How Can I Register A Domain Name?

If you are thinking about creating your own website, you are probably wondering what the first step is in making this happen.

The first step is to buy (register) your domain name. This is your URL, or web address. For example, my URL is www.IndieBizChicks.com.

There are many places to register a domain out there on the web. Personally, I use GoDaddy.com. if you use them, I will warn you in advance that they will try to upsell you on everything. They are going to offer you hosting, a website template, all kinds of stuff. Just say “no.” We’ll get to more information on that in a minute…

But first, let’s talk about the process of buying your domain name. It’s actually very simple. There is a search box where you put in what you want your name to be, and it will tell you if it is available.

Here are some quick tips:

Get a site that ends in .com … If the site you want is taken, you might think you’re going to pull one over on someone by getting a .net or a .info or whatever. But the truth is, you’re just going to be sending the person who owns the .com free traffic, because that’s what people remember. .com! And that’s what they’ll be typing in.

Make it simple and easy to find. Avoid putting hyphens or intentionally misspelling the website. That just makes it harder for people to remember. For example, let’s say that your name is Brenda and you make rings with bees or some other type of bug on them. You might think it’s funny to get a website such as bsbeezzz (as in B’s bees) but how many people are going to remember to put all those zzzzs in there??? Something like BugsByBrenda or BrendasBugs would be easier to remember.

Now, once you have your domain, you need to get hosting. You can find hosting for under $5. Assuming that you buy your domain through GoDaddy, and get hosting elsewhere, you will want to log back into your GoDaddy account, click on manage domains, click on nameservers, and enter the number that your hosting company sent you. Sometimes these are called DNS, which stands for “domain nameservers.”

I recommend that you get hosting with a cPanel, as this will make it easy for you to add things to your site, such as WordPress! All you need to do is log into your cPanel, click on Fantastico (the smiley face), click on WordPress, and follow the directions to install it on your site. Some hosting companies will even install WordPress for you!

Once you have completed these steps, it’s time to start blogging. And that’s what we’re going to be talking about tomorrow…..