Web Site name / Domain Name

If you already have a domain name and it is parked somewhere - do you have the sign in information handy? If you don't, look for an email from the place you purchased the name and/or annual invoices from them, depending on how long you've had it.

The reason this is a topic in these FAQ's is because your web site has to have a name, and not just your company name. You have to purchase a web site name unless you are going to store the site in some personal space, which only works well under limited circumstances.

If your business is fairly new it is a great idea to make your domain name and the name on your business license match as closely as possible. The reason for this is because a web site's name is usually synonymous with the web site's address. So ideally your web site name never changes, is short, descriptive, memorable, easy to spell, and easy to figure out if someone only knows your company name.

You're probably familiar with web sites by name such as www.Yahoo.com or this site, www.artemiscomputing.com. You may have also seen links to web sites with names which look something like www.olypen.com/users/~artemis/.

• In the first example, Yahoo.com has it's own name, technically called a 'domain name'. Domain names are unique and portable. People can always find a web site by using it's domain name, regardless of where it physically resides (see hosting), which is why they are so nice. As long as you keep up the registration, your own domain name is a permanent address.
  
  
• In the second example (www.olypen.com/users/~artemis/), the web site name/address is to some personal space from a dial up internet service provider, thus you don't really have control over it, it's more difficult to enter correctly, and it'll change if the user 'artemis' changes dial up ISPs. However, it's probably 'free' - since it comes with the dial up account, you don't have to pay anything extra for a name or for hosting.
  
  
• You pay an annual fee to a 'registry' to have a domain name.
  
  
• This fee can range from nothing to $8 to $35, depending on whether it is part of your hosting plan, where you get it, and how long you pay for - it used to be very common to always pay $35/yr every two years. Now lots of options exist.
  
  
• You can learn more about domain names from www.internic.net/FAQ's/domain-names.html. The original registrar was www.networksolutions.com and some people still prefer to go with them - we usually don't - you can usually get better deals on the annual fee.
  
  
• If you want to see where a name is registered, try whois.
  
  
• We recommend Aplus/Names4Ever for registering domain names so often that in Fall 2006, we decided that it was silly to keep working for them for free and thus became an affiliate. When you register your domain name, please use the below link to access their site so we receive credit. We've also had good experiences with their basic hosting, but usually prefer FutureQuest's hosting.

note: Once you have a name registered, it is almost a given that you will receive a very official looking bogus invoice from an extremely disreputable firm called "Domain Registry of America ". These scum get your information from public records. You can pay extra to have a privacy shield placed on your name but that is not a guarantee. We recommend carefully reviewing any bills you get for renewing your domain name, and if they are not from your original registrar, simply throwing them away. Otherwise, if you pay it, you give them permission to take over as your domain registry, it'll cost you more, and it will be a hassle to move it away from them.