Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Domain Name Services
By Stu Pearson
There are a number of different domain name registration cost and services out there that you can consider when registering the name for your website or websites. Some services are included in registration costs while others are usually included only when additional fees are paid. In order to totally understand what you are getting from a domain name registrar, it is important that you understand the different domain name registration cost and services and what the function of each one really is. By doing that you will find that you can better decide which registration services is best for you and where you can get the best value for the services you receive.
The most common of the different domain name registration cost and services are included in the initial domain name. For most companies, simple domain name registration will cost you less than $10, but will also generally include a number of other services. With most domain registrations, your fee will get you some basic services.
First of all, you will usually get email forwarding addresses that go with the domain you register. These are email addresses that, when used, will direct mail to an existing email address you are already using. That way, you can begin using and advertising your domain name even before you have established an actual site.
Another of the many different domain name registration cost and services is some sort of web-based service account. This is so you can manage and keep track of domain names you have registered. Your contact information as well as domain time left is often included and the service account allows you access 24 hours a day if your contact information changes and you want to be able to sell the domain name.
There are though other domain name registration cost and services that are add-ons. For instance, most companies will charge you a fee to get a catch-all email service. This means that when people send an email to your domain, no matter what the prefix, it will get caught. That way you never miss messages because of a customer miskeying or misunderstanding an email address.
Another of the domain name registration cost and services that may be added on in many cases is domain parking page. For a few bucks, some companies will put up a “park” page where your domain is. That way when someone goes there before you have set up an actual page, they will know that a page is going there and who it is from. Your contact information my be displayed so that potential buyers or customers can get in touch with you through your domain, even if you don’t have a site yet.
There are a number of different domain name registration cost and services available out there. Some are free with your domain name registration, and there are a number of other features that may be added for additional costs. If you build a relationship with a company, sometimes you can get features for free, so that is something you should consider. When shopping for your domain name registrar, you should always shop around to see which features you can get for free versus what you will pay for so that you end up with the service that best fits you.
About the Author: Stu Pearson has an interest in Technology related topics. To access more information on domain name registration or on cheap domain name registration, please click on the links.
Source: www.isnare.com
Monday, November 12, 2007
Internet Domain Registration - Establishing and Transferring Your Domain Name
If you’re in business, one of the most important things to you may be your ability to establish an internet presence. Operating some type of functional web site for your business helps your customers find you, can present additional marketing opportunities through e-commerce, and offers advertising opportunities that you can not get elsewhere. Companies that do not have a web site lose business to companies that do all the time.
Of course the real key to your web site is the internet domain registration. Everybody wants www.mybusiness.com – the problem is that domain names are unique and can be taken by anyone. If you don’t register your desired domain name right away, someone else could take it. The fact is that internet domain registration can turn into a sneaky competitive game. In many cases business owners have gone to register a domain name and found that it had been registered years before they every started the company by some group that is in the business of registering domains and then turning around and selling them for exorbitant rates.
A humorous story came from the 2005 municipal election in North Las Vegas, Nevada when one candidate realized that the incumbent mayor had not registered an internet domain name. The incumbent registered the mayor’s name dot com and as many variants of it that he could come up with, literally stealing the Mayor’s plans for a web site out from under him. The tactic didn’t win him the election, but the candidate managed to annoy the mayor quite a bit and still owns the internet domain registration names to this day.
The key to avoiding these sorts of problems lies in early registration of your desired domain name. If you find the one that you want (or a close variant of it), register it immediately. Even if you’re not prepared to set up a web site yet or won’t be for several years, register the domain right away anyway.
Registering a domain name before being ready to set up its web site will require the domain name being transferred to the servers of your desired host when you are ready to establish the site. Transferring the domain name once you have selected a web host is a very simple process, but does require you to establish the change with both the registration company and the new host. The new host will provide you with the server information that you, in turn, will need to provide to the company with whom you originally registered the domain. There may be a short waiting period (typically 24 to 72 hours) while both servers get the information updated. Once that process is complete, you’ll have your domain safely residing on your host’s servers and your site (as long as it’s been built) will be ready to go.
