Domain Names
Registering a Domain Name for Your Website

Hurry!! They're running out!
OK, so that sounds a little drastic, but it's the truth...the pool of domain names is shrinking daily so if you have a website in mind, snap up that domain name as soon as you can.

Picking a name.
Search engines care about your domain name. If you get a name with keywords in the name (notice mine? websitebeginner), it'll help your rank in the search engines. That's not to say that you have to. I have another site that has a totally nonsensical name, because that's the name of the company, and through heavy branding and marketing, it does just fine. All I'm saying is that it's way easier on your placement if your domain name has a keyword or two in it.

When looking for a name, consider alternatives with hyphens, so if they're all out of www.dogleashes.com, you might look for www.dog-leashes.com.

Be aware though, that the less you need to explain to someone when giving your web address, the better. So if you used the last example, remember that you'll be saying "dog dash leashes .com".

Now, about the different types of domains available: .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, etc. I've bought a few .net domains, but generally, I prefer to stick to .com, simply because that's what most people will punch in. That's not to say that .net and .info and the rest aren't useful. They may be great because the name is more important to you than the suffix.

Whatever you decide, just figure it out quick. It's a real pain when the name you want is taken.

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