Web Host - Domain Information

A domain name defines the base address of your web site(s). Most often a web site's main page is located at the domain name, as is the case with our site, Tizag.com. This is what people first see when they visit your site, and it is what they have to remember if they wish to return. Taking these facts into consideration, it is obvious why you should take great care in choosing a domain.

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Choosing a Domain

The domain name for a web site should be permanent and easy to remember. If a web site was changing its domain name every year, how would its visitors find it when it moved? Also, it is not easy for a visitor to remember a domain name that is not easily spoken outloud, such as www.saf4azk.com. There are a few important items to consider when choosing a domain name:

Use existing words - If possible use a combination of english words for your domain name, like squirrels-are-great.com, but try to keep the total domain from becoming too long. Make up a unique name - If you create a unique name like Lycos or Tizag, you will have a greater chance of getting a shorter domain name. Domain Extensions or Types - There are many domain suffixes to choose from for a given name, i.e. .com, .net, .org, .nu, .us, etc. We will talk more about the domain endings later.

An excellent web site to register your domain at is Go Daddy. There you will be able to search for available domain names, as well as register them for a reasonable price.

Domain Types

After you have chosen a name, there are many different types of extensions to choose from. Say you chose "mysite" as your name, you then have the option of registering mysite.com, mysite.net, mysite.org, mysite.us, mysite.biz, mysite.cc, and many more lesser known extensions. Below is a referrence of the correct usage of certain extensions, however people tend to follow these guidelines less and less with each passing year.

.com - Stands for company/commercial, but it can pretty much be used for any web site. .net - Stands for network and is usually used for a network of sites. .org - Stands for organization and is supposed to be for non-profit entities. .us, .nu, .co.uk, - Are country specific domain extensions that may require the register to be a citizen of the given country. .biz, .info - These and other like them are domain types that have been added because there are barely any short and intelligible domain addresses left to register.

If you are trying to decide the right type for you, just follow this rule of thumb: In the United States try to get a .com or .net. In other countries, if you cannot get the .com, then using your country's domain extension is a viable solution.

Registering a Domain

If you would like to register your domain, head over to Go Daddy or search google for a domain registrar. In the past some domain registering services would charge as much as $35 a year, like register.com, but competition from other firms has driven down prices to around $8-$15. These prices make it much easier and cheaper for companies and individuals to secure all domain extensions that include their name.

Buying Existing & Expired Domain

Sometimes it is not easy to come up with a domain name and it may be easier to just buy an existing domain from a willing seller. The value of a domain name can vary greatly and if you expect to pay more than $50 for a domain, we suggest spending some time researching the actual worth of the domain to see how lucrative the purchase really is. A good starting place for buying and selling names is Domain Name Forums.

A cheaper, yet harder way to get a decent domain name, is to check out the list of expired domain names. These are domains that people have registered more than a year ago and had opted out of renewing their ownership. What does this mean to you? Well it means these domains are now available to the public and you can head over to DotDNR (choose Expired Domains) to begin your search of this potential gold mine.

DNS Information

DNS stands for Domain Name System. When someone types in your domain name, www.example.com, your browser will ask the Domain Name System to find the IP that hosts your site. After you have registered a domain name you will have to input the IP address for your server before your domain name will function properly. Many domain registrars will ask you for the IP during registration, while others will require you go in and manually enter the information after they have been paid.

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