Selecting a Domain Name

A domain name is the label used to identify your Web site, for example HostingCentral.info. It usually describes some aspect of your site and is easier for your visitors to remember than your Web address, also known as your IP address.

In order for visitors to access your site on the Internet, you must select a unique domain name and register it with an accredited domain name registrar. HostingCentral can register your domain name for you.

Because your domain name will represent your business, you should make sure that the name you choose is memorable, descriptive and that it instills confidence, particularly if you plan on selling goods and services on your site.

Your domain name can be up to 67 characters long and can include any combination of letters, numbers and dashes (although it cannot start or end with a dash). A domain name must end with a domain extension, such as .net, .com, .org or .edu. The letters “www” at the beginning of a name are not considered part of the domain name.

You can use common domain extensions such as .com, Net and .org as well as international domain extensions such as .it. HostingCentral can provide hosting for any of these domain types.

HostingCentral can register domains with .com, .net, .org, .info and .biz extensions. HostingCentral cannot, however, register international domains. You will need to take special steps to register an international domain.

You can quickly check to see if a domain name is available at www.HostingCentral.info. Locate the Domain Availability box in the upper left corner of the site, type the domain name you are interested in, including the extension, and then click Go. HostingCentral will search to see if that name is currently available. If the domain name is already registered, you may want to try variations of the name.

Remember, the domain extension is part of the domain name mydomain.com is not the same as mydomain.net.

Once a domain name is registered, it belongs to the person or company that registered it. If you are really interested in having a domain name that is already registered to someone else, you can contact the owner of the domain name to find out if the name is for sale or you can wait for the registration to expire.

You can have as many domain names as you like. You can have each domain name point to a different site, or you can have multiple domain names point to the same Web site (but not to different pages within the same Web site). Many companies register several domain names and have them all point to the same central Web site. This is known as a “domain alias.”

Registering multiple domain names for the same site not only brings the largest draw to your site but it also can prevent competitors from poaching your potential customers. When picking multiple domain names or aliases for the same site, consider variations of your name such as common misspellings as well as both singular and plural versions of the name.

Once you have decided on a domain name and have checked that it is available, you will need to register it. HostingCentral can register your domain name for you.

You have a number of different options. If you think you may want to get your site up and running in the near future, you can go ahead and register your name and sign up for a hosting plan now. You will receive a parkging page that all your site's visitors will see until you are ready to publish your site.

If you think it may be a while before you are ready to publish your site, or if you want to reserve your name "just in case," you can select a plan that offers only domain name registration. With this plan, your domain is registered so that no one else can use it, but you do not have to pay for a complete Web hosting plan. This is sometimes referred to as "parking" your domain. You can also select a domain name registration plan that provides you with several email accounts. If you decide you want to go ahead and publish a Web site later, you can quickly upgrade your plan.