A domain name is a unique name that is used to find or browse a website. Actually domain is the identifier of certain IP addresses that are connected with the hosting server. For example, www.hostingplanner.com is connected with IP address 123.456.789.21 and you know this IP address is hard to memorize & remember for a human being. But hostingplanner.com is easier to remember that is why a domain name is introduced. Every domain name contains a suffix that is called the top-level domain (TLD). Example of TLD may be .com, .net, .org etc. The most used domain on the web is .com, without such a domain name you cannot set up a website online.
Which organization coordinates this name?
A domain name is coordinated by an organization named Internet Corporations for Assigned Name and Numbers (ICANN). This organization is a non-profit organization whose main purpose is to ensure every domain name is unique and also works for keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable.
Some reputed domain name registrar or reseller:
To search your desired domain name & register you need to visit a domain registrar or domain reseller website. There are thousands of domain registering point who can help you in this matter. Few reputed & giant domain registrar are:
The considerable matter before domain name selection:
Extension: Domain name extension is the most considerable matter if you choose for business or commercial purposes. Extensions are also known as top-level domains – TLDs. According to Domain Name Stat, there are more than 1,500 generic TLDs, country TLDs, and new TLDs for different sectors, the total registered domain number is more than 36 million. Dotcom domain is still the most used & popular domain on the web. More than 42.73% of domains are from dot com TLDs.
| Type of TLD | Number of TLDs | Domains Registered |
| Generic TLDs | 7 | 18.16 million |
| Country TLDs | 322 | 13.32 million |
| New TLDs | 1246 | 4.6 million |
| All TLDs | 1575 | 36 million |
Short name: Domain name should be short, simple and predictable. The most common name length is approximately 12 characters. Although it is recommended to choose a domain name between 6 to 14 characters. Less than 6 character domain name is very hard to find & costly even if you want to repurchase from someone.
Easy to remember: Domain name should be unique, easily spell able, easy to memorize, easy to pronounce and it should sound trustworthy.
Check Spelling: It should contain words or phrases with correct spelling and meaning. Misspelling domain may be confusing & difficult to remember.
Brand name: It should be focusing your business goal, meaningful, relevant & brandable. If it is the name of a brand then the word meaning or spelling may not be so important rather the brand name can be considered.
Trademark: Check if it’s not trademarked. For example, youtube.com is a reputed & trademarked domain or brand name. So you should not choose a domain named youtubercreator dot com, if you choose so & register then YouTube has the right to file complaints against you to protect their copyright to their brand name.
Avoid confusion: A domain should not contain controversial characters such as 2, two, to and 4, for, four. In this matter, if you use 4 then it may create confusion for your visitors. For example: if you choose a domain name such as learn2earn.com and tell someone loudly that my domain name is learn2earn.com then your visitor may try to browse with learntoearn.com or learntwoearn.com. So it may be responsible to reduce your visitor’s interests.
Allowed Characters: It can contain Alphabet or number or alphanumeric characters. You can also use special characters like – (dash) only, no other special characters are acceptable.
Domain Name Generator: If you are not sure about the brand or domain name then you can use domain name generator like namemesh dot com. These types of tools may give you a huge number of suggestions among those you can choose one.
Expiring domains: It can be registered for a minimum of one year to a maximum of 10 years. Sometime domain owners may not renew the domain for various reasons. After expiring a domain, the registrar normally allows 4/5 weeks to renew. You can purchase such domains. Sometime expiring domain purchasing is profitable than a new domain. But further research on an expiring domain is a must to ensure that the domain is not blacklisted anyhow.
Trustworthy Registrar: Registrar is the company authorized by ICANN. They register domain names on behalf of clients and provide full access to the client. To avoid unexpected issues regarding your valuable domain name I always suggest reputable & trustworthy domain registrar like godaddy, namechep, bluehost etc.
Domain History: Owner information along with other domain-related information can be gathered using whois dot com. To research further historical data you can search using whois dot domaintools dot com
The considerable matter before registration:
As all domain names are coordinated by one organization named ICANN that is why you can register your domain name from any resellers available to you. There is no problem with it, but difference occurs by considering after-sales services.
Domain Privacy Protection: It helps you to hide your identity and addresses from showing it publicly so that you get freedom from spamming and other related threats. If your visitors search to know about the owner of such a domain, then they will find a different address rather than yours though you are the real owner of this domain name. So ask your domain name provider that they will provide privacy protection services or not. Some resellers or registrars may give you this opportunity as free and some may charge.
Forwarding: It helps you set forwarding service from domain name abc.com toward xyz.com.
Transferring: You may want to transfer your domain name to any other registrar due to a lack of quality services from your existing provider. Ask and check, is it permitted or not when needed so?
Theft protection: You can enable theft protection services that is why your domain name status will show client transfer is prohibited in whois data. It will help you to restrict and take full control of your domain name.
DNS Management: It helps you to create and use your private name servers for marketing your brand name. You may create, edit or delete A records, CName records, TXT records whenever needed along with other DNS related services with full control.
Some provider gives you full access to all of these services for free where some may charge. But as an owner or webmaster, you must check and ensure those services are available with your domain name.
