Domain Registration Secrets Revealed!

Domain name registration is easy once you understand a few basics about the process. Your domain name is the address that users will enter in their web browser (like Internet Explorer or Netscape) to access your web site. The. ".com" extension (called TLD, top-level domains) is most commonly used for commercial web sites. Non-profit organizations might prefer using .org. Universities usually use .edu and government sites usually use .gov. However you can also use one of the many new TLDs for your domain registration.

Many web hosts will register a domain name for you when you open an account. However, it is recommended that you do this separately as it is generally much much cheaper than fee charged by web hosting sites. Sites such as godaddy.com will let you register a domain name for less than five bucks. Doing this is a good idea in case you decide to move your site to another host because many web hosting providers have a way filching the ownership of domain registrations. The minimum period for which a domain name can be registered is one year. You need to make sure to renew a domain name before it expires, or you may lose it to a cyber squatter who may also try to charge you for buying back the ownership of your own creation.

The biggest domain name registrar is Network Solutions, which was sold to VeriSign a few years ago. You can perform your own domain registration at http://www.verisign.com. This company held a monopoly over domain name registrations until several years ago when other domain registrars were finally also allowed to collect information on their sites. VeriSign still operates .com registry services and other registrars have to pay VeriSign a fee for every domain registration that they collect.

You should also be aware that domain registration exposes your personal information to the general public. The name, street address, e-mail address, and phone number that you use when registering a domain name will be viewable by any person that performs a Whois search on your isp number or domain name. No matter where you register your domain name, you should expect to receive spam at the email address. Spam, unfortunately is part of the nature of the beast when it comes to domain name registration.

Once your hosting account is activated, you will usually receive an email that tells you what servers are appropriate for you to use for your website. Once you or an Internet tech professional modifies the name servers, it usually takes around 24-48 hours for the site to be accessible to you and others on the Internet. You will usually be able to upload and access your web site even before the name server changes are implemented by using a temporary address provided by your web host provider. Once you have completed this step your domain registration is a fait accompli!