What is a Domain Name?

by Scott Gaffan on March 23, 2007

The unique name that identifies an Internet site (ex. www.realestateone.com ). Each domain name has two parts (or more) separated by a dot: the part to the left of the dot is specific, and the part to the right of the dot is more general indicating the logical venue of a site according to the following: .edu  education, .gov  government agency, .net network related, .com  commercial, .org  organization (nonprofit or research oriented). Outside the United States, the part to the right of the dot may also indicate the geographical venue of a site, such as .ca  Canada, .uk  United Kingdom, .jp Japan, .fr France. A Domain name must be assigned by a registrar accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

 How do I purchase a Domain Name?

The first step in domain name registration is figuring out what name you want to register.  It can be difficult to find a name that you like and one that is still available.  I like to use godaddy.com to help me come up with a name and to check the name’s availability but there are numerous sites available online where you can purchase domain names and costs vary so shop around.  Godaddy charges about $8.95 a year but I have seen them run as high as $50 and as low as $2 per year depending on the site you purchase from.

 Simply go to www.godaddy.com  and enter your idea into the blank box titled; Start your domain search here:.  The drop down menu is set to .com so all you need to do is enter the name you want and choose GO!  (ex. if I want to search the availability of www.ScottGaffan.com I only need to enter ScottGaffan into the search box, without the www or the .com and choose GO!)   

 If the name that you searched is available, it will come up as: ScottGaffan.com is available

If the name that you searched is not available, it will come up as: ScottGaffan.com is already taken 

If the name you choose comes up as available you can go ahead and purchase it.  If it is not, you will have to try other alternatives until you find one that is available.  Godaddy will usually list alternative suggestions also to help you.

I have attached a Pdf document to this email that takes you through searching, purchasing and linking a domain name to your WebOne web site or other personal web site on godaddy.com.  If you need further assistance you can attend one of the upcoming Domain Name Workshops and go step by step through the whole process in class with the instructor.

www.realestateone.net\EmailDocs\godaddy.pdf


 

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