Registering a domain name made simple

If you need to get an internet domain name for a new business or a personal site, or for the sake of owning your name as a dot com, the process is very simple.

To begin with, select the name you want. Many of the domain registration services, like Godaddy, have various tools which will help you. You enter any domain, and they will tell you if the domain name is taken already or not. If it is still free, you can register it. If it is already registered by another person, then the domain name registration service will offer you varieties of the domain name to think about, or you could try other suffixes, like .net, .info or .biz.

While .com names are still the most familiar and most common, the amount of traffic you will get to your new internet domain depends on your web promotion abilities and will have very little to do with the suffix, so don't be to upset if you can't secure the .com suffix of the domain you would like.

So, you have thought of the internet domain name you want, and it is not already registered by another person or business, what do you do next?

Going to a domain site like Godaddy, and having done the search for the name and checked that it is not already taken, you will be able to click on a 'Proceed to Checkout' button or similar.

Next you will select the period you want to register for – from one to ten years. If you have big plans for the domain name, or want it as an investment, go for a longer registration. If the domain is just for resale, choose a lesser period.

Now, you have to give things like your name and address and email contact details. When you own a company, you should also enter the company name. This information is used for the internet domain registration – the name is recorded as legally yours, for the period you have registered it for. Officially, you become the 'registrant' of the domain name, and no-one else can have it.

Following on with the registration, you should select if your registration is to be a public or a private one. A public registration means that any individual using anything like theWhois lookup service has the ability to look up the domain name and see your name and details. While planning the website you are going to put online, you may decide paying the extra small fee for a private registration which conceals your details will be worthwhile to avoid spam or prying eyes.

After having made your selection, you can enter your credit card or Paypal details, agree to the payment amount, and the domain becomes your own, for the period you have chosen. The best registration services like Godaddy will inform you, using the contact details you registered with, when the time comes to update or renew registration of your domain.

It is just as easy as that to register a domain!

Ready to get your new domain, or just check if the domain you want is still unregistered? Click here - registration of domains - where we make it easy. Good luck!