Domain Registration Overview

Getting a domain name involves registering the name you want through a domain name registrar. For example, if you choose a name like "mycompanyname.com", you will have to go to a registrar, pay a registration fee that ranges between US$15 to US$35 for that name. That will give you the right to the name for a year, and you will have to renew it annually for (usually) the same amount per annum.

Domain names disappear extremely fast. Many people claim that all the good domain names are gone. I doubt that - but it is probably true that most good domain names that are descriptive of products and services have been taken. If you want a domain name for your site, I suggest you act now, or face the anguish of having lost that name later.

If you want to register a domain name, here's what you need to do. Please read it all before acting.

Think of a few good domain names that you'd like to use. It won't do to think of only one - it might already be taken (it probably is!). You can find some tips on choosing a good domain name here:click to read

List of Domain Name Registrars

There are numerous domain name registrars. Listed below are just a few.

* Domain names from Yahoo! only $1.99/first year - This well-known company also offers domain names at $9.95 per year. They currently have an offer for new customers of $1.99 for the first year for one domain only. The price includes the ability to manage your own DNS MX, A, CNAME records (useful for those who want to control every aspect of their web site and not leave it to their web host), email forwarding, domain forwarding (useful for people who have existing websites that they want their new domain to redirect to), and a starter page (good for those who just want to quickly get the domain name before someone else snaps it up, but don't have a website yet).

* 1&1 Internet Inc - This giant web host offers .com, .net, .org, .us, and .info domains at $5.99 per year (as well as other domains like .biz, .ws, .mobi, .cc, .tv at different prices). Included in the price are a free email account with up to 200 email aliases and a starter website builder. You also get free private registrations and the ability to set your own MX records (for your email).

* World's Largest Registrar - GoDaddy.com - This extremely popular registrar offers domain names for $8.95 (plus 25 cents) per year ($7.95 plus 25 cents if you transfer from another registrar). They have a web interface to manage your domains, free web redirection (where people who visit your domain will get transferred to another URL of your choice), free starter web page, free parked page or free "for sale" page, and an optional private domain registration where your domain is registered in the name of a proxy company. They offer .com, .us, .biz, .info, .net, .org, .ws, .name, .tv, .co.uk, .me.uk and .org.uk. Note that (as with all registrars) the exact price varies depending on which domain you are registering (for example some domain extensions are more expensive than others).

* Dotster.com - This fairly popular registrar provides fairly cheap domain prices (US$14.95 per domain), a convenient web interface to manage your domains, an optional privacy facility where your domain name is registered in the name of a proxy company, etc. They offer .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, .us, .ca, .tv, .name, .cc, .de, .sr, .md, .co.uk, .us.com domains, etc. If you're transferring a domain here from other registrars, the price is even cheaper ($8.95).

* Register.com - This domain name registrar has been in business for a very long time: they were one of the biggest around when I started my early websites. They charge $35 per year for .com, .net, .org, .biz, and .info domains. Country-specific domains are also available at varying prices, depending on the country.

Conclusion

Once you've decided, you should not procrastinate. After all, at the price you're paying, it works out to be about US$3 a month if you're choosing the most expensive registrar. It is even cheaper, of course, if you use the other registrars (slightly more than $1 per month).