Once you’ve finalized your brand name, which I recommend also be your blog name whenever possible, it’s time to purchase or register your domain name.

If it’s your intention to start your ADR blog in the near future, perhaps within the year, I recommend you consider signing up for web hosting at the same time as you register the domain name. Many of the most well respected hosts will include a free domain name registration with your hosting package, so you would not incur any additional fees to buy a domain name (though they only cost $6-$8 USD per year). I’ll be discussing web-hosting services in more depth in a few days.

If you have a good idea for a brand name and what to secure ownership of it while it’s available, then it may not make sense to pay for a we hosting package right away. In this instance, you can register a domain name only.

There are many domain name registrars offering services. I’ve had good experiences with GoDaddy, in terms of cost, ease of use, and customer support. Rather than selecting a registrar based on a web search, I suggest you ask other people with websites about their experiences and which registrar they recommend.

If you’re playing around with domain names but not yet sure you’ll use them, yet still want to secure ownership, then you may only wish to pay for a year’s registration. However, if you’re committing to a domain name, then it may make sense to register it for three or more years at a time. The more years you register, the lower the per-year cost, typically. Perhaps more importantly, I’ve seen speculation that search engines place higher value on domains that are registered for longer terms.

Copyright © 2006 by Tammy Lenski. All rights reserved.