Domain Name UpdatesSome of the most common questions we get relate to the topic of domains. The two main questions are "What is a domain?" and "Why do I need a domain for my website?". We'll discuss these questions and then raise a few more for you to think about as you get your website together. Letters vs. Numbers Every computer that is connected to the Internet has an IP address assigned to it consisting of four sets of numbers separated by dots. IP stands for "Internet Protocol". The IP address for The Web For Business.com is 205.178.149.25. Domain names were invented to make it easier to identify and remember the addresses of websites. There are several major "top level" domains. .COM, .NET and .ORG are the major North American domain names. .COM is associated with commercial websites and is the one that you want if you are in business. A "domain name" refers to the combination of a word or phrase plus the .com i.e. thewebforbusiness.com, flower.com etc. There can be only one... Only one company can use any particular domain name. Domains are registered on a first-come-first-served basis, so once you find one that you like that is available, you should try to register it as soon as possible. Why should you get a domain anyway? Well, if you want people to remember your website's address, a domain will make it easier. For example, which is easier to remember? www.vaxxine.com/freddyjones or www.freddyjones.com www3.sympatico.ca/~checkmatebooks or www.checkmatebooks.com You get the picture. Domains are much easier to remember than the full URL of a website hosted on an Internet Service Provider's account. Sound vs. Spelling When you think about a potential domain name for your business, consider how it sounds and how it is spelled. The domain name for Vaxxine Computer Systems (a Niagara-Region ISP) is www.vaxxine.com. It's their name, so that makes sense, right? But, if you were getting vaccinated (see where I'm heading?), you would get a vaccine. Do you see how this could cause some confusion? Similar situations arise when people choose to use "cool" spellings for common words like "graphics". Phonetically, this could be spelled "graphix", "graphiks", "grafix" and so on. A customer asked us to look up a graphic design company which used one of these "cool" spellings for graphics. We couldn't find them until we saw the actual spelling of their domain name. If your domain name exists to make finding your site easier, then make it intuitive to spell as well. Some other ideas for choosing a domain name:
Longer and Longer... There is a big buzz in the domain name registration business now as the registration process, once controlled by Network Solutions, is now open to a new group of accredited domain name registrars. The new competition has some interesting benefits. Now, you can get domain names registered for as little as $15 U.S. per year, compared to $35 U.S. per year at Network Solutions. Another bonus is that domain names can now be 67 characters long. This includes the .com ending, so you are really limited to 63 and 22 characters respectively. To check if your domain name has been taken, you used to be able to go to Network Solutions and check their database. Because of the multitude of registrars, there are now multiple databases of domain names that have been registered. To check all of the databases at once, visit www.betterwhois.com. You can register your domain with any number of accredited domain name registrars, and a full list is available at www.betterwhois.com. Your domain name is your identity on the Internet. With a little creativity, you can get a good name that relates to your product or service that your customers will remember. Just remember: www.the-early-bird-gets-the-worm.com! Internet
Marketing | Website
Development | Web
Hosting | Portfolio Contact The Web For Business.com at the following co-ordinates: 4 Conroy
Crescent, Thorold, Ontario L2V 4R3
|
Stay Updated!We periodically write informative articles and collect them together into a newsletter. About every quarter this mailing goes out to subscribers. We'd like it if you subscribed. There's no obligation, we don't share your information with other people and every e-mail has information on how to unsubscribe. |
 |
 |
