What is a domain name?

A registered domain name is what is typed in the address bar on your internet browser when you wish to visit a website, and is a name which simply points to a specific server located somewhere is the world, e.g. http://google.com or http://website-design-planet.com. There are billions of websites on the web and a domain name registrar can sell you a unique name which will enable your site to be to be found and displayed. It is very important to carefully choose a domain name for your website.

Why is owning a domain name important?

Domain names are important; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Owning your own domain name sets up your own unique identity on the internet.  You will retain ownership of the domain as long as you keep renewing the subscription.
Here is an example of what happened to me when I first started out my web design journey.

I started off by using a free web hosting company which provided me with a free unique subdomain. I.e. http://mysite.freewebs.com.  The ‘mysite’ part of the address being the subdomain part. After a while my site began to generate more and more hits and as a result I decided to expand to a reliable, add free webhost. This meant I needed to buy a new domain name and I had to begin to promote my new domain all over again. I could have saved so much time by spending as little as $5 per month.
The shorter the domain name the easier it is to remember by visitors and therefore you will get more return visitors.

If you wish to send emails which appear to be sent from the owner of the website then a domain name is also vital.
For example if I were to own the domain http://mybusiness.com then it is better to send email from the email address info@mybusiness.com, than the email info@mybusiness.geocities.com which would result from a free webhost.
Domain names do cost money, but they cost very little (less than $10 per year) and have numerous benefits.

Naming Conventions

Before you register your domain name ensure that you have researched it. This can be as simple as typing domains similar to the one you are thinking about registering into a search engine and analysing the results to ensure no close domains exist.

The size of your domain name should be as small as possible. Shorter domain names are easier to remember, harder to misspell and easier to advertise. Try use words in your domain name that fit together well. What I mean by this is that they should sound good together when read. This ensures that it will be remembered and also attracts attention (important when branding).

If you are intending to place your domain name on anything offline, such as a business card, then make sure you choose a domain name that relates to your business. Also a descriptive domain will help improve your search engine rankings, leading to greater website traffic from search engines.

Finally you need to choose a domain name which has the suffix for your country. If you live in New Zealand this would be .co.nz, Australia - .com.au, United states - .com. Search engines will generate search results with country specific result first with means you have a greater chance of ranking against overseas competition from local searchers.

Where to get a domain registered

Often webhosts will provide you with a free domain name with their hosting plan which will be discussed later in the ‘GET CONNECTED WITH A WEBHOST’ section. If you wish to purchase your domain name separately however, then I recommend using a major domain name registrar such as GoDaddy. Owning a domain name separate to your hosting plan, is recommended as it makes the process of changing from one host to another an easy process with little website down time.

Where to go from here

Step 1 - The first step as mentioned is to BRAINSTORM WEBSITE IDEAS.
Step 2 - Then you need to PICK A DOMAIN NAME which is recommended. For less than $10 the benefits of having a domain name far outweigh this initial cost.
Step 3 - Then you need to either LEARN TO HAND CODE your website or LEARN TO USE WEBDESIGN SOFTWARE to design and upload your site.
Step 4 - Now you need to GET CONNECTED WITH A WEBHOST to make your website viewable by the world.
Step 5 -Finally you need to Market and SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZE your completed website to increase the number of visitors..