Domains

What is a domain name?

Your Domain Name is also known as your URL, once you add a protocol to it (http:// or https://).  A protocol is placed at the beginning of the domain, and turns the domain into an Internet address, which is what you type into your Internet browser window when you want to visit a webpage.  When you type a URL into a browser window, the computer serves up the pages that are found at that URL that you typed into the browser.

An Example of a domain name is:   pagecreator.info

Domains always have extensions: info is the extension in the above domain

You can turn a domain into a link by adding a protocol: http://pagecreator.info

You can visit a specific page of a website by adding forward slash ( / ) after the extension and the page title:  pagecreator.info/about

How do I choose a domain name for my site? 

There are two basic approaches to choosing a domain name.  The first approach is to look for a string of words that anyone searching for a particular product or subject might use.  For instance, if you were looking for an online school that has a nursing program, you might go to a search engine like Google.com and type in online nursing programs, which could be a domain.  

The second approach would be used if you already know the name of a school that has an online nursing program, like National American University, and you want to take a look at their program.  In this case, you would go to the same search engine, Google.com, but this time you would type in American National University and select one of the links provided by the search engine.

The first example, online nursing programs would be a generic domain, the second example American National University would be a brand domain.

Using Both a Generic and a Brand Domain

Absolutely!  As a matter of fact, this is probably the best of both worlds because it helps searchers find your web page, regardless of whether they type  in a generic word (party decorations) or they look for the your brand name (Betty's Party Decorations).  

Note:  Keep in mind though, if your business is brand new, not many people will know your brand name.  So for newcomers to the online world, it may be more advisable to find a generic domain to use with your brand name.  You can do this by forwarding one domain to the other, just as you would forward one phone number to another phone number.

Purchasing Your Domains

It does matter, where you purchase your domain.  Domains are important because they play a huge role in getting visitors to your site, so you want to make sure you are purchasing from a reputable company, or from a Re-seller company (like PageCreator Hosting), that is associated with an ICANN Accredited Registrar (Inmotion Hosting).  PageCreator Hosting is a domain re-seller that has agreed to be regulated by ICANN, which gives you a degree of protection in the event of a domain dispute.  So before you buy a domain, ask the company you plan to buy from whether or not they are associated with an ICANN Accredited Registrar.  Here's an article that explains in more detail about buying domains "Important Precautions to Take When Buying a Domain Name".

stick_figure_walking_up_four_books_400_clr_12787ACTION STEPS

  • Think about a domain name for your project.
  • Do you want a generic name, or a brand name, or both?    
  • Find out whether the company you are buying from is associated with an ICANN Accredited Registrar
  • Talk with your coach before you buy.

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