Domains - A guide to registering one - Part 1
A word of warning before I start this guide
A lot of hosting companies will offer you a
cheap domain with any web hosting account you subscribe to. In
fact some of these offers are very tempting and can lower the
cost of domain ownership.
However, I really cannot recommend that you take this option.
For one the domain is usually registered in
the name of the web host with promises that it will be
transferred into your name in the future - this doesn't always
happen.
Other hosts hold your domain hostage when it
comes to moving away from them. As the domain is in their name
they may not let you move it, other companies will charge you a
transfer fee and these can be hefty - negating any saving you
made in the first place.
For that reason I would recommend that you
register your domain with a company that puts the domain in your
name, gives you full control over the domain and does not
attempt to charge you a fee should you ever want to move it.
With all those features in mind I would recommend
one of the following two registration companies:
 UK
Based company, I use them for all my own domains
 US
Based company
Now what these companies give you is a domain
name in your own name, full control over the domain so you can
host with any company you like, free e-mail forwarding and no
hidden costs.
There are other companies out there but I would
recommend you take a look at one of these two, I personally
vouch for the first one.
Register for a free holding account
Once you've chosen your domain registration
company pop along to their site and register for a free account.
Once you've got an account you can just log-in in the future and
register any more domain names you fancy with very little
hassle.
Registering for an account costs you nothing,
however once you've decided on your domain name you can simply
login and register the domain before somebody else has the
chance to take it.
Remember domain names are sold on a "first come
first served" basis and imagine how annoyed you would be if
after finding your domain name somebody else registered it while
you were creating a new account with one of the above companies!
Finding your domain name
All of the best domain names have gone!
This isn't actually far off the mark, the very
best domain names were taken many years ago and they would cost
you a lot of money to get your hands on them.
You are unfortunately probably going to have to
settle for "second best" but that doesn't mean there aren't some
catchy names still available.
Domains have various "tails" or "extensions"
with some being more desirable than others.
.com - US Commercial, now accepted as the de
facto domain extension
.net - If the .com has gone the .net can make a
great alternative
.co.uk - For all you UK people, a great extension
to get
.me.uk - Specially created for personal sites,
more names are available with this extension
.org - The last of the "big three" not as
desirable as .com or .net but still nice
Eventually I will have a way of you checking
to see if the name you fancy has already been taken or not here
on this site.
However until I've done this I've found a great
little checker webpage that will allow you to type in a name and
then have multiple extensions checked in one go.
This checker can be found here:
http://www.titanhosts.net/whois.htm
Pop along to the above link and spend some
time trying different names and words until you find something
you are happy with.
The "very best" domains may already be gone
but that doesn't mean there aren't some good names still to be
taken. A domain that one person sees as worthless could be the
perfect domain for another person.
The Registration Process
During the registration process for your
domain you will be asked for a lot of personal details.
Name, address, phone number, e-mail address
What is also a little bit scary is that all of
this information is viewable by the public through the WHOIS
database.
The exception to this rule is co.uk & me.uk
domains as Nominet the company
who administers these extensions allows you to opt-out of the
public WHOIS database, although your name will still be visible.
It is part of the "Terms & Conditions" of
domain registration that correct details are given.
If a domain is found to be registered with
false details you can actually have the domain taken away from
you, it really isn't worth the risk. At best you can get away
with using a false phone number, but your name, address and a
contact e-mail address should be correct.
Go through the whole process, enter your
credit/debit card details for payment and that is it, job done.
It will take anywhere from 24hrs - 48hrs for
your domain to become active and useable.
Guide Part 1,
2, 3
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