Handy Guide to Domain Names

By Mitch Keeler

Need help picking the best domain name? Do you want some assistance finding the domain name register that is right for you? Have you considered the privacy concerns you might be giving up by getting that .com of you very own?

I want to tackle domain names from head to toe to give people a guide to the confusing world of domain name registrations. There is no doubt that domain names are one of the most important parts of the web hosting game so the do deserve a little special attention.

Picking a Domain Name

The hardest thing about getting a new web site going is deciding what the domain name is going to be. I remember when I started this podcast, I wanted webhostingradio.com. Sadly enough though, it was already taken. WebHostingShow.com was my second choice though and I was able to pick it up with no problems at all. Of course when picking a domain name it has to be related to your web site or product in one way, shape or form.

Which domain name extension do you want to go with? There are plenty out there, but my usual rule of thumb is to go with a .com if at all possible. Why? This is the one that people know, are familiar with and is pretty much in the general public's mind when it comes to associating businesses with the Web.

Now where the rule might be broken is if you can get a better second choice than a first choice. For example, you want to go register greenlatern.com but it is taken. You do a little more research and find though that greenlantern.net is avaliable. Then it would be ok to go with the .net. Also you can do lots of creative things with the domain extensions too. An easy example of that idea would be del.icio.us.

When it comes to hyphenated domain names a lot of people out there will tell you they are good. They will then start going on and on about the search engines and good keywords. I think that is all a bunch of bologna. While search engines are important you need to keep in mind you are making a web site for people to read first, not search engine robots.

Check out these domain name search engines that will give you a little more help when it comes to finding out if a domain name is avaliable or not.

What domain name extensions are avaliable out there? Wikipedia has a good list of country code top-level domain name extensions.

Shopping for a Domain Name

Now we have your domain name you want picked out, where do we go to purchase it?

There are a number of domain name registers out there today. One of the most popular is GoDaddy.com. You have probably seen them at least on the Super Bowl, right? Usually when people reach this fork in the road that can go one of two ways.

Register the domain name with a third party or register the domain name with their web hosting company (if the web host provides that service). I like keeping all my eggs in different baskets - so I would stick with keeping your domain name registation and web hosting separate.

Go from domain name register to domain name register and try to find the best deal with the most respectable name. Somebody like GoDaddy.com for example. You might also want to check the ICANN list of accredited registers. That would be the best place to find out if the domain name register you find is a fly by night setup or a real online business.

Now this brings up a new idea that you must keep in mind when shopping for a domain. Make sure that when you register it, the registration is done under your name and not the name of the company setting it up for you. You want to make sure that you will own the domain name and the rights to that domain name. If you can't find it in their small print when signing up you might drop them an e-mail to make sure.

WHOIS and Anonymous Domain Registration

What is the whois database? The whois database is the big dump where everybody's domain name registration information gets tossed into a big search-able pile. This way anybody can find out the name, home address, phone number and more of the person who has registered any domain name.

It started as almost like a phone book for system administrators to find out who owned that next server over. The whois system though hasn't matured any at all over the years though. It might have been ok when there were 25 people out there with domain names and servers but with millions? That is a little scary. Well I would say for businesses, having this information to turn to could be very handy but for Joe Newbie who is registering his first web site it is a big security concern.

Now I could go on and on about how the whois system is broken and we need a replacement, but that is for another podcast. They did kind of fix the problem, the only issue here is you have to throw more money at it. Money fixes everything right? Due to the problems with the whois database a new business has come up for domain name registers and the like. It is often called anonymous domain registration or privatizing your domain name. Many domain name registers and web hosts offer it as a secondary service and the price usually isn't that bad. For $5 or more a year they will replace all of your information in the whois database with their own.

Now some people would suggest that you could just put in fake information when signing up and you would be in the clear right? The problem with that, and I speak from the domain name register and web hosts' side on this one, is it makes it very hard to verify your identity when you say you are Huckleberry Hound from Nowheresville, Texas. Now if you had a PO BOX avaliable to you that might be one work around - since it is a real address but not your home address. Another fix would be to use your work address when signing up for new domain registrations (just make sure you clear it with your boss first).

Watch Out for Domain Slammers

So what have I left out of the domain name discussion? I would advise you to keep up to date when your domain name registrations are due. The reason is that there are places out there that will try to steal your registration away from the place you have it now and move it over to them. This is called domain slamming. An example of a company that does this shady practice is Domain Registry of America. They have been known in the past to send you a letter via snail mail (another good reason there to privatize your domain registration) to your house, to your front door and tell you..

"Oh no, your domain name registration is running out. Fill out this form and we will register it for you for another year. You only have to pay us $49.95 and you will never get another letter like this."

Then at the bottom or back of the letter in really tiny print it will tell you, "This is not really a bill, it is an advertisement by a butt monkey trying to steal your domain name registration." Ok, maybe the "butt monkey" part really isn't in there but you get the main point behind the idea. If there is any question at all about your domain name registration, go to the web site of your domain name register and check there first.