Obtaining a Domain Name

There are two parts to a domain name; the label and the extension (also referred to as the top-level domain). These are separated by a period, commonly called a ‘dot.' For Mercer Vu Farms, whose domain name is mercervufarms.com, ‘mercervufarms' is the label and ‘com' is the extension. There are many, possible domain name extensions to choose from. The most familiar are .COM,

Brad Hollabaugh believes that having your own domain name is very important (e.g., yourbusinessname.com). The advantage is that people who know your business name will have a much easier time locating your website, whether through a search or by typing in the address directly.

.NET, .ORG, .EDU, and .GOV. For-profit companies will use the extensions .COM and .NET, while a non-profit company will use .ORG. Government organizations use the extension .GOV, and educational organizations use .EDU. There are other extensions, such as .INFO and .BIZ, however if someone is typing in a web address their first instinct will probably be to use .COM or .NET since these are the most commonly used.

It is possible to create a website that is part of a larger website however. Many Internet service providers (ISPs) offer personal web space under their domain name. For example, if your ISP is EarthLink you could create a website under the EarthLink domain name and the URL would appear in the following form, earthlink.net/yourname. However, this option decreases the professional appearance of your business and makes it more difficult for the potential customer to find you during a search.

Even if you're not ready to start building your website it may be a good idea to register the domain name you will eventually use. Registering your domain name, even without building a website, will prevent other people or businesses from registering and using that same name. This is something to consider since there is no guarantee that the name you want will still be available when you finally decide to build your website. Your domain name registrar may provide you the option of posting a placeholder page telling visitors that the website is under construction.

Domain name registration is fairly inexpensive depending on the registrar you choose to work with and whether or not you purchase additional products or services from them. Prices tend to be in the $8 - $10 per year range for domain name registration. For a fee, the registrar will put you on a backorder list if the domain name you want is already taken. If the domain name is cancelled by the current registrant, the registrar will try to purchase the name for you. If you are successful in obtaining a "used" domain name, you are likely to get Internet traffic expecting the former business's site.