You need more than an idea and hosting plan to set up a web site. You also need a domain name. A domain name is your unique address on the Internet. Cheapwebhostingreport.com, google.com, microsoft.com, and yahoo.com are examples of domain names.

Why “Free” is sometimes bad

Many web hosting companies will offer to give you a domain name when you sign up with them. This can be a great deal, provided they register the domain in your name. Unfortunately, some hosting companies register the domain in their name. That means that they own your address and they don’t have to let you move your domain name to another web hosting company. This can be very bad. It would be like someone else owning the name of your company. So before you take advantage of free domain registration with the hosting company you choose, be sure that they register the domain in your name. If they do not say they do, it’s probably safest to assume that they do not.

Fortunately, registering a domain name is simple and inexpensive. Unlike a few years ago when one company had a virtual monopoly on commercial domain names, there are now a large number of registrars to choose from and competition has lowered prices and increased the ease of domain name registration.

What to Look For

There are two important things to look for in a domain registrar: reliability and location. No one knows exactly what will happen if a domain registrar goes bankrupt. There are supposed to be safeguards in place to protect domain registrants from losing their domains, but you don’t want to be one of the people testing these procedures, so a solvent, reliable domain registrar is a must. Location is important because domain registrars are subject to the laws of the country where they are located and some have been known to refuse to grant (or worse yet, grant and then take back) domain names that are unacceptable under the laws of their home country. A registrar in the US may be your best bet if you have possible “freedom of speech” issues with the domain name (or the site contents in some cases) you’d like to use.

What to Avoid

Most registrars now offer all sorts of additional features — like web hosting. Most of the web hosting plans we’ve seen at domain registrars are feature poor and over priced. If you are tempted by one, think twice and check out other hosts before buying web hosting from your domain registrar. Many will try to make it sound like it is a lot of extra work to host elsewhere. It isn’t. All you have to do is point your domain account at the registrar to the nameservers your web hosting company gives you. This involves typing two urls. It is not hard at all.

My clients and I have had good luck with the following three domain registrars.

First Choice: GoDaddy http://www.cheapwebhostingreport.com/zgodaddy.php

Our current first choice of an affordable, reliable, US-based domain registrar is one of the most popular domain registars, GoDaddy. They can register .com, .net, .org, ..biz, .info, ,ws, .us and .name domains for $9.95 a year or less (and there are additional discounts when you register for multiple years). If you already have a domain name and are still paying $35 dollars a year for it, you can reduce your domain costs by transfering you domain to GoDaddy and paying just $7.95 (for most types of domains) to renew your domain for an additional year.

Second Choice: Dotster.com http://www.cheapwebhostingreport.com/zdotster.ph

Dotster.com is our second choice of an affordable, reliable, US-based domain registrar. They can register .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .us and .name domains for $14.95 a year (discounted when you register for multiple years). If you already have a domain name and are still paying $35 dollars a year for it, you can save money by transfering your domain to Dotster and paying just $8.95 to renew your domain for an additional year.

Third Choice: Yahoo http://www.cheapwebhostingreport.com/zyahoodomains.php

Many of my small business clients like Yahoo Small Business. They only register ..com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .us domains and they charge $9.95 a year, but many small business people seem more comfortable with a major name brand — and Yahoo qualifies



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Domain registration is generally very easy. In fact you can simply contact your local domain registrar and give your details like name, address, contact info and of course the name of the domain you want registered and your domain gets registered. Alternatively you can simply go online to your domain registrar’s website and if the facility is provided just fill out a simply online registration form with your name and other details and submit to register your domain. It’s as simple as that.

The problem arrives generally for most of us after the domain has been registered. We keep hearing all these words like name servers, domain pointing and forwarding, domain locking and other things which make it all a nightmare. But it is not as bad as you think. Domain management, once you understand the various aspects to it, is actually a very simply task. We look at some of the aspects in domain registration and management which you might have to go through while setting up your website.

Name Servers

Name servers are probably the most common words used after you have registered a domain. Your hosting company will tell you to change your domain name servers to their address in order for your web hosting service to function properly. So what are name servers?

To put it in simple language, name servers are the name of your server. It basically tells a domain where your website files are located so every time someone types your domain name in their browsers, the domain exactly knows where to go to show your website files – your homepage etc.

