It’s common to confuse a domain name with web hosting. However, it’s very important for you to be clear on the difference before you move any forward in hosting your website.
Domain name explained
A domain name is the internet address of your site. Web hosting is where you place your files that make up your website. They must interface together for your website to be seen. They are set up separately, are accessed separately and can renew at different times.
What is a Domain Name?
When you register a domain, it gives you sole ownership and rights to the name of your site for a specified period of time. As long as you pay the required fees, no one else has the access to the actual name of that particular domain besides you. This is why it is essential you keep the registration info in a safe place. The information consists of user name, password and the url of the domain registrar. If you lose the info, you cannot access this domain account, ever.
How long is the registration period?
Typically, a domain names is registered for 1 or 2 years at a time. It is critical to monitor your expiration date.
How much does it cost to register?
Depending on the Registrar, between $8.00 – $25.00 per year.
How can I tell if a domain name is available?
The best way is to type the name you want in any browser address bar. If is taken, the site or a message will pop up. If it is not taken, a screen will invite you to register the name immediately. Don’t do it! Make sure you know your Registrar!
Warning! Do not use the oh so handy domain look-ups available in various places online. If it is available, by typing in a name, it can get snagged by an entity who will then try to sell it to you. That is big business in cyberspace.
How do I register a domain name?
You contract with a third party resource to handle the transaction for you called a “Registrar.” This company is authorized to issue internet domain names with ICANN. This service is then sold to consumers in the form of an annual registration fee for a particular domain name. It is important to use an accredited registrar.
You are sent the registration paperwork verifying your ownership, the time period of the registration and the log in info to your domain name. SAVE THIS INFO – IT IS VITAL.
Why do I need to access my domain name site?
Many reasons:
- To change your contact information
- To change host servers and need to redirect your domain
- To transfer ownership
- Renew registration
Can I have more than one Domain Name?
Yes. As many as you want. There will be an annual charge/renewal for every domain registered.
Can they all point to the same website?
Yes, you can have multiple domain names pointing to one website. There may be additional charges for this, depending on your host server.
How important is a domain name?
A good domain name is very important. Here are points to consider when creating a new domain name:
- If your domain name is short yet meaningful, it means it can be remembered by people at once, and will cover the targeted market as well.
- Long URLs have greater probability of getting misspelled by users.
- Long URLs if separated by [-] can resolve the issue of misspelling, and can also help search engines to index a site for the keywords in the URL.
- If your domain name contains a keyword in it, chances of getting in top pages of SERP results are much higher.
- Having your domain and company name be the same is common but not necessary.
- Hyphens or adding a city name can solve the problem of a great name that is taken. For example, I loved the name “webweaver.com,” but is was taken. Hence, the birthing of “charlestonwebweaver.com”.
