First Steps to Go About When Registering a Web Address

When you're registering a web address (a domain name), there are some important steps and considerations I will outline here so you can avoid common errors. As a web designer and marketing person, I have helped many people through this process. Though it's best for you to work with a professional, the following will cover much of what you need to know.

VERY IMPORTANT: The first thing you need to know is perhaps the most important of all. If you find a domain name that you wish to register and it's available, register it IMMEDIATELY. There are two important reasons for this. First, domain names disappear quickly, so someone else could get it quicker than you might think. Second, some search tools that tell you whether the domain name is available or not also alert others to your search. If you don't register right away, the domain you want could become unavailable in as little as a couple hours.

Probably the first thing you want to do is create a list of domain names you would like to check for availability. In most cases, the shorter and easier to remember and type, the better it is. Think about how you would give out your domain name over the phone. If that would be complicated, you may need a better domain name. Your name or company name would probably be preferred, but that's not always the best choice.

For example, if you were Joe's Plumbing in Toledo, OH and specialized in emergency service, not only is joesplumbing.com not likely to be available, toledoemergencyplumbing.com would be better even though it's longer. If someone in Toledo is looking for emergency plumbing on Google, a domain name like this with good ranking would eliminate the need to type it since they will be clicking from the search results.

This demonstrates the importance of deciding how your site will be visited. If your site traffic will be from people typing it manually, you want it short and easy to remember. If you're like Joe's Plumbing and want your site to be easily found when someone with water gushing all over is frantically searching online, then a descriptive domain name is better.

Another important consideration is common misspellings or singular versus plural. It's a good idea to register all variations that could be easily mistyped, if they are available. If you were worldofcoffee.com, it is very likely that someone will type worldofcoffees.com, and you wouldn't want them to get an error.

If you're thinking that you need a web site for every domain name, that is not the case. You can have several domain names and automatically direct them to one web site. The alternative domain names are cheap insurance to avoid losing visitors if they type in a common spelling error, or add or forget an s depending on whether your domain is plural or not.

Besides, you also don't want someone else to get a similar domain later simply because you failed to secure it. I also advocate registering the.com,.net, and.org whenever possible. As for all the other domain extensions like.biz,.info, and so on, it's very unlikely you'll need to worry about those. If you're in doubt, ask an expert.

People tend to naturally associate the.com with a web site. If the.com is taken and you register the.net because it's available, you risk sending more of your intended visitors to the.com because they will be prone to type.com out of habit. I would recommend caution in registering a.net simply because the.com is taken. If you can get the.com of your preferred domain name, that is always better even if you intend to use.net or.org for your actual web site.

Once these primary considerations for your domain name are addressed, and you have your list of domain names to register, it's time to search to see if they are available. There are several sources for registering domain names, but GoDaddy is probably the best known.

With all your domain names and variations selected, and with the.com,.net, and.org for each, your registration will be like checking out of any online store. If you're using GoDaddy, they will suggest a lot of extras you probably don't need. I recommend evaluating these to make your decision, and you'll likely decline most of them.

The one exception should be the "Private Registration" option. Selecting this option will keep your name out of public databases. This will not only reduce your spam, you'll have significantly less risk of being contacted with bogus renewal offers and other scams designed to try and fool you into something you'll regret.

You'll also have the option for how many years you want to register your domains for. I suggest a minimum of two years, five is even better. Google is known to look at this as an indicator that you plan to be around a while. A one year registration could hinder your potential to get good ranking on search engines.

Once you secure all the domain names you need, the next step is to get a web site or sites created. To make your web site(s) available to the public, you'll need hosting. Most registrants also offer hosting, but personally, I advise using different companies for each. Although most of the problems associated with using one company for both are mostly a thing of the past, it's just a good precaution to keep them separate.

I'm sure you now realize that there is much more to a domain name than you first anticipated, but I trust your time in reading this will help you avert the regret that many people have experienced when trying to do this without proper preparation. Of course, the easy way out is to simply pay an expert and get the benefits of their experience.

Steve Chittenden seeks to help business owners and organizations market themselves effectively and succeed. His company, Creative Business Services, provides carefully planned web design, graphic design, writing, and marketing services aimed at achieving this goal. Please visit http://www.cbscreative.com/ for more information.