Registering your company’s domain name is an important first step in establishing your online presence – just be sure to stay informed and pay attention to all the details.

Domain Names

A domain name is like your cyberspace address. Take for example, your organization’s prospective domain name – ‘yourbusiness.com.’ It consists of a unique name - ‘yourbusiness’ - followed by a top-level domain extension that indicates the purpose of the organization - ‘.com.’ Some common extensions are .com for commercial entities, .gov for government organizations and .edu for educational institutions.

The domain name ‘yourbusiness.com’ placed together with the ‘http://www’ prefix forms a URL (uniform resource locator) that works just like a complete mailing address with your address, city and zip code. Only in this case, the URL defines the location of a Web server on the Internet that stores the files that make up your website. Entering a URL into the address bar instructs your Web browser to contact that server, retrieve the files that are stored there and display them in your browser window.

Before you can publish a website, you must first acquire the rights to a domain and register it. In order to do this, you will need the services of a domain registrar. A domain registrar is an organization that takes the domain name in question and records your ownership in a central registry controlled by ICANN - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Registering a domain name gives you ownership over that particular domain for a set period of time. You have exclusive rights to it and nobody else can use it.

Registering a domain name is an important first step for any small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) looking to establishing its online presence. The domain name you choose for your business not only points users to your website but it is a key component of your organization’s online identity.

Domain Registrars

Prior to 1998, Network Solutions enjoyed a government-granted monopoly over the assignment and registration of domain names. This monopoly was terminated as ICANN and the U.S. Department of Commerce agreed to manage the transition from public to private sector control, freeing up the domain registration business to open competition.

With the advent of open competition, there now exist dozens of ICANN-accredited domain registrars in countries around the world. ICANN has a complete list that can be found at:

http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html

Choosing a Domain Registrar

There are many issues involved when it comes to choosing a domain registrar. Prices vary, service offerings differ and customer support is of uneven quality. The service agreements are also littered with details regarding reselling, ownership and various other contractual details. When choosing a domain registrar, contemplate all the factors that are important to your organization. Keep in mind that no two registrars are the same and find one that fits your budget and organizational needs.

Rather than doing it yourself, a more convenient option may be to allow your Web hosting provider to take care of the domain registration process on your behalf. Hosting providers often set up reseller agreements with domain registrars, allowing them to offer domain registration services to their hosting customers.

Letting your Web hosting provider take care of registering your domain makes a lot of sense. They are experienced with domain registration issues and definitely qualified to recommend a reputable domain registrar. On top of it all, your Web host can save you a lot of time.