Domain registration: how to register a new domain name for your website
Domain names are site names that provide easy-to-remember names to replace numeric IP addresses. Before you can put a website online, you must have a domain name. These are the familiar web addresses, like yahoo.com, that most browsers use to find a particular website. Domain names are actually pointers to a particular IP address and we use them because they are easier to remember than a series of numbers. Domain Name System (DNS) is a system that stores information associated with domain names in a distributed database on networks, such as the Internet. DNS is what makes it possible to attach hard-to-remember IP addresses (like 193.456.28.8.) to easy-to-remember domain names (like “web-hosting-guide.org”).
All websites have an IP address in the form 193.456.28.8. The domain name system translates these numbers into names like google.com. All domain names are registered in a central registry maintained by InterNIC, a subsidiary of ICANN, the organization that certifies domain name registrars. Domain names are filtered through Domain Name Servers (DNS) that link IP addresses to domain names. Every website usually has a primary and secondary DNS, duplicates which increase reliability.
The first step in registering a domain name is choosing it. The name can be almost anything you want, but to be most effective it should reflect the nature of your website. If you sell scented candles, for example, it’s useful to have a domain name that has some reference to candles: scented-candles.org.uk, 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 it is recommended to keep it as short as possible. Domain names can be in upper or lower case; DNS ignores case, but you can use a combination to make the name more recognizable. Because DNS is not case sensitive, yahoo.com can advertise as YAHOO.COM.
Each domain name ends in a top-level domain name (TLD), which is always one of a short list of generic names (three or more characters) or a two-character territory code. There are several extensions available. The most common is .com – it has even entered the common vocabulary as a way of expressing activity on the Internet – (I own a dot com business). Other extensions include .biz (for commercial sites), .org (for non-commercial organizations), .net (for organizations involved in the 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 may also be a country code extension such as .us (United States) or .uk (United Kingdom). The rules for using country extensions vary, so you should 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. Although registrars are strictly regulated, they are allowed 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 is usually higher when it comes to these third party services.
Domain names are generally registered for a minimum of one year, although you are allowed to purchase a registration contract for up to 10 years. Generally, the longer the registration contract, the lower the price, so if you are sure that you will be on the web for a considerable period of time, you may benefit from a longer registration period. Most registrars also offer a discount on bulk purchases. If you own multiple domain names, you can save money by transferring them all to the same registrar.
