| The first thing you need to do when setting up a | | | | read. For example, which is easier to read or Both |
| web site is to register a domain name. A domain is | | | | are the same as far as DNS servers are concerned. |
| the familiar "something.com" (the www is not part of | | | | There are a number of extensions available to use |
| the domain name). | | | | with your domain. The most common by far is .com. |
| Your domain name is a pointer to the actual IP | | | | It has become synonymous with the internet (eg. |
| address of your website. They're used because | | | | "The dot com crash"). |
| they're a lot easier for people to remember than a | | | | Other common extensions include .net and .org. Some |
| bunch of numbers would be. | | | | of the newer ones are .info, .biz and .name - these |
| Every website has an IP address, which is a number | | | | aren't as common however, and they won't be as |
| like 123.456.78.9. The domain name system (aka DNS) | | | | effective as .com, .net or .org, which people are |
| translates between those numbered addresses and | | | | more familiar with. |
| the corresponding domain names. | | | | There are also specialized extensions such as |
| Each domain on the internet is registered with a | | | | .museum, .aero and .coop which are only available for |
| central registry handled by a group called InterNIC | | | | members of certain organizations. |
| which is a subsidiary of ICANN - the organization that | | | | What About Country-Specific Domains? |
| certifies all domain name registrars. | | | | You can also register domains with specific country |
| Domains names gets filtered through DNS servers, | | | | extensions such as .us (United States) or .de |
| which link the address with the correct domain name. | | | | (Germany). The rules for registering country-specific |
| Most websites have a primary and a secondary DNS | | | | domains vary from country to country, so you need |
| server - essentially a backup system that increases | | | | to check with the registrars for a given country to |
| reliability. | | | | see if you are able to register them. |
| Getting Your Website Set Up | | | | All domain registrars must be certified by ICANN (the |
| The first step in registering your domain name is to | | | | Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and |
| decide what you want it to be. The domain can be | | | | Numbers). There are many registrars with varying |
| almost anything you want it to be, but it will be more | | | | prices. You can get a full list of all certified registrars |
| effective if it relates to the subject of your website. | | | | at the InterNIC website ( |
| If you're selling shoes, for example, it helps to have a | | | | Even though registrars are regulated, they're allowed |
| domain name that's related to shoes - for instance. | | | | to offer their registration service through third |
| There are a few simple rules for registering domain | | | | parties, so most web hosts offer domain registration |
| names. The only characters you can use in your | | | | even if they aren't registrars themselves. |
| domain are letters, numbers and the hyphen. Domain | | | | Domains are registered for at least one year and you |
| names can't be longer than 70 characters, but it's | | | | can buy as many as ten years when registering. A |
| best to keep them as short as possible. | | | | longer registration contract usually nets you a lower |
| They can be either upper or lower case - the case | | | | price, so if you know you'll be using that domain for |
| of the domain name is ignored by DNS. It sometimes | | | | some time to come it can pay to pay for a longer |
| helps to use a combination to make them easier to | | | | period. |