What is a domain?

Domains are just like your house address, it indicates were you live on the Internet, a translation of the IP address to the computer hosting your website. We won’t get into the technical side of it all, but there are a few things you should know about your existing domain, or if your planning on purchasing one.

What domain name should I buy?

The best practice is to purchase a domain relevant to your business services or business name. Try to keep the domain short, if possible. For example, Acme Lumber should try to purchase acmelumber.com, not 123lumber.com. If its not possible, someone else has already purchased the domain, try coming up with different variations for the name. Using the Acme Lumber example, maybe go with acmelumberco.com or acmelumberllc.com. Just remember that the best domains are memorable, easy to spell and catchy.

There are a lot of domain extensions, which ones should I buy?

Obviously the most common extension is the .com, so if possible we suggest you purchase the .com and .net domains. The reason is simple, corner the market on your domain name. You may purchase any of the other popular extensions for your domain, but it’s not really necessary.

What if my domain name is already taken?

There is a quote that comes to mind, “…a day late and a dollar short.” Domains are prime real estate on the Internet and once a domain is purchased, it is gone and there isn’t much you can do about it. If you have already established a name for your company or don’t want to change the name you came up with, it really isn’t a problem. Try purchasing the domain with a different extension, a .biz for example. The important thing is that your customers know what your web address is and how to get there.

Will you purchase the domain for me?

Sure, but we prefer you purchase your own domain. The reason being, whomever purchases the domain, owns the domain. Even if you don’t choose us for your website designer, be careful who has control over your domain. It can mean the difference between clients getting to your site or not. Domains (at least the MX Entries associated with your domain) also control how your email will work with the domain, so be curtain the person in control knows their way around the domain controls.

What makes you such an authority on domains?

Well, we do administer over 200 domains, both domestically and internationally. So…

Okay then, where do I go to register my domains?

The best place, in our opinion, is GoDaddy.com. They are  the world’s largest  ICANN-accredited domain name registrar.