Webmasters
Guide Domain
Name Search And Registration
How
Hard Can It Be? by K. Myers
How hard can it be to select
a GOOD domain name? ...a name that reflects the content of your site? ...a
name that keeps reminding people who you are?
I'll tell you... just recently
I had to set up a new domain name. I went to register one I "thought" was
available - naturally wanting it to be a dot com (since this truly is one
of the most common and widely recognized extensions on the Net). Yikes!
It was taken... Now What?
Luckily I found this cool
little tool over at Aesop Marketing ... they call it DiscoveryNIC.
Thanks to their cool tool my husband and I are now the proud owners of
www.mypowertips.com where we host our new money making ventures, including
the now famous free report series - PowerTips HBO Plan. I couldn't have
done it without this tool.
Okay, now let's
say you already have a domain name, but it's long, awkward, and unmemorable?
You may want to check out ReName
... a Rename
Web address may be a better Website address for your page visitor to
use. For instance 'stop.at/you' is
the Rename
web address for www.ISPname.co.uk/users/pages/you.html ... and with
your registration you would also be able to get a Rename email address
--- for instance 'you@stop.at' could
be the Rename
E-Mail address for you@anyISPname.co.uk --- they have different service
packages to choose from. Check out their FREE lifetime web and email addresses.
Get
Yours :
/
Here's another great
FREE service you may need now (or in the future) --- ReduceTo
URL redirection services. For example, maybe you have a terrific information
site already set up on a free community site but now you're ready for the
next stage of setting it up as your own domain name. If you've reserved
your dot com (or dot net, or dot org, or other...) you may want to use
this handy service to temporarily redirect people to your free site until
you've completed building the domain site. This is just one possible use
for the service. I'm sure you can think of many more. It's FREE and
EASY to get URL redirction at ReduceTo.
Shorten your URL now with one of their several short and catchy names...
plus, you'll have no annoying pop-ups or ad banners!
GET
A FREE SHORT URL AT REDUCE.TO
/
Network
Solutions were the original**
dot com web name providers. Now there are several on-line companies
competing for the business. Normally, when registering a name you will
be asked for your IP#'s/information. If you are running your web site from
your own server your ISP provider would give you this information. On the
other hand, if you are using a Virtual Host you would have to get this
information from them. We use XO Communications - formerly known as Concentric
Hosts --- a Top Ten virtual host provider (be sure to check out our Virtual
Host Providers Info Page for more information on this subject).
Now, I believe you can reserve a name through Network
Solutions but in order for the name to be operational
as a web address you will have to give them your IP#'s (primary and secondary).
Use the banner above if you are ready to register a name now.
**A short footnote
here. Although Network
Solutions were the original suppliers of dot com, dot net,
and dot org domain names all registrations were processed to Internic,
the master control center for the three main domain name types. Internic
controls the WhoIs database
for the ownership of these names. You can search
their WhoIs database by individual domain names (you have to include
the dot com, or dot net, or dot org for each domain name you want to search)
but this can be a long process. They will also NOT register a name for
you. They are the public record library
for registered names. You will still have to go through a domain name registration
service to get one for yourself.
