Finding and Registering a Domain Name

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by Aaron West

The Domain Name is where it all begins. A good domain name can make or break a site. However, due to the success of the Internet and the web, good domains can be hard to find these days. Luckily there are options. We'll share them with you.

What is a Domain Name anyway? A Domain Name, or FQDM (Fully Qualified Domain Name), is similar to a street name. It's not an exact address, but a name we can understand that points us to an address. How often would you visit Yahoo if you had to type in 203.45.86.198 every time? Because of Domains we can type a simplified address and get exactly where we want to go.

The domain name can be broken down into broken into three parts. We will use 'www.domainname.com' as our example:

Having a domain is not the ONLY way to go. It's not a requirement for having a web site. There are plenty of free hosting services out there, such as Geocities, Tripod or Angelfire. Using a free server is fine for a personal page, or noncommercial site, but is considered unprofessional for a business.

So how does one get a domain name anyway? That's where it gets tricky. The domain registration process is easy. The tricky part is finding a good domain name that is still available. A good domain name is under 10 characters and easy to remember. jsghsrhg.com wouldn't be that good of a domain name.

What we suggest is to make a long list. No list is too big. Let's suppose you wish to put up a company site and your company name is 'Adams Company.' Your first three choices might be: adams.com, adamsco.com, adamscompany.com. There is a good chance all three are taken. In fact, while writing this I searched the availability of all three names. The only ones available were: adamsco.org, adamscompany.net, and adamscompany.org. Not very appealing, are they? It's always a good idea to get the coveted .com domain if at all possible. Many times in order to do so, one must think creatively.

Once you've made your list of possible domains, you can check to see if they're available. You could check with a browser, but that is unwise because it takes a long time and isn't accurate. Many people will register a domain when the site is not active, therefore it would seem as if the domain name is free when in reality is taken.

To find out what's available, you must search through the Domain Name database. This can be done at a number of places, but for this column we'll discuss the largest and most popular, InterNIC, also known as Network Solutions.

To search InterNIC's database, simply visit the their site at: www.networksolutions.com or use the search box provided below. Simply enter the domain you wish to inquire about, submit, and you'll find out whether you can have it or not. If the domain you request is not available, it will inform you whether the other US names are (.net, .org).

Once you've found a domain name you're satisfied with, click on the 'Continue' button. Now you have 2 options. You can either register the domain, which requires information about your server, or you can reserve the domain name. If you reserve the domain nobody else register the domain, you don't have to provide technical information, but you end up paying $49 extra.

If you choose to register the domain, you will be charged $70 and must provide technical information at the time of your order. Most of this information you need to get from your hosting service.

On the order form, first you are prompted for a NIC handle. If you've registered a domain previously, you are assigned a NIC handle. This can be found by going to the Whois link from Network Solution's home page, and entering the domain name. The NIC handle is the first letter of your first name, the first letter of your last name, followed by 4 numbers. For example, mine could be AW1234.

If you haven't registered for a domain previously, you will need to fill in your contact information. Once this is done you are taken to the 'Name Server Information' form. Here is where you enter the technical details about your server.

Most hosts provide a Primary and a Secondary Server. You'll need to find out information on both from your host. The host name is similar to the domain name of your hosting service (NS.HOSTDOMAIN.COM). The IP address is the physical Internet address where the server resides. The IP address is 4 numbers separated by periods (.).

Once the Primary Server information has been entered, you must enter the Secondary Server information. The process is the same as the Primary although the name and address are different.

Some servers might have more than 1 backup Server. If this is true, you fill these areas as explained above.

Once you've finished that form you're practically finished. The information you've entered is displayed for you to verify accuracy. Once that has been confirmed, you are taken to the payment form.

At one time, Network Solutions required you to respond to an e-mail in order to process the domain request. They also had gave the option to be billed rather than pay with a credit card online. Not so anymore. In order to secure the domain, you must pay the 2 year fee, $70 with your credit card. Once that is done, you will receive an order confirmation in your e-mail.

That's it. Now you have a fully functional domain name. It generally takes between 1-2 business days for InterNIC to 'clear' the domain to your server. After this period, your site can be accessed by the domain you registered.