Domain Registration & Hosting

Once you have selected a domain name, you must make sure that it is available, and then register it. After your domain name has been registered, you must find a reliable host for your website.

• Register your domain with an ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) accredited registrar. I use GoDaddy.

• Register as a .com if possible, if you have a global market. If you cannot get a .com, but a great .net or .org is still available, it might be worth it to register one of those instead of registering a longer (and less memorable) .com domain.

• If you are targeting a specific country or language, register a domain name in that country’s top-level domain designation (e.g., buy a co.uk website for a U.K.-targeted site). Also buy the .com version of your domain name and point it at your country-specific location.

• Oftentimes certain directories and search engines will either be biased toward local sites will or only let local sites in the index. “Local” may mean ending with a local domain and/or being hosted on a server in that country.

• Host your site with a reliable host. I recommend DreamHost or Pair.com.

• For dynamic sites, make sure your host supports the technology you will be using (such as ASP or PHP) before spending money.

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