Video:How to Choose a Domain Name

Transcript:How to Choose a Domain Name

So you are ready to make your new home on the internet and now all you need now is a website! Hi, I’m Brian Smith for About.com here to give you some tips on selecting and securing your domain name.

Selecting the right domain is a big step in claiming your area of the word wide web. Although reserving your name is a pretty simple process, picking your name can be a daunting task.

Brainstorm All Domain Names Idea

The first step is to brainstorm on your domain name and jot down your ideas. Your domain name could be based on your personal name. If you’re looking for personal branding, this is the obvious first choice. If you have a very unique name, you will probably not have many challenges.

For example, recently my sister JonnaBeth reserved JonnaBeth.com If your name is Brian Smith however, you many have to get more creative.Your domain name could be based on your company name, a hobby or some other concept so have as many ideas as you can.

Check the Domain Name Availability

Once you have a good list, It's time to check availability. Even if you have the perfect name, that doesn’t mean that your perfect name is available. There are many websites you can visit to see if yourname.com or yourcompanyname.com is available. Here you can see that I’m using NetworkSolutions.com.

Simply type in the domain names you’ve chosen and this site will tell you if the domain is available.

Things to Avoid for Picking Doman Names

Odd Spellings or play on words. Now I’m not poking fun at the extremely popular Flikr.com... That's F-L-I-C-K-R .com but if you brought this site name up to someone in conversation, chances are they wouldfind themselves typing in F-L-I-C-K-E-R.com so try not to be confusing.

Numbers can be tricky too for that same reason. When you verbalize, the person might not know if it’s the spelled out number or the numeral.

Register You Domain Name

So now that you now that your domain name is available, you can register it at one of the many domain registration sites out there like NetworkSolutions.com, GoDaddy.com or Domains.com. Once your site is registered, you’re well on your way to creating your new home on the internet.

What if you already have a "free" site like on Blogger.com, tumblr.com but you’re not ready to design a new web site. You can simply reserve your .com domain and re-direct it to your free site.

Good luck in choosing and securing your domain name! for more information, be sure to check us out on the web at compute.about.com