Domain Name Registration

What is a Domain Name

A domain name is a special name that can be associated with a computer or a website. It has a specific format that it must adhere to, and all domain names must be registered with a certified registrar. Our domain name is "BULLDOGBREEDS.COM".

Should you get a Domain Name?

Domain names are an excellent way to brand your company, product, or service. They also provide added credibility over putting your site under another domain name (such as Geocities). Best of all, they are cheap! Most registrars allow registration of domain names for less than $10/year. Probably the only reason to not get a domain name is that you plan on hosting your site on a free server that doesn't allow domain names (e.g., Geocities). Other than that, we think you should definitely get a domain name.

Choosing a Domain Name

Before rushing off and buying the first domain name you think of, take some time to search for the ideal name. A good domain name will be easy to remember and easy to spell.

Though not absolutely necessary it is better that your domain name...

• ...have fewer characters (ReallyLongDomainName.com is harder to remember than ShortName.com)
• ...end in ".com" rather than ".biz", ".net", ".org", ".cc", etc.
• ...be associated with your company. So, don't choose 456B.com just because it's short, choose something related to your company or service (e.g., AtlasBulldogs.com)

Where to Buy

Now that you've picked an excellent domain name, it's time to purchase it. Actually, you can't purchase it, you can only "register" it, but that's semantics...The first company to offer domain name registration was Network Solutions, which charged $35/year. In the spirit of capitalism, other companies have been given the opportunity to act as registrars, which has caused the price of a year domain name registration to drop under $10/year for most companies. However, Network Solutions still charges the ridiculous $35/year, which is why we recommend that you absolutely do not register through them. Instead, check out some of the registrars shown on the right side of this page, or visit some of the ones below:

1and1.com - offers domain name registration for about $6/year; they also include it free in some hosting packages
doteasy.com - $20/year for a domain name and free hosting; however, the hosting is very limited (no database, no scripting -- just HTML)
godaddy.com - for about $8/year you can register a domain name

Once you have registered your domain name, it's time to design your site.