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30 Dec 09

If you’re in business, one of the most important things to you may be your ability to establish an internet presence. Operating some type of functional web site for your business helps your customers find you, can present additional marketing opportunities through e-commerce, and offers advertising opportunities that you can not get elsewhere. Companies that do not have a web site lose business to companies that do all the time.

Of course the real key to your web site is the internet domain registration. Everybody wants mybusiness.com – the problem is that domain names are unique and can be taken by anyone. If you don’t register your desired domain name right away, someone else could take it. The fact is that internet domain registration can turn into a sneaky competitive game. In many cases business owners have gone to register a domain name and found that it had been registered years before they every started the company by some group that is in the business of registering domains and then turning around and selling them for exorbitant rates.

A humorous story came from the 2005 municipal election in North Las Vegas, Nevada when one candidate realized that the incumbent mayor had not registered an internet domain name. The incumbent registered the mayor’s name dot com and as many variants of it that he could come up with, literally stealing the Mayor’s plans for a web site out from under him. The tactic didn’t win him the election, but the candidate managed to annoy the mayor quite a bit and still owns the internet domain registration names to this day.

The key to avoiding these sorts of problems lies in early registration of your desired domain name. If you find the one that you want (or a close variant of it), register it immediately. Even if you’re not prepared to set up a web site yet or won’t be for several years, register the domain right away anyway.

Registering a domain name before being ready to set up its web site will require the domain name being transferred to the servers of your desired host when you are ready to establish the site. Transferring the domain name once you have selected a web host is a very simple process, but does require you to establish the change with both the registration company and the new host. The new host will provide you with the server information that you, in turn, will need to provide to the company with whom you originally registered the domain. There may be a short waiting period (typically 24 to 72 hours) while both servers get the information updated. Once that process is complete, you’ll have your domain safely residing on your host’s servers and your site (as long as it’s been built) will be ready to go.

The internet domain registration and transfer for your business web site is a simple process and can be completed through automated online systems in most cases. Clearly the most important part of this process is the registration of the domain name and this should always be done as soon as possible, even if it is going to be years before you’re ready to get the actual web site up and running

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25 Nov 09 The Little Extras That Come With Domain Registration

When business sites are being planned, the business owner will try to get the most value from the services that are available for their business. This is especially true if the business is going to be operated online through a website address that the business owner obtained through the domain registration process. Most business owners are pleasantly surprised to get more than a domain name when they register.

Some of the little extras that come with domain registration are available through other means and these domain name sources will cost the business owner a monthly expense that is unnecessary. For the low price of a domain registration though the business owner has the opportunity to shave operating costs by using extras such as email capabilities offered through some domain registrants. The free email addresses could help the owner create an internet presence that seems very established.

The email addresses will also serve as alternate addresses for customers to use when they want to correspond with the business directly. The customer will be able to remember the email address because it will typically be the name that a business owner chooses and lists as the customer service department on his business website. The customer does not ever see that it is an internet address that is tied to a domain registrant and is considered to be one of the little extras that they choose to use to grow their domain registration business.

Most business people think that the domain registration process is complicated. In all actuality, registering a domain name is a very simple process and is one business expense that is very affordable. For a monthly contract fee, this business extra will give the business owner control over the domain name that they want to use for their business and the contract will ensure that they can operate under that domain name for a specific period of time.

The business owner will not have to wait very long to find out if the domain name that they want to use is available. The domain registrant uses specific software that connects to the final authority for domain name registration. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers will do a database check for the requested domain name and if that site relays back that the domain name is available, then the business owner simply has to register it in their name.

Other registrants might offer little extras like internet chat capabilities that allow business owners to install virtual assistants on their site. Any question a customer has about products or policies on a business website can be answered quickly and efficiently and will most likely entice the customer into transacting some level of business on the site. These little extras are provided at no charge to the owner of the business which makes operating a business less costly each month.

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26 Jul 09 Domain Registration Best Places to Register Domains

Domain registration has always be the critical first step to any type of internet presence that you or your company wants to develop. On the web, the domain is equivalent to your address. But, do remember that until you put a house on that piece of property, it is still only an address. The same is true with a domain. Domain registration gives you your first step in establishing your digital place of business.

The word domain itself has several meanings, but the one that is most suited to gaining a full understanding of this is a realm or range of personal knowledge, responsibility, etc. There are also definitions that are more detailed that address the area of computers, such as this: The top level in a domain name, indicating the type of organization, geographical location, or both, and officially designated in the suffix, as .com for commercial enterprises in the US.

Thus, a person’s domain becomes their realm and their range of personal knowledge. That is what you see on the internet today. Thousands upon thousands of domains have been registered and websites created and maintained all showing that person’s or company’s realm and range of personal knowledge.

Domain registration is where it all begins. The goal is to locate some good registrars, find a domain name that is perfect for your company or yourself, and then register that name. Now that you have registered your domain, you can get it hosted and you can get your website development under way.

Some commonly asked question about domain registrars are, What is the best place to register my domain? Or Where can I find a good registrar? Also, How do I know if this is the right registrar for me?

To gain an answer to these questions, it is a good idea to determine what you will actually need from the registrar. For example, is it going to be a simple domain registration and nothing more? Will you need the registrar to also be able to provide hosting for your domain? Does the registrar offer special services such as DNS, name servers, and domain forwarding? Do you need these services as a part of your long term domain registration. If you don’t know the answers to these questions, it would be a good idea to interview the person or people who will be developing your website. In most cases, they will know what precisely you need out of a domain registrar and the best place to go for domain registration.

However, it is advisable for you to also do your own internet searches using words like domains, domain registrations, and domain registrars. You will find that hundreds of companies exist, which can be daunting at first, but just check out a few of the registrars, and even talk with your programmer or website designer to get a feel for what they like or dislike about the domain registrars you have looked into.

The most important thing to remember is that your domain is your realm. You want to start out with the right domain name, registered at the domain registrar service that will work best for you in the long run.

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