Buying a Domain

If you’ve had your site for some time and you’ve really enjoyed working on it, it may be time to purchase a domain and your own hosting.

Choosing the Name

I speak from experience when I say how hard it is to choose a domain name. So here’s some (hopefully) helpful hints:

- When you come up with a name (or a list of names), let them sink in before you buy any of them. It’s true that a domain can be here one day and gone the next, but in the end, your patience will pay off. Of course, you can always buy a new one if you grow tired of the first one, but then you’ll have to move everything over which is a pain.
- Consider its purpose. If it will only host Harry Potter related sites, then maybe you should go with something Potter related. If, however, you intend to have it as your collective for many different sites, then it may be the best idea to choose a name that isn’t related to any fandom at all. Obsessions come and go. You don’t want to be stuck with a name from something you don’t like as much as you first did.
- Try to be original. A lot of domain names are random words stuck together that really have no meaning (like sparkly-glow, for example). Sure, these words may sound interesting together, but does it really describe you or what your site is about?

Registrars

When purchasing a domain, be very careful what registrar you choose to go with. Make sure that a company has the following things before you consider going with it:

- Complete control over the WHOIS entry. If you can’t change at least change the email to your own, you will have problems should you ever want to transfer it.
- Unlocking/locking the domain. A domain that is locked cannot be transferred. If you don’t have control over this, you will have to wait for your registrar to unlock it for you.
- Ability to get the EPP code. The EPP codes are a new way to prevent someone from transferring your domain away from you.
Perhaps the best rule of thumb is to avoid purchasing a domain from a reseller (such as Netrillium). Netrillium, and other small companies like it, will register a domain for you through eNom. It is likely you will not have full control over your domain if you go with a reseller. Going with a company whose only purpose is to register domains is the safest bet.

Which One?

Like webhosting, there is a variety of different registrar companies out there. Some are very pricey (30 dollars) to much cheaper (2.99). The best idea would be to head over to WebHostingTalk for some ideas and recommendations to fit your needs.

2 Comments »

I have to recommened namecheap.com for buying domain names.

Ava — December 21, 2006 @ 4:05 am
In 10 years of buying domain names I’ve yet to find better than godaddy.com for the money.

Niu — December 29, 2006 @ 10:45 pm