A Little Background
A domain name is the web site address of your business that is easy to memorize. Just like you would have a street address in the physical world, you have a web address in the digital world. That web address is how people will find your business or service and without it you could not exist on the web. Most domain names are typically formatted like this: www.mybusinessname.com, but good .com names are getting hard to come by so you may see www.mybusinessname.net or www.mybusinessname.org instead. Less common "dots" are .info, .biz, .us, .tv and .mobi. What is really behind a domain name is a numeric IP Address in the form of 123.234.45.56 each number separated by the dots can range from 0 to 255. Can you imagine telling your customer to go to 255.210.32.12 to see your latest products? It becomes obvious the importance of domain names that can be remembered.
Why is it Important to Have Your Own Domain Name?
There are many reason why you should have a domain name if you are planning to have a successful business on the web.
1) It gives your business its own identity on the web. Your web address can be a valuable brand name for you. You want people to remember your web address and use in on a regular basis.
2) It protects your name from other competitors using your it. You don't want some one else registering a domain name that is the same as your business name risking the infringement of your products or service. Registering your domain name protects your identity from others.
3) It makes it is easier for people to find and remember you. Here is a real example, www.sears.com is certainly easier to remember than the numeric equivalent 64.73.155.29.
4) Advertising your own domain name in printed media has a more professional look. Your letterhead or brochures will look much more professional using your own domain name vs. the name of a free web hosting service.
5) Having your own domain name with related keywords helps your ranking on search engines. The results of better ranking means a better position in the search results and possibly more customers.
6) Once you own a domain name, you can own it forever. You only have to maintain a small annual registration fee.
7) You can use your domain name to host your email address. When communicating through e-mail, it is more professional to have an e-mail address like support@mybusinessname.com or contact@mybusinessname.com than someusername@yahoo.com.
8) Owning your domain name gives your web site credibility. If you are running a business on the web, having a domain name will give your visitors a sense of legitimacy and that you are not some fly-by-night operation.
Summary
If you are serious about having a professional presence of the web, then you should be serious about getting your own domain name and your customers will take you more seriously. Listed above are the primary reasons to get your own domain name and the theme that emerges is professionalism.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find the Ryerson student who is willing ...
By: Stani | 28-06-2008
How do I find the Ryerson student who is willing to create website for my business as part of his/her portfolio?
Lonely step-child
By: Fix Monroe | 24-06-2008
What about "blogspot.com" ? Does Traffic Blazer help, or is blogspot a lonely step-child, left out of the excitement?Thanks. http://fixmonroeflorida.blogspot.com/
Domain name vs. IP address: why can't I send email to Comcast customers?
By: Jetcity User | 12-06-2008
I am unable to send email to any Comcast customer from my company email. My webhost company has told me that my domain name (i.e. www.abcpi.com; not my real domain name) has been blocked but not the IP address associated with the domain name (i.e. 208.78.242.185). When you lookup the domain name for 208.78.242.185 you find webhost.dynadot.com. Is it possible that Comcast can block the name but not the IP address? In other words can they block abcpi.com but not webhost.dynadot.com even though the IP addresses are the same? Has anyone else had a similar problem and if so, how did you solve it? I'm getting nowhere with Comcast and their online forms. Thanks!
I'm looking for ideas for a new search engine name ...
By: amitre | 12-06-2008
I'm looking for ideas for a new search engine name (other then google :)Feel free to suggest any name.
What is topwebarticles? Who owns the name? What ...
By: curious | 03-06-2008
what is topwebarticles? Who owns the name? What type of company is it?
Using custom domain name for a web page
By: Scott the Rocker | 27-05-2008
I would like to build a webpage using my custom AOL domain name. Does AOL offer services in webhosting? if not, can I simply cancel my account and still get the same domain through another company, or do I have to transfer it? Any info on this would be great!
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