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From Registering A Domain To Getting It Online
(part 1)
Before getting a web site on line you need to have a domain name. These
are the familiar web addresses such as mywebsite.com that most browsers use
to find a particular web site. Domain names, in fact, are pointers to a
particular IP address and we use them because they are easier to remember
than a series of numbers.
All websites have an IP address in the form 123.456.78.9. The domain name
system translates these numbers into names such as mywebsite.com. All domain
names are registered in a central registry maintained by InterNIC, a
subsidiary of ICANN -- the organization which certifies domain name
registrars. Domain names are filtered through Domain Name Servers (DNS)
which link IP addresses with domain names. Each web site usually has a
primary and a secondary DNS – duplicates that increase reliability.
The first step in registering a domain name is to choose it. The name can be
almost anything you want, but to be most effective it should reflect the
nature of your website. If you are selling watches, for example, it helps to
have a domain name that has some reference to watches – A1-Watches.com for
example.
The rules for domain names are simple – only letters, numbers or hyphens are
allowed. Other than that, a domain name is limited to 70 characters, but you
are advised to keep it as short as possible. Domain names can be upper or
lower case – case is ignored by DNS but you can use a combination to make
the name more recognizable. ODDSource.com is
easier to read than oddsource.com, but both are
identical to the DNS.
There are several extensions available. The most common is .com -- it has
even entered common vocabulary as a way to express Internet activity – (I
own a dot com business). Other extensions include .biz (for commercial
sites), .org (for non-commercial organisations), .net (for organisations
involved in Internet infrastructure) and .name (for personal names). There
are also extensions with more specialized uses such as .museum, .aero, and
.coop and are used exclusively by members of certain organizations. In
addition to these common extensions, there can also be a country code
extension such as .us (United States) or .de (Germany). The rules for using
country extensions vary, so you need to check with your registrar to see if
they are available to you.
All domains must be registered with a registrar that has been certified by
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). There are
hundreds of registrars and their prices vary considerably. The full list of
registrars is available at the
InterNIC website. Although registrars are closely regulated, they are
permitted to offer their services through third parties, so many web hosts
offer a domain name registration service even if they are not a registrar.
The price of a domain name will usually be higher when dealing with these
third-party services.
Domain names are usually registered for a minimum of one year, although you
are permitted to buy up to a 10-year registration contract. Usually the
longer the registration contract, the lower the price, so if you are sure
you will be on the web for a considerable length of time you can benefit
from a longer registration period. Most registrars also offer a discount on
bulk purchases. If you own a number of domain names you can save money by
transferring them all to the same registrar.
Part Two: Registering
Domains
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