The internet domain registration and transfer for your business web site is a simple process and can be completed through automated online systems in most cases. Clearly the most important part of this process is the registration of the domain name and this should always be done as soon as possible, even if it is going to be years before you’re ready to get the actual web site up and running.
John Michaels is a freelance author for WebHostPacks.com where he regularly publishes articles on how to find a cheap web host and reviews of low cost web hosting services.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Michaels
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Domain name choice.
Booking a domain name and getting a website going is quite cheap and easy today. However, what people often neglect to consider is that the domain name is not just a web address but actually a part of the brand identity of a business. You cannot simply pick up any name that sounds good and go with it. You need to think in terms of brand image and how to help that image grow before settling on domain name.
A brand is more than just a name. A brand identifies your business and lets the world know who you are, what you do, what you represent, what you stand for, and so on. It is essentially a small communication that speaks a lot so it is important to pick the right domain name. The key thing is for a brand to be memorable. The easier it is to remember and associate with certain things the better it will work. This is why brand names do not use articles like "The" or "A" and avoid hyphenation. They are single words that are easy to remember.
The .com extension is desired universally but you should seriously consider other examples. For example, if your business is such that never at any time will you have a customer outside the United States then why not consider a .us domain instead of .com?
Think of the customers who will need to remember the domain name more than what you like and you will make a better choice.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raymond_Nesa
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Saturday, November 10, 2007
Whats in a domain name.
Choosing a domain name can be a real exercise in frustration, but it is one of the most important decisions you will make when getting your business online.
Why so difficult you ask? Well, for a start, almost every word in the English language (and I'm willing to bet most other languages too), has been taken in the most common domains. If you make widgets, you'll almost certainly find that 'widget.com' was purchased already back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the web.
To make matters worse, there are so many businesses out there with the same acronym as your business', it's likely that yours is gone too by now. Unless you are IBM, and can spend big money to either pay premium dollar for your domain, or sue for the rights to it, you're out of luck there too.
So what does that leave you with? Your full business name is a good start, however with hundreds of thousands of businesses operating around the globe, you may very well even find that problematic.
So how can you get your foot in the proverbial cyber-door? Here are some tips I have personally found helpful in the past:
- Start with your business name. If you're lucky, it might actually still be available. If so, buy it now for every country you will be likely ever operate in. There's nothing worse than preparing to expand into a new market, only to find that you have to operate under a completely different domain name in that country.
- Try some of the newer top-level domains. If you are a television studio, for example, you could register 'MyTVShow.tv' for your next series. Originally, there were seven top level domains, namely .com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, and .org. Over time, however, more have been created. Aside from the country-specific domains, you might want to consider .aero, .biz, .coop, .info, .int, .jobs, .museum, .name, .pro and .travel if any of these support your business objectives.
- Create a new word and market it well enough to build brand identity. This is a more expensive choice, because it takes a while for people to start to remember your name. That said, once they do, they'll associate your business with a unique identity. It worked for Google, so why not for you?
- Try word combinations. These too are notoriously difficult to find unowned, but if you are a widget maker, and 'widget-makers.com' is available, perhaps you are in luck.
Of course, as with many things, it is often prudent to consult the experts. If your site is being developed by a professional web development business, they should be in a position to advise you from experience what pitfalls to avoid, and how to best market your business for maximum exposure on the internet.
David Malan is an internet and e-commerce expert with over ten years experience in designing and developing enterprise grade online solutions for business.
He owns and runs RealmSurfer Consulting, based in Perth, Western Australia.
Website: Web Design Perth About: About RealmSurfer Web Design Perth
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Malan
Friday, November 9, 2007
Available Domain Names
Domain names are site names that provide rememberable names to stand in for numeric IP addresses. Before getting a web site on line you need to have a domain name. These are the familiar web addresses such as yahoo.com that most browsers use to find a particular web site. Domain names, in fact, are pointers to a particular IP address and we use them because they are easier to remember than a series of numbers. The Domain Name System (DNS) is a system that stores information associated with domain names in a distributed database on networks, such as the Internet. The DNS is what makes it possible to attach hard-to-remember IP addresses (such as 193.456.28.8.) to easy-to-remember domain names (such as "www.web-hosting-guide.org")
All websites have an IP address in the form 193.456.28.8. The domain name system translates these numbers into names such as google.com. All domain names are registered in a central registry maintained by InterNIC, a subsidiary of ICANN - the organization which certifies domain name registrars. Domain names are filtered through Domain Name Servers (DNS) which link IP addresses with domain names. Each web site usually has a primary and a secondary DNS – duplicates that increase reliability.
