HOW TO REGISTER A DOMAIN NAME

You might know you need a domain name, but aren’t sure where to start or you might have heard
from a friend that you need one if you want a website, but you’re not quite sure what a domain
name is.
If you already have a general idea of what domain names are and how they work, go ahead
and jump to my tips for choosing a domain name. If you’re brand new to all this, stick around a
while. Have a coffee with me, and I’ll explain

       The short answer is that a domain name is the name of the website that you type into your
browser’s address bar. For example: wehostafrica.com, google.com, sirofficialab.com are all domain
names. though that last one isn’t actually a real site. The more complicated version of the answer is
further down in this article.
❖ Fun Facts about Domain Names
❖ Currently, as you might expect, domain names ending in “.com” lead the pack by a lot,
at over 42%, give or take a few extra decimal points.
❖ The maximum character length for a domain name is 253 characters, but I would never
recommend using that many.
❖ A 253-character domain name would look like this:
Ohmygodthisdomainnamewouldberidiculouswhatsthepointopfsomethinglikethis
isbraggingrightsikeepaccidentallytypingspaceswhenidontmeantoiguessoldhabits
diehardthisisgettingabitridiculousisntitidontknowwhyibotheredwiththisiambegin
ningtoregreteverythingby.com

❖ CHOOSE YOUR DOMAIN NAME REGISTRAR
For the uninitiated, registrars are companies that manage the reservation of domain names. They
are responsible for leasing the name to you for an agreed upon period and price. You can think of
them in a similar way to hosting companies but solely for domain names, although there is some
crossover we’ll discuss later.
     

There are a lot of available registrars and choosing one can be an intimidating process.
To choose one, first look at the company’s pricing structure. Most offer a year’s domain registration
for a certain price and discounts over a longer period. They may also offer a cheaper price for the
first year and raise their rates thereafter. Typically, you should expect to pay around 5,000 or more
per year for a .com domain, while other domain extensions vary in price.
In addition, consider how easy it is to transfer your domain name to another registrar, what add-on
services are available, and the expiration policy.

Some companies offer a grace period on your domain if you forget to renew or there’s a glitch. Which means you won’t lose
your domain name right away just because you forgot to renew:
For the purposes of this guide, we’re recommending WeHostAfrica for its efficiency and customer
service. Furthermore, it’s one of the easiest to use domain name registrars available and it offers
competitive prices.

❖ FIND AN AVAILABLE DOMAIN
Once you’ve decided on a registrar, you’ll want to brainstorm some name ideas. Your domain name
will be used in your website’s URL as an identifying marker, so it needs to be memorable and
distinctive. It can be practically anything as long as it is not already taken, although simpler names
tend to be more memorable.
Choosing a domain name can be a challenge, given that it’s a first impression as well as a branding
opportunity. A shorter name may be more memorable, but you can also consider incorporating
keywords to improve your search engine optimization (SEO).
Domain Wheel is a handy tool to help you generate domain name ideas.
To use it, just type in a few words that relate to your desired domain name and the tool will spit
back a huge list of creative suggestions.
Best of all, it only shows you results that are currently available, and not ones already registered by
others.
We’ve briefly mentioned it already, but your TLD can also become key to your choice of domain.
This is the ending to your website, such as .com, .biz, .org, .io, and hundreds more.
Many people choose .com because it’s the most popular. However, you may be more likely to find
the exact domain name you’re looking for using one of the other options.
This also provides an opportunity to create ‘clever’ domain names, such as National Public Radio
(NPR) leveraging the TLD for Puerto Rico in their n.pr domain.
❖ PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM BECOMING PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE
When you register a domain name, your owner information is added to the public registry. This
means anyone will be able to see your name, address, phone number, and email address. This can
be a problem for your privacy – at best you’ll be targeted with spