Domain Names 101: 3 quick questions explained

Written by Syd Johnson


1. What is a domain name?

A domain name isrepparttar name that identifies a web site. Your domain name inrepparttar 108237 online world isrepparttar 108238 equivalent of our retail name and address inrepparttar 108239 real world. It is your address because it shows customers and computers online where to find your site, store, products etc. It is your name because you can move your domain name from one web host to another at any time.

2. Who ownsrepparttar 108240 domain name? When you buy a domain name, you are actually leasingrepparttar 108241 name. It is a lease because there is no way to own a domain name forever. You pay a fee on an annual or bi-annual basis to your registrar to continue usingrepparttar 108242 name. If you stop paying your annual fees, it becomes a lapsed domain name and goes back out onrepparttar 108243 market where anyone, perhaps even your competition can purchaserepparttar 108244 domain for their use.

Note: Online traffic will followsrepparttar 108245 domain name. If you fail to renew a name, it is basically sending free traffic to another site owner.

3. Who is in charge ofrepparttar 108246 domain name system? ICANN or Internet Assigned Numbers Authority isrepparttar 108247 non profit organization in charge ofrepparttar 108248 domain name system. ICANN performs some ofrepparttar 108249 following duties to keeprepparttar 108250 domain name system running smoothly:

Approves Top Level Domain Names - .com/.biz/.edu etc ICANN is in charge of approving domain name extensions such as .biz and setting up standards such as which domain names such as .us or co.uk belong to a particular country.

Regulatesrepparttar 108251 domain name registration process and services ICANN approves registrars who are who are responsible for keeping track of registered names, billing customers, sending out renewal notices and selling top level domain names to anyone who wants one.

Good Domain Names Make Your Dreams Memorable

Written by Terry Nicholls


"What wasrepparttar name of that website? It was good. It has something to do with..."

Is your web site like many others?

Domain names always onrepparttar 108236 tip of a visitor's tongue, but not quite memorable enough?

Your choice of domain name needs to be easy to remember, as well as focused enough that your visitor will know right away what your site is about.

A Few Rules

Some rules do apply when deciding on a domain name:

  1. Domain names must be at least two characters long but no more than 63 characters, not countingrepparttar 108237 TLD.
  2. You can use any combination of letters, numbers, or hyphens, but you can't use a hyphen asrepparttar 108238 first or last character.
  3. Domain names are not case-sensitive, so my-home-based-business-advisor.com isrepparttar 108239 same as My-Home-Based-Business-Advisor.com.

Choosing A Domain Name

Choosing good domain names is almost as important as choosing your actual business (see our Startup Ideas page).

There are many different schools of thought when it comes to picking good domain names.

Some say to choose a short, concise name.

Some like numbers inrepparttar 108240 name, some don't.

Hyphens and underscores -- as opposed to words all running together -- are another debated topic. It's mostly a matter of easier reading for your human visitors. Which do you find easier to read?

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