The first step in registering a domain name is to choose it. The name can be almost anything you want, but to be most effective it should reflect the nature of your website. If you are selling scented candles, for example, it helps to have a domain name that has some reference to candles – scented-candles.org.uk for example.
The rules for domain names are simple – only letters, numbers or hyphens are allowed. Other than that, a domain name is limited to 70 characters, but you are advised to keep it as short as possible. Domain names can be upper or lower case – case is ignored by DNS but you can use a combination to make the name more recognizable. Since DNS is case-insensitive, yahoo.com can be advertised as YAHOO.COM.
Every domain name ends in a top-level domain (TLD) name, which is always either one of a small list of generic names (three or more characters), or a two characters territory code. There are several extensions available. The most common is .com - it has even entered common vocabulary as a way to express Internet activity – (I own a dot com business). Other extensions include .biz (for commercial sites), .org (for non-commercial organisations), .net (for organisations involved in Internet infrastructure) and .name (for personal names). There are also extensions with more specialized uses such as .museum, .aero, and .coop and are used exclusively by members of certain organizations. In addition to these common extensions, there can also be a country code extension such as .us (United States) or .uk (United Kingdom). The rules for using country extensions vary, so you need to check with your registrar to see if they are available to you.
All domains must be registered with a registrar that has been certified by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). There are hundreds of registrars and their prices vary considerably. Although registrars are closely regulated, they are permitted to offer their services through third parties; so many web hosts offer a domain name registration service even if they are not a registrar. The price of a domain name will usually be higher when dealing with these third-party services.
Domain names are usually registered for a minimum of one year, although you are permitted to buy up to a 10-year registration contract. Usually the longer the registration contract, the lower the price, so if you are sure you will be on the web for a considerable length of time you can benefit from a longer registration period. Most registrars also offer a discount on bulk purchases. If you own a number of domain names you can save money by transferring them all to the same registrar.
About The Author:
Copyright © 2005 Benjamin Chapi. Visit the Web Hosting Guide http://www.web-hosting-guide.org/ for more information about domain names. To find out what your prospects are looking for before you set up a website go to: http://www.uniquekeywords.com/
Shar
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Which domain name should I register?
Which domain name should I register?
By Tom
If you are looking for a domain name for a website, or if you want to invest in domain names, it can be difficult to figure out what to register. There are so many domain name extensions.What is a domain name extension? A domain extension, or tld (top level domain), is the final part of a domain name, the part that comes after the dot on the right. Examples of common domain name extensions are .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz. These are also called gtlds (generic top level domains). So, for example, with the domain name some name.com, some name is the name and .com is the domain extension (tld).
There are also country code top level domain extensions(cctlds). Some examples of these are .us (USA), .cn (China), .in(India), .de (Germany), and .co.uk (UK). .TV (Tuvala) is also a country code extension but it is often sold as a general tld.
The most common and well known tld is .com. .Com was the first extension to be used extensively by businesses online. It is considered by many to be the king of all tlds because of how recognizable it is, the clout it's use offers and because it is the extension most likely to be typed-in (people will actually type the .com domain name in their browsers to go directly to the site even if they are not familiar with an actual site that may be there - this is free traffic in a sense). This can occur because people may assume all sites end in .com or that .com somehow is part of any name or it can occur due to "bleed" from other tlds - people see a name with some extension and when they go to look for it or type it in, they put .com instead. For many, .com truly is the internet.
..Net has generally seen less use than .com, but many still consider it to be the second most valuable extension. Many isps do use it. .Org is used by many non profits, various organizations and government related sites. Considered by some to be the second or third most valuable tld, in terms of recognition and resale price level. .Com, .net and .org are the original general use internet tlds. They are sometimes collectively referred to as CNO. They have been with us since the mid/late 80's.
