Domain name is another term for website address or URL. Your domain name is your website's identity on the Internet. Users are going to type your domain name in their browsers in order to go to your website, so it's important that you know the procedure and pointers on how to purchase a good domain name.
- The first thing that you have to do is to choose a domain name. The maximum number of characters allowed for domain names is 63, but if you want Internet users to remember your website easily, keep your domain name as short as possible.
Choose a domain name that best describes the would-be contents of your site. You may use the name of the product that you are selling or the services that you offer. If the name of your merchandise or service is too long, you can use acronyms that are easier to remember.
Domain names with special characters like hyphens or underscores are difficult to remember. If you are running a business over the Internet, you might lose potential customers by sending them off to competitors whose domain names are similar to yours but don't have any special characters.
- Choose the best domain extension. Everyone knows that the domain extension ‘.com' is the most popular of all. Users are most likely to enter ‘.com' if they are unsure of a domain, so as much as possible get a domain with a ‘.com' extension. If the .com version of your URL is no longer available for registration, your next options should be ‘.net' and ‘.org' because they're the second most popular extensions. However, websites with ‘.org' extensions are usually associated with non-profit organizations, so it's up to you to resort to other extensions if you don't want to use ‘.org'. Other extensions like ‘.biz' and ‘.info' are also gaining popularity these days.
- The next step is to check if a domain name is available. Typing a domain name on your browser and getting an error does not always mean that the domain is available for registration. In order to check the availability of a domain, you may use the InterNIC directory. InterNIC (Internet's Network Information Center) provides public information regarding internet domain registration.
- If the domain is available, you need to use an accredited domain name registrar in order to purchase and register the domain that you have chosen.
The ownership of a domain name is granted only for a certain period of time. At present, a domain name can be registered for a period of one to ten years, after which the owner has the option to extend his registration or not. Sellers usually offer discounts for extended registration. However, when an owner refuses to pay for the renewal of the registration, his domain name will expire and will eventually be returned to the pool of unregistered domains available in the market.
There are also individuals who lose interest in keeping their websites, so they might be able to sell their domain names to you at a low price.
If you really want a domain name that's already taken, the only option that you have is to purchase it from the owner. You can check for the contact details of the owner of the domain name by using the WHOIS database.
Some people buy hundreds of domain names and re-sell them at a profit. Usually, they speculate on what domains people are most likely to buy. Re-sellers buy these domain names in bulk and market them at a higher price once they're on demand.
Most companies who sell domains also provide web hosting services. You can have the seller of your domain host your website or you may choose to buy your domain from a different company and have someone else host your website. Whatever your option is, make sure that it meets your specifications for a good domain name and a functional website.
Learn more about Buying Domain Names.
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