What exactly is a domain name and why are they important to the world wide web?
A domain name is a unique word or set of words / numbers that differentiates your web site from the millions of others on the Internet. it means no matter where you are in the world you can type in the name and get to the site that corresponds to that Internet address.
Think of a book name. The name of the book is what you identify a set of relevant pages with. Whether it be the bible, a novel or textbook.
A domain name works in very much the same way.
How is a domain name made up?
Domain names always have an extension on the end. The most widely known is dot com. There are many others, some country specific like .co.uk or .de or specific to an industry like .travel or general usage such as .net or .info
The first part of the domain is what you can decide on. Remember that virtually all dot coms with a generic dictionary word beforehand have been taken. If you really want the domain name 'londonhotels' you can either offer to buy the name 'londonhotels.com' from the existing owner or register a different extension such as 'londonhotels.info' (if available). You can even try a hyphen between london and hotels.
Which extension should I decide on?
This will depend on your audience. If you are creating a site that is non geographic in terms of audience then you should always go for dot com (like this site). If you web site targets the UK then you should go for .co.uk. Some people believe you should go for the dot com whatever the circumstances.
The fact is many dot com names have already gone. Workingnomad.com for instance had been previously registered but the registrar gave the name up by not renewing it.
If you do go for more that one extension and then point these names to one web site remember that you still have to pay fees for all the different extensions you have registered. Big companies will always try and register as many different extent ions as possible to protect their name but a single web publisher does n't need to. You are better off spending the extra money on a quality web hosting package for instance.
If the site is non geographic and the dot com name has gone you will have to consider another non-country extension such as .net or .org or .info for instance. There is some debate about which one is more valuable but generally dot net are the next best extension to dot com. If you are a charity then .org would probably be better. If you are providing information about a subject then .info might be better.
Which name should I decide on and what length is acceptable?
There is no hard and fast rules here. The shorter the name the easier it is to remember and therefore the better. Don't be put off using long names though. Travelinsuranceforseniors for instance does very well because it is very descriptive of what the site offers and has done well in the search engines. I would not expect anyone to type that in on the off chance a web site will reside at the name.
Remember if you can't register travelinsurance you could always try travel-insurance. Some people think using a hyphen can improve search engine ratings yet this has never really been proved. I think it is better not to use hyphens if you can.
The key is to be creative. With millions of names being registered everyday you have to be!
I have a name which is available - what next?
You need to register the domain name with a company who will register it on your behalf with the authority that is in charge of that domain extension.
Domain name registration varies in price so shop around for the best price. One of the cheapest that I can recommend is One and One Internet but there are lots of others and you may wish to choose one in your own country.
I have registered my domain name and I need to enter name servers?
Name servers are the name of the servers which your web hosting company will have. You will need to point your domain name to these 'name servers' in order for your web site to be associated with your domain name.
I will cover domain hosting in the next section.