Domain Name for your website
What is a Domain Name - It is The Address of your Website
The Domain name is the name of your web site, such as 'www.mycompany.co.uk' or the closest name to it that is available.
You can purchase a Domain Name for your website yourself or I can do this on your behalf. I would be happy to advise you - just give me a call.
Thousands of names are bought every week! If you are planning a website register your preferred domain name now otherwise someone else might.
Domain names are leased on a 2 year basis normally - they can be obtained from specialist Domain name companies such as www.123-reg.co.uk or the same supplier as your Hosting.
For most beginners it is probably easier to buy both together as this is probably simpler and is also likely to give you an email service ready to use as well.
A quick note about Email:
The same domain name can usually be used for both your web site and email.
Email comes in 2 parts:
- POP (or POP3) which is email delivery and
- SMTP which is sending email.
So you collect you email from a POP box and you send your email through a SMTP service.
Basic email services just provide you with POP (or just email forwarding to another email adress) and you have to send email via another route such as your ISP.
Domain Name Management:
It can be a problem moving a domain name. If you have hosting and your domain name with the same supplier make sure you get online domain management (DNS) facilities. This will allow you to change where your domain name points to for website hosting (and email) should you want to change hosting supplier later.
Which is better .com, .co.uk, .org...?
.co.uk means that the website is a United Kingdom website. A domain name ending in .co.uk can be setup to rank higher for searches for uk services. It is also likely to discourage internet users in other countries from browsing your website. This can be an advantage or a disadvantage. - .co.uks around £5 per year.
.com stands for 'commercial' and is not associated with any particular country although it tends to suggest USA or International company. - .coms are around £10 per year, .
If your web designer buys your Domain name for you make sure it is done in your name so ownership is clear.
.org stands for 'organisation' and is usually used for non-profit making organisations so suggests a charity or club. .org is international and .org.uk is United Kingdom based.
You may register almost any kind of domain name e.g. .com, .net, .org, info, .biz, .name, .eu. The only difference is that .com and .co.uk have become more popular and therefore are more likely to be remembered or guessed.
You can sometimes register a domain name for another country (.tv is in fact the country code for Tuvalu - formally Ellice Islands). In some cases local residence is required to qualify.
The Domain Name I want has gone
If your preferred domain name has gone consider
- abbreviation
- adding company, ltd, club, charity as appropriate
- adding something relevant to your services or products you provide. This can help with search engine optimisation.
- try to make it easy to say and therefore remember and spell correctly.
Try not to make the domain name too long. It is probably better to make the phrase one word rather than split it up with hyphens as it is more natural for people to remember.
How do I purchase a domain name?
It is important to have a control panel to give you access to the management of your domain name. Control and movement of Domain Names is probably the biggest headache I have as a web designer.
You can easily purchase a Domain Name yourself along with or separate from website hosting. It is often easier to purchase both together (especially if you also want email). However it can be a good idea to keep your domain name separate from your hosting arrangement as this provides you with the flexibility to move hosting easily when required. It can be harder to move your website hosting later if you also have to move your domain name.
If you want to purchase your domain name separately I recommend you purchase it from 123-Reg. They are very competitive and provide you with a control panel to manage your domain name.
If you prefer I can do this on your behalf.
My Promise
If you want me to purchase a Domain Name on your behalf I am happy to do so. I will ensure that it is done in your name.
Should you want to change web designers at some point in the future I promise not to provide any hinderance to you and will do all I can to ensure the handover is smooth.
In certain cases it may be necessary to move your Domain Name (if for example it has been purchased within my account at 123-reg) to your own domain management account.