Domain Name
The first step in getting a website is to reserve your domain name address. This is the address you will send everyone to view your website. It is also the name you’ll use on any email addresses that you want to use for your organization. Click the button below to visit our domain name registry and reserve your name today.
What You Need To Know About Domain Names
Domain Ownership:
You don’t actually own your domain. When you register your name, you reserve it for a certain number of years, one to ten.
Your domain name should be registered by the owner of the company or major stakeholder. If someone else registered your domain, make sure they put all of the information into this person’s name. Also, make sure you (the owner) have your own account for your domain name instead of listed under someone else’s account (usually the web developer or web design company).
If you opt for a free domain as a promotional opportunity, make sure you have complete control of the domain and know exactly how to access your domain account.
There are several major domain name registries:
I am a Godaddy Reseller. I have my own registration site – www.marketingpie.com
Domain Name Choice:
The major TLD’s (Top Level Domains):
.com (commercial)
.net (network resource)
.org (non-profit organization)
.gov (government)
.edu (education)
When you visit www.marketingpie.com, you will see a place to type in some names you are thinking about. The system will tell you whether that name is taken and offer substitutes that are available. You can try as many different options as you want before you register your final choice. You can register as many names as you want.
Additional Domain Name Choice:
There are a lot of different options for your TLD beyond the major ones listed above. If you find your name is “taken”. You may decide one of these options will work for you. Keep in mind, these TLDs are not as well known and can cause confusion for those not familiar with the wide variety available. They may automatically refer to a .com unless you specify the name clearly.
- .co
- .info
- .online
- .us
- .club
- .biz
- .live
- .site
- .store
- .pro
- .shop
- .show
- .website
- .app
- .space
- .io
- .cloud
- .blog
- .today
- .tech
- .tv
- .services
- .mobi
- .properties
- .consulting
- .solutions
Get creative, but not too creative.
Remember, this is your online address. Just like a street address, you want to make it super easy to find you.
- Memorable
- Easy to spell
- Clearly represent your business
- As short as possible without losing clarity
- Avoid initials unless this is part of how you communicate your business name.
- Be unique, but stay within your brand message.
- Avoid industry terms unless that would be appealing to your audience.
- Think of words your target audience would you use to find you.
- Don’t be too generic if your name choice will get lost in the searches.
- Try searching for particular domains and see what comes up under search results.
- Avoid names too close to your competition.
Registering Your Domain
Now that you’ve decided on a domain name it’s time to register it. You can register your domain for one to ten years. The average registration fee is about $15.00 per year. You will receive reminders close to the renewal dates to renew for longer. Make sure you always have a current credit card on file and access to the email associated with your domain account so you don’t miss your renewal notice and let your domain registration expire. It’s a good practice to register for the full 10 years or at least 5 and then set a reminder on your calendar a few months before the renewal date to update everything.
You can add several things to your domain that are optional. Privacy is one of the standard add-ons. What privacy does is blocks your personal information from being public. So if someone wanted to see who owns your domain, they would see proxy information instead of yours. This is purely optional.
Once Your Domain Is Registered
You’ve registered your domain, what now? If you have a website project in the works, give your webmaster access to your domain account so they can make the necessary updates to the domain’s DNS settings that point the domain to the correct IP address. That’s code talk for “make your site live”. Computers do not talk to each other in domain names. They use codes and numbers like a GPS coordinate to find where your website is on the Internet. In order to connect your domain name and the hosting servers that have all your website graphics and content, your web developer has to reset some background numbers.
Do You Want An Email Address Using Your Domain Name?
Your email options are determined by whom you used as your domain registry. With marketingpie.com – you are given a certain number of “forwarding” addresses for free and given the option for different types of email accounts based on use, quantity, features, and price.
Forwarding Address: This is an alias email address using the domain that automatically forwards all emails received by the alias to another established address. You can receive emails from this address but you cannot send emails from this address.
Professional Email Accounts: This option is one available through www.marketingpie.com
Subdomains:
Your domain can be used not only for your main website but also for sub-sites. This can an online store, affiliates, or specialty sites that need to be designed apart from your main site. A subdomain looks like this – store.yourdomain.com. Instead of the www. the subdomain redirects to another site but still used the main domain for branding and identification.