How to buy domain names

For the experienced webmaster this may seem a bit feckless but everyone who is into domaining these days had to start somewhere. If you have never had to buy a domain name before then you are not going to know how to buy domain names.

Buying a domain name is a bit of a misnomer as you do not actually buy the name, in fact you are renting it. All domain names are owned by central registrar, a bit like how telephone companies own the phone numbers and you just rent the number. With domain names you pay yearly for the privilege of using the domain name.

How to buy domain names and domain name registration

To be able to buy a domain you need to register the domain through a domain registration company. This is a company who you can set up an account with and will allow you to buy domain names through them.

There are 2 parts to a domain name that you need to be aware of if you want to know how to buy domain names. The first part is the actual name that you think of, so if you sold socks you may want a name such as Bens Socks. The second part of the domain name is called the top level domain, also known as the domain extension, there is a top level domain for most countries and a few generic ones. The most popular of these that most people recognise is the dot com.

So Bens Socks may want to register the name benssocks.com or maybe bens-socks.com which is another variation. Whilst the dot com extension is the most popular you may want a domain that reflects that your website is orientated to your local country so you may prefer benssocks.co.uk instead which is the domain extension for the United Kingdom.

Save 20% off your .com domain names at GoDaddy using the coupon code gdr0707a.