Name Servers generally look like this:

Assuming you are hosting with xyz hosting company then your name servers should generally be:

NS1.XYZ.COM

NS2.XYZ.COM

Note the NS could be followed by 3 or 4 depending on your hosting company. Your hosting company will generally provide their name servers to you when you register with them.

Domain Forwarding / Domain Redirect

Domain forwarding or also know as Domain redirect means if you have multiple domains registered and you want one of your domains to quite simply point to another domain that you have as an active website.

This technique allows you to have a single website be available under multiple domains. For example you can register your domain in both .com and .net format and then make the .net domain address forward to your .com website. That way you don’t have to spend on having two different websites hosted for each of your domain extensions.

Domain Locking

This is quite new to the world of domains but is a very important one and you should always be aware of your domain’s status – i.e. whether it is locked or unlocked.

Now, how does domain locking make a difference to you? Firstly if your domain is not locked, then malicious software or hackers have the ability to shift the domain in to their name or shift the domain’s name servers on to their web site which could cause lot of embarrassment to you. Not just that in some cases, hackers can pull the domain from your domain registrar to theirs, giving them full control of your domain.

In general you should always make sure your domain is in locked status. Of course when you need to change the domain’s name servers etc for your own use then you can unlock a domain. But always make sure moment your work is done and the name servers or any other information you are trying to change has been completed, immediately lock your domain. If you can’t lock or unlock your domain, please contact your domain registrar regarding this.



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The domain name for your business is your online identity. You should be very careful about choosing a domain name that is memorable, scores quite well with search engine listings, has a trust factor attached to it, and commands a brand value. A domain name is quite important for your business correspondences and emails. A long one can cause problems in communication, especially if the domain name seems complex. Here are some tips in choosing a well-meaning domain name that captures the essence of your brand image or business:

1. Keyword oriented or a unique domain name? If your website is going to have a crucial role to play in your business, then it is important to have an adequately researched keyword incorporated within the brand name. Use the most searched-for term in search engine queries, within your domain name. Prior to launching your online business, you should do some research through website tools to find out which keywords register the most number of traffic during a month. For example, if you want to make a website based on advising people, you will find that the keyword help is normally typed in the search engine query window a lot more frequently than the word aid. If your domain name includes targeted keywords, than you will get higher rankings in the search engines like Google and Yahoo. You should bear in mind that, apart from having the targeted keyword in your domain name, you should also have keywords in other parts of your site as well.

2. Use a company name only if you are famous: That is right. If your company name overwhelms the basic product name, then by all means go for the company name as your domain name. For example, people normally use the term Xerox rather than photocopy and if you are Xerox, then you should go for Xerox as a domain name because of the sheer popularity of the brand name. This is usually not the case, so using a keyword-rich domain name is a better move for most people. To be on the right side of balancing your business well, you should buy a set of two domain names, one that represents your business/brand name, and another that represents keywords or key phrases.

3. Keep your domain name short: The shorter your domain name, the more memorable it is. If your domain name has an every-day lingo, the better it is! More often than not, you may find that a simple two-word domain name is already taken. The alternative in this case, is to put a hyphen (-) to your targeted keyword and then add the other word. SEO experts are of the belief that hyphenating two or more words makes a long domain name more search engine friendly. The flip side is that people do not tend to write words with hyphens naturally, and there is a chance that if someone has recommended your site to a friend, the friend may find himself going to a competitor’s site. So one has to understand and undergo a lot of study while choosing a domain name. After all, it is one prominent thing that can dictate the flow of your business. Also, you should avoid putting numbers like 4 instead of for in your domain name. It will only lead to confusion.

4. Dot.com only: If you intend to have a website for commercial or business reasons, then by all means go for a website which ends in extension .com. The domain name companies will market other options like .org, .us, .net, etc. However, by all means try stick to .com for better mass appeal.

5. Register similar domain names: If you believe that in the future you are going to have a huge amount of people visiting your website through word-of-mouth advertising, then you should consider registering similar domain names that direct to your main URL (e.g. www.datinginformation.com and www.datinginfo.com). There are cyber-squatters who register domain names in the hope that they will be selling them for a profit to someone who really needs that domain name. Before they do this, you should register the domain names if you think that such a possibility can occur.

6. Be patient: You should not choose a domain name in minutes merely just to get it done and over with. A hasty decision may cost you a lot. It is better to invest time in research and arrive at the right kind of domain name. You should also discuss the comprehensibility and usage of the domain name with friends, neighbors and well wishers to find how simple and commonplace it really is.



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