First - Select your domain name, ideally this needs to be either your company or websites name.

Secondly - Check if its free. Most domain name registrars including www.discountdomainsuk.com offer a WHOIS service. Consider registering other Top Level Domain extensions, e.g .com and .co.uk if your UK based.

Thirdly - Register your domain name. As you register your domain name or names it is always worth giving thought to where your website will be hosted, some registrars and hosting companies expect you to purchase both services. It can be more expensive to change your mind later on.

Lastly maintain your domain name. If you change your e-mail address etc, do not forget to update your account with registrar, otherwise when renewal comes around you could overlook your domain names expiry.

A possible further consideration is political stability of smaller countries, only recently part of Soviet Union. Niue meanwhile has been most successful of countries. The tiny island nation is registering Internet Web sites under .nu address for US $25.

By January 2001, after only 18 months as an active TLD, .nu domain usage has swelled, making .nu sixteenth most popular domain name in world. The company that maintains registry, .NU Domain Ltd [http://www.nunames.nu], has registered 30,000 .nu domain names, as of January 2001 on Internet, with registrations of .nu domain names more than doubling since then.

As .nu gains recognition, domain name registrars will have an effective way to provide clients personal, distinct domain names they desire.

And what are benefits for Niue? The island nation is getting 25 per cent of gross after payment of commissions. The money is being used by Niue Internet Users' Society to provide residents and government with free Internet connections.

Clare Lawrence is CEO of Discount Domains Ltd – A leading UK provider of Domain name registration and Web Hosting services. Please feel free to re-publish this article provided this reference box remains together with a hyperlink to http://www.discountdomainsuk.com Clare can also be contacted on clare@discountdomainsuk.com