Buying A Domain Name

The process of buying a domain name starts with a domain hosting company. They do vary, both in price and reliability, so your best plan is to ask friends who have web sites to recommend a good one. Some companies provide web hosting services as well, which can be a big advantage.

The main thing to remember is that, although we talk about buying a domain name, you are not actually buying it, you are “renting” it – that is, registering it to yourself for a period of time. Many of the domain hosting companies are US companies but there are lots of UK companies as well. When your domain name is due for renewal, they will contact you, and if you fail to renew in time, you will lose the right to use it.

There are two or three approaches you can use in buying a domain name. The simplest way, once you have found your hosting company, is to think up the most appropriate domain name to describe your business, and type it in to the search box on their site. They will then tell you if the name is available or not. If it’s a good name, it probably won’t be! The site will then come up with a list of suggestions for similar names that are available, and you can usually find one that suits you. Be careful. You may have set your heart on the domain name “MyWidgets.com”. You may find that this isn’t available, but “MyWidgets.net” is. You can take this if you want, but it isn’t usually a good idea to use a name that’s so similar to someone else’s. Once you have chosen your domain, you can proceed to purchase on the site.

Another approach you can use is to go to one of the sites that list expired domain names. Sometimes you can find some really brilliant names that have been allowed to lapse for some reason – it may be that the owners have changed their e-mail address and forgotten to inform the hosting company, so they didn’t know the name was due for renewal. Or they may just have gone out of business. If you find one that you like, you can try registering it and see if it can be registered in the normal way. However, some of the expired domain sites put a price on these domains as they are considered more valuable.

A third possible way of buying a domain name is to join a domain auction service – these services are offered by one or two of the domain hosting companies. These work in a similar way to other Internet auction sites. You can either bid on the name, and wait to see if you have won the auction, or pay the “buy it now” price and snap it up straight away. This is only really for you if you are in the business of buying up domains in large numbers.

Whichever method of buying a domain name you use, don’t lose sight of how important it is. Your domain can come to represent your business in the minds of the public and potential customers. It’s worth taking trouble and making sure you get it right.