you to keep it with them so they can sell you services, but you don't need to.

My favorite host, for example, is cirtexhosting.com, and my registrar is GoDaddy.com. (Avoid servergrid.net -- I used to use them, but they've gone down hill.) If you choose a different host, make sure they have an option to cancel at any time for a refund (most do).

[Black wallnut]

There are reasons GoDaddy.com is the biggest. Since moving my site there I've been pleased with the service. I have two domains, there's a story behind that, both are registered and hosted at GoDaddy. The few times I've needed tech help they were quick and answered my questions, solved the problem the first time. I pay somewhere close to $100 a year for what I get. I have more storage and transfer than I'll ever use and so many available web mail addresses that I'll never use. (seems like 100 or so!)

However as happy as I am with GoDaddy if I was starting fresh I'd use a different registrar from the host.

[pelligrini]

One Gotchya is to make sure your hosting company is really the hosting company and not a reseller. (especially a fly-by-night reseller)

I ended up taking over our Dart Associations website, and it was a total mess. We even lost control of our domain name for a year and a half, besides loosing all of the previous site content.

[atgcpaul]

Thanks for all the help.

Paul

[Russianwolf]

registered through Go-daddy, hosted by a buddy who is also a woodworker. Everything runs smoothly and I've never noticed any problems.

Lately I've been working on SEO, and I think I've gotten myself on the first page when you search for Irish Bog Oak or a couple derivatives of that. At least on Google, I don't worry about the others too much.

[Alex Franke]

Lately I've been working on SEO, and I think I've gotten myself on the first page when you search for Irish Bog Oak or a couple derivatives of that. At least on Google, I don't worry about the others too much.

Not to get too far off topic, but that SEO stuff can be a real puzzler. Sometimes I'm at the top of page 1, and other times I'm at the bottom of page 750 or so. There seems to be very little rhyme or reason to it at all.

[RayintheUK]

First of all, look here and enter your proposed domain name in the box at the top (assuming that you and/or your wife want a .us domain name). Think carefully about what the domain name is to reflect, to visitors or searchers. For me, my name was what I needed, but you may have other plans/ideas.

Once you have sorted out that the domain name you want is available, then go looking for a host and get them to register it for you. That way, future renewals are a breeze and you only involve one company.

Depending on how you plan to write your website, you may (or may not) want a service that allows for Miscrosoft server extensions, especially if you only intend for your visitors to view the pages in MSIE. If you want to do it "properly" to WWW standards and not Microsoft's bodge, the server extensions are of no consequence. You may, on the other hand, want to use a built-in page-maker if offered by the host.

You will usually get what you pay for and - for me - uptime and reliability are key. Personal recommendation is the best evaluation, if you can get it. Good luck!

Ray.

[Alex Franke]

Once you have sorted out that the domain name you want is available, then go looking for a host and get them to register it for you. That way, future renewals are a breeze and you only involve one company.

With all due respect, I would advise against this. There are still some hosting companies out there that will retain the rights to the domain name you choose if they purchased it for you. So long as you host through them, they will keep it alive for you, but you might be in for trouble if you even want to switch to another host. So if you ask a hosting company to get the domain for you (e.g. as part of a "free domain with hosting" package) then be extra certain that you retain full ownership and administrative rights for the domain name.

If you use a domain registrar for the domain names, and a hosting provider for the hosting, then you're assured that you at least can administer your own domain. I'd still ask the question though -- be sure that the registrar has no claim to your domain if you choose to stop doing business with them.

...you may (or may not) want a service that allows for Miscrosoft server extensions, especially if you only intend for your visitors to view the pages in MSIE. If you want to do it "properly" to WWW standards and not Microsoft's bodge, the server extensions are of no consequence. You may, on the other hand, want to use a built-in page-maker if offered by the host.

FrontPage Server Extensions only really come into play if you're using Microsoft software to author, upload, and/or administer your site, or if you use technologies that require them on your website. They really don't have any impact on the browsers your visitors use. With limited exceptions (again, where specific and related technologies are used on the site) FrontPage Server Extensions are not even required to host websites created with Microsoft technologies -- they just enable a convenient and integrated way for the content to be uploaded and for the site to be managed.

Again, with all due respect, I don't believe there is anything "improper" about sites that use this or other Microsoft technologies. Microsoft's generated code (code produce by authoring tool) is pretty solid and used just about everywhere on the web. I use both Microsoft servers and Linux servers for different reasons, but to the user it really doesn't matter which technology my content is hosted with -- it's transparent to them.

[cdub101]

You will also typically want to register more than one domain name. You may want to register names that are closer or even common misspellings of you company. Don't be too focused on the Domain price as it is an annual price. $10-$20 over the course of the year should not be the deciding factor in who you go with. Call the companies, talk to them and get a feel for their level of service is. You big 3 registrars are Go Daddy, Network Solutions and Register.com. If you are not tech savvy then service and simplicity is what will be important to you. Don't let running your Web infrastructure distract you from running your business. You could very well spend a lot more time and money trying to save $30-$100 bucks a year. If you are really making a go of the business treat this the same as your choice of lenders, suppliers, real estate, fixtures etc…

As I am also not very tech savvy so I look at domain registration in 3 levels:

1) Domain Registration: Secure the domain name –usually comes with a 1 page simple website
2) #1 + Do it Your Self Website template. Usually a few pages that you put together by pointing, clicking and uploading pictures. I usually equate this to using a cake or brownie mix, simple but not highly flexible
3) #1 + Website hosting – This is where you get server space to builder and place your site and you know how to build the site and the programming language. This is kind of like getting the ingredients to make your dessert. If you start doing e-commerce or storing large amounts of data this is what you will need. And unless you know the programming language you will need to get someone to help you build and maintain the site.