Domain Name Information

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is a unique address for your website. Your computer actually uses numbers called IP addresses to find sites on the web. People however find it much easier to remember words that will direct their web browser to the correct numbered address.

If you look in the address bar of your web browser, you will see that the domain name for this website is: visualtutorials.com. If you type that name into your browser, you will end up at this website. Even if we need to move it somewhere else, and its IP number changes, you can always find this website by our domain name.

Why should I get a domain name?

Anyone wanting their own website should seriously consider obtaining their own unique domain name. While some web hosts may allow you to ride on a sub-directory of their domain name, there are many disadvantages to going that route. Especially when registering your own domain only has to cost around 15 bucks a year.

The best thing about having your own domain name is that folks will be able to find your website, even if you need to move or upgrade your site to another home. Imagine having to reprint your business cards, flyers, and other literature; or having to email everyone your new web address, just because your old home went out of business.

Having your own domain looks more professional than using a sub-directory of some other website's name. It shows that you are committed to a long-term presence and identity on the web. You'll even be able to use your same domain name in your email addresses, just like the big companies do.

How do I get a domain name?

In order to use a particular domain name, you will first need to find out if that name is available. Type your desired name into the search box below, and you will be told whether or not that name has already been taken.

Search for Available Domain Names

Once you have found an available name, you should decide whether you want to register it now so that no one else has a chance to grab it, or if you want to wait until you've got yourself a web hosting account.

Note that most hosting companies will offer to register your domain name for you, when you sign up for one of their accounts. Because this makes things simpler, a lot of first-time webmasters will register their domains at the same time they sign up for web hosting. Lunarpages is a web host that includes a free domain name for life, as long as you host your website with them.

Once you have registered your domain name, your next step is to have it point to the particular web server that your site is hosted on. This is known as specifying your name servers. If you registered your domain name with your web hosting provider, they will usually take care of specifying your name server info for you. However, if you registered your domain name separately with a registration service provider, then you will need to specify those name servers yourself, according to the instructions they provide you.

Once your name servers have been specified, it typically takes 24-72 hours until everyone on the Internet is able to find your website by typing in your domain name. Should you ever decide to move your site to a different web host, you simply change your name servers so they point to your new web server, and people will still be able to find your site using the same domain name.