New tlds were released starting in late 2001 with .info. This was soon followed by .biz. .Info, like the previously discussed tlds, is a general use tld that can be registered by anyone without restrictions. It is considered by many to hold great promise (in terms of it gaining recognition with internet users), because of the concept that it represents, information,which is a big part of the reason the internet exists, as a medium to transmit and retrieve information. It has seen some early success in terms of use and resales. A domain name resale is a domain sale by a registrant usually for much more than the registration fee.
..Biz was created with the goal of having an extension explicitly for business. It has the restriction that it only be used for bonafide business purposes. Some people are less enthusiastic about .biz, feeling it is slangy, while others feel it will do well in time because of its specific designation as the business tld. It is seeing growing use and even some good resales.
CCTLDS were recently made available at the second level with three major countries - the USA, China and India (.us, .cn and..in). These were all previously heavily restricted or only available at the third level. Of these, .US does require us citizenship or a presence in the us for registrants. Many feel these extensions will do very well in time because of their identification with the country they represent. One cctld, .de,has been extremely successful, with registrations rivaling .com and seeing some very high priced resales. Some feel these other cctlds could also do well in time.
Which domain extension should you choose and register? Most would recommend .com, and if it is available in the name you want, .com should be the tld you get. If the name that you want is not available in .com, then you may want to consider the other extensions such as .info, .biz or one of the cc ttlds. Some feel that other extensions in time will develop .com-like recognition and be typed-in and be well known as they areadvertised by businesses that start to use them. Others feel that this is unlikely to happen to any great extent due to the strength of the .com brand. In any event, it is a good idea to register the .com (if available) even if you want the new tld name (and it is available) because some people may make a mistake and go to the .com (as previously discussed). If you register the .com, you prevent someone from registering it and profiting from this traffic.
As far as the actual name goes, it may be good idea to get a name that describes your business in the shortest way. It ideally should contain a keyword related to your business. This way it may be easier for people to remember your site.
In addition to registering new domain names, you can also register expired domains using a domain drop catching service or you may be able to buy a domain name from a registrant through a domain name broker service, if not directly.
Article Source: www.Articles Base.com
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Why register a domain name.
Why Register a Domain Name?
In today's business world, a domain name and a web presence are a must. All major businesses have domain names. The Web is now a part of everyday commercial life and your domain name is your identity on the Internet. A business web site without a domain name is difficult to find and looks unprofessional.
The Web is where people and customers around the world find information about you, your products and your services - 24 hours a day. Here online buyers, suppliers and partners come together. Securing a domain name ensures that your company name or product names are on the Internet.
For the amount domain name registration companies charge, it's a small price to pay for increased credibility in the eyes of potential customers.
Several thousand new domain names a day are registered. However, with a little creative thinking, you can still find a strong domain name that reflects your business or specific interest. Of course, the longer you put off registering a name, the more limited your choices become.
Equal Access
On the Web, everyone has access to a first-rate location to set up a business. No matter how small you are, a good domain name can put your business on equal footing with multimillion-dollar sites such as Yahoo! and IBM. Therein lies the beauty of the Web: nobody knows if your site is run by a large team out of a downtown high-rise or by you from your garage.
If your site is a hobby or personal homepage, you can still benefit from a domain name. Your site will be easier to find, and more importantly, friends and relatives will remember it.
Domain names give you a higher profile on the Web
Domain names that include common keywords can improve a site's ranking in search results returned by major search engines. Many large search directories will not list a site that does not have its own domain name. As well, domain names are easy to remember and customers may not have to search at all to find you.
Easy to Locate
And let's face it, www.widgets.com is much easier to remember and locate than http://isp/users/widgets/index.html/.
Domain names are portable
Having a domain name means you can change web hosting services without losing customers. Your new web hosting service will point people to the same web site. This way, you can to change hosting services to find a better deal, or receive better service without losing viewers or breaking links. Without a domain name, your web site name (URL) changes each time you move, which is confusing to customers.
Shaun Cronrath is the President & CEO of DomainPurpose.com, a domain name registration company offering all the major domain extensions --.com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .name, .ca, .us, .cn, .eu, .de, .pro and more. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shaun_Cronrath |