Buying Domain Names

There are hundreds of places to buy a domain name from, so where do you start?

For domains ending in UK, I recommend 1&1 in the UK. It costs £4.68 for a two year registration and the process is very straightforward - type your chosen name into the search box and you'll be told whether it's available or not. If not, you will be given some suggestions. There is no upsell (except for an optional offer) and the whole process can take a matter of minutes.

For domains ending in COM, NET or ORG there are two options:

If you are a US or Canadian resident, I recommend 1&1 in the US. It costs $5.99 for a one year registration which includes free privacy registration. Again, the process is very straightforward - the same as the UK description above.

Finally, if you want a COM, NET, ORG etc... domain and are not a US or Canadian resident, try GoDaddy. Domains vary in price, but are usually about $8.95 per year. GoDaddy are very good at upselling and you will be given various offers as you navigate the buying process. You DO NOT have to buy anything other than the basic domain name to get your domain name. Anything else you pay for is an optional extra.

The most obvious thing to do with your domain name is to tie it into a hosting package (this requires editing your domain name servers) and show the world your wonderful website.

If you don't have a current plan for your domain name, you could park it - this is a way of profiting from your domain name with very little work.

1. AVAILABILITY
If it's not available you can't have it - simple!

2. COPYRIGHT
Ensure that you do not breach copyright or infringe trademarks with your choice of domain.

3. EXTENSION
It's widely acknowledged that the best TLD (top level domain) is .com. However, in the UK, web users are more than used to .co.uk so this is equally acceptable for UK websites. If .com isn't available and you use .net instead (for example), check that .com isn't either a competitor or that the .com site content is acceptable! Always try to get the .com first, then your country TLD or finally .net in that order. Web users are still not used to .biz or .info.

4. BE GREEDY!
If more than one TLD variant is available, buy as many as you can afford and set them all to point to your website. This is a form of brand protection and prevents unscrupulous competitors trying to cash in on your hard-earned web traffic.

5. BE MEMORABLE
Make sure that potential web users will remember your domain name and that they can spell it properly.

6. BE PRONOUNCABLE
Try telling people your web address over the phone - can they understand what you tell them? Or do they give up and try someone else's website.

7. BE DESCRIPTIVE
If you are a new business, very few people will remember or search for your domain name if it is your company name. Try choosing a domain name that is descriptive of your products instead e.g. cheapbluewidgets.com. Try testing it with a hyphen as well as using just one word.

8. OFFLINE MARKETING
Use your domain name in your offline marketing literature and ensure that it is as visible as possible. However, if your domain name consists of more than one word, that isn't hyphenated, try using capital letters e.g. which is easier to read - littlefishwebdesign.com or LittleFishWebDesign.com? Domain names are not case sensitive so your clients will find your site whichever version they use.

9. BUY YOUR DOMAIN FOR LONGER
Search engines are now looking at less obvious information such as how long you have bought your domain name for. Domain names owned for less than two years are though to be penalised, so buy your domain for as long as possible.

10. OWN YOUR DOMAIN NAME
If you use a web designer or third party for your domain names, ensure they are registered in your name and that you have a signed agreement with the company that they will release all the details (including password) to you, quibble free, if you choose to move to another design or hosting company.