How Do I Get a Website Name?

Where to Register Your Domain Name?

This one of the most frequently ask questions I receive from small business wishing to get online and from beginning webmasters. In this article, I’ll answer the question, How Do I Get a Website Name, and other common website name (domain name) issues affecting all webmasters.

The first thing to remember with domain names is that you cannot buy them and therefore own them outright, like for example a house or a car. You can only register ownership for a fixed period of time, rather like a lease on a property.

The minimum period of registration is one year, the maximum period of registration is ten years.

How Do I Get a Domain Name?

I covered this particular question in several articles. But basically you first need to decide on a domain name (website name) with these characteristics:

Short: Keep the name as short and easy to type as possible (63 characters). See my article: Domain Names, What Is a Domain Name?

Memorable: How would you say your website name (domain name) over the phone? Can you say it as one word or phrase? Names with special characters like hyphens and underscores are hard to describe over the phone. Get it wrong and you may inadvertently send customers to your competitors website.

Descriptive: Use your company name, a description of your product or both where possible, i.e., TomsDogKennels.com. Don’t use acronyms unless you’re famous, i.e., BBC, ICI, ATI.

More detailed information about domain name selection can be found here: 24 Tips On Creating Your Domain Name

How Do I Check If a Domain Name is Available?

Most Web hosting companies and domain registrars let you check the availability of a domain name and it associated extensions (like .com or .org). Some even offer alternate versions if the name you searched on isn’t available.

You can research your domain name choices at any of the registrars listed in my article, Where to Register Domain Names.

How Do I Register the Name?

You’ll need to use an accredited domain name registrar or one of their agents. Getting a Web hosting company who is also the registrar allows has the advantage of enabling you to purchase your Web hosting account and domain name with one transaction. Again, see my article, Where to Register Domain Names.

Buying your domain name and web hosting together is not always the cheapest option however. You can buy your domain name from any authorized dealer; then host your registered domain name with a different web hosting company.

Prices for domain name registration vary widely – from as little as $4 to $40 for the same name so it pays to shop around.

What If the Name I Want is Taken?

If the name you want is taken you have the choice of either buying the name from the current registrant, hoping the name will become available in the future (when the current registrant does not renew the registration) or find another name.

See my article: Domain Name Registration, Who, What, Where and How to Register, for more in depth information on how to discover the registrants details.
Some people buy hundreds of domain names on a speculative basis, hoping to sell them at a profit, expect to pay a premium for these names.

Can I Buy an Expired Domain Name?

If a domain names registration has expired then anyone can register the name but be careful. Find out why the previous owner doesn’t want it anymore. The answer is probably:

Bought it on a speculative basis and couldn’t sell it.
No longer running the online business.
Search engines permanently banned the site for employing spam tactics.

It’s worth discovering the content history of the website, was it used for gambling or pornography?