What is a Domain Name?
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is the unique web “address” of your Website or Blog.
A Domain Name is the identification label attached to a specific URL.
For instance, the domain name for our website is: www.studiologiconline.com. When you enter this addresses into your browser, you will land directly at our website.
How do you select and register a domain name?
Just as you took your time to figure out a name for your business, you should carefully consider the domain name for your Blog and Website.
You could work with a web consultant to help you choose a domain name, but you can also do it yourself – with the help of family and friends.
Getting others involved with helping you choose your domain can be a lot of fun – and you’ll likely end up with a domain name you love.
What’s In A Name?
Selecting a name that is related to your business, and that is also easy to spell goes a long way on the Internet. The problem, of course, is that so many of the best names are already taken – and are not available for you to use.
Let’s say that your business name is The Widget Shop. The easiest thing to do would be to take the name of the business and buy the dotcom version of it.
But that name may already be taken.
So it may be necessary for you to experiment with other similar names.
As the owner of The Widget Shop, you could choose WidgetstRUs.com or WidgetsOnly.com or JustWidgets.com.
Just sit down and make a list of domain names you like – at least 10 or more to begin with. Why so many?
Because thousands and thousands of domain names are registered every day, and the name you want may not be available for registration!
The important thing is: try to make it a dotcom (.com). Dotcoms are the most popular and recognizable domain extensions on Earth.
Domain Name Wish List In Hand – Now What?
Once you have a list of domain names you like, it’s time to register one of them at the site of a Domain Name Registrar.
There are lots of accredited Domain Name Registrars to choose from – but you’ll only need one. The registrars we use and recommend are NameCheap and GoDaddy.
Visit the registrar’s website and look for the “search domain” box. Be sure to have your credit card ready to make your purchase.
Enter the first domain name you would like to register into the box, and you will find out whether or not that domain name is available. If it is available, proceed to the checkout page and pay for your registration.
(A domain name should cost you around $10 for 1 year of registration).
If the name you want is not available, you’ll have to keep entering names into the search box until you find an available one.
Just keep in mind that there are still plenty of great domain names still available.
Have fun – get creative, and snag the perfect Domain Name!