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Thursday, 02 August - 09:09 (Category: SEO )

Advice On Domains & Hosting

SYNOPSIS:  Some simple advice on beginning the domain name buying decision and why you should split your hosting provider from your domain name provider.

One of the biggest areas of confusion in web design is how to handle domain names and hosting so, I thought I would shed little bit of light on the subject by offering some practical recommendations. 

Just in case you're not familiar with how this all works let me explain… 

When you buy domain name what you are really buying is a piece of Internet real estate which contains a set of records.  The company who registers your domain name on your behalf will then 'point' the traffic that comes to your domain name based on the records held on to wherever the files that make up your website physically stored.  

From your point of view you need to know that you could be dealing with two companies -- the one who registered the domain name for you and points all the traffic to -- the one who physically stores the files that make up your website. 

This means you will have two sets of documentation to keep hold of.  It’s best to make your web designers fully aware of all of this information as they will need it in order to complete your website.  You will need it firstly, to ensure you're on top of renewing the services and secondly, in case something goes wrong. 

Personally, I think it's best to buy the domain name from a company that specialises in domain names and by the hosting from another.  The reason for this is that making changes to your domain name will be a rare occurrence.  However, as you website grows and expands the technologies which need to support it may change.  This could require you to move the entire website from one hosting company to another.  It makes the process a lot simpler if you don't have to move all your domain names as well. 

If you don't have a domain name or web host and are looking to register one there are literally hundreds of companies out there eager to take your money.  Here are a few pointers for you: 

1)  Choose a name which is easy to spell, easy to remember, and, if possible, contains the major keyword your browser is likely to type into Google in order to find you. 

2)  Don’t get suckered into buying all the variations (for example, .net, .eu, .me).  You only need to start with .co.uk or .com.  (Ideally, you should choose .co.uk if you are a UK company because Google will preferentially rank a .co.uk domain for searches that are conducted within the UK.) 

If you can't get hold of the .co.uk domain then try to choose a non-geographic substitute like .com or .net. 

3)  If somebody is cyber squatting on your preferred domain name then think very carefully before getting into a protracted legal wrangle because it may simply not be worth the cost.  (Very often you can find an alternative wording which will do the job.) 

Remember, having the ideal domain name is far less important than having tons of traffic to it and unless you are a global brand the domain name itself will do little to enhance your on-line traffic. 

4)  Only buy a domain name for a maximum of two years.  There is little point in buying five years upfront only to find that you; are taken over by another company, merge with another company, or rebrand. 

5)  DO make a note of when you need to renew.  Put it in your diary and don't forget.  (Although in most instances you are given a grace period after the domain renewal elapses it's still best not to leave it to chance.) 

Here’s where you can read more about “Which Domain Should I Buy” plus a great utility for discovering if a domain is free!

Posted By:Jed Wylie at 09:09, 02-08-07