Domain for your blog

Choosing a name

Believe it or not, but choosing domain names is the most difficult part of the process, and this is for a number of reasons. First of all, with there being literally millions and millions of websites out there, most of the names you first decide on will more than likely already have been taken, particularly if you want one which ends with the .com extension. How important this is to you will depend largely on whether you need domain names for business or for pleasure. If for business, the .com names are generally accepted to be

the best. On the other hand, if you don't intend starting an online business, you should ideally consider one of the other extensions because not only will you have more chance of getting the domain names you want, but they also tend to cost less.

Choose a registrar

Once you've drawn up a list of the various domain names you'd be happy with, you then need to go through the registration process. To do this, you simply visit one of the many domain name companies out there such as GoDaddy for example. At this point you'll be required to key in the name you want and the system will check availability. If the name you've requested is available, you'll be prompted to complete the registration, which will also include paying for the name. When domain names aren't available, the system will generate several alternative names to choose from, but of course you're under no obligation to take one of the suggested names.

Choose a hosting company

If this is your first time registering domain names, you might want to consider having your domain hosted by the same company you've used to register your name or names. For example, if you've obtained your domain names through GoDaddy, you should maybe use them for web hosting as well. While many will argue that there are several things, which should be taken into consideration, you can always change hosts at a later date.

The three steps discussed above are the bare basics, and are only intended to assist complete beginners in getting started. If you have your mind set on starting an online blog or business, then there is essentially quite a bit more to think about, such as the use of keywords.

Lastly, if you've never registered domain names and you feel you'd like to test the waters before jumping in, free domain names are a great way to familiarize yourself with the process. There's absolutely nothing wrong with free names, but they're not recommended for business purposes, simply because they send out the wrong message to customers.