How to purchase a Domain Name

A domain name is a key part to your website or blog, but some people can feel daunted by the process of purchasing a domain. This guide has been written to provide help with the various steps involved when purchasing a domain name.

Idea generation

The first step to purchase a domain name is to work out which words will be used to make up the domain. This can sometimes require a bit of imagination to get a catchy and relevant name. Often people will choose either a business name (e.g. Microsoft.com; Google.com) or a personal name (e.g. davidbeckham.com; britneyspears.com). For sites that are more generic it can be useful to use key words that are searched for regularly on the search engines. For example if you are running a music site, then Music.com would be a good domain to use.

Sometimes it can be hard to find the right domain name as so many have already been registered. If you are struggling for ideas it can be useful to use a domain generator tool. This allows you to enter in key words which will be used to generate a list of relevant domain names. (Click here for a list of Domain Tool providers)

Checking the availability of a domain name

Once you have an idea of the domain name that you wish to register you will need to find a domain registrar (Click here for a list of Domain Registrars). Domain registrars will have an option to check the availability of a domain name.

At this point you need to decide what extension you are going to use for your domain name. There are many different domain name extensions which can be chosen depending on your needs for the domain and your target market. The most popular domain name extensions are known as Top Level Domains (TLD), the following list shows some of the TLD’s:

• .COM - currently available to all
• .NET - currently available to all
• .ORG - currently available to all
• .INFO - currently available to all
• .BIZ - currently available to all
• .GOV - reserved for government institutions
• .EDU - reserved for educational institutions

(Please note this list does not include all TLD’s)

Other domain extensions are available and are often popular when the TLD has already been taken for the desired domain name. Some extensions are also country specific (e.g .co.uk) and can be useful when a company wants to target a particular country.

Purchasing a domain name

Once you have found the perfect domain and extension, and have checked it is free to register, you will need to purchase the domain. This will process will vary depending on the company you choose to use for your domain registration. You will be required to give the details of the user that is purchasing the domain and any company information where appropriate. Once this has been entered you will then have the option to release you address information to the WHOIS database. The WHOIS database provides a free resource for people to check the information about the registry status and contact information of the domain name holder.

How to use your new domain name

Once you have purchased your domain, many providers will offer a control panel where you can change any details about the domain. This is also where you will be able to park the domain or allocate it to a website or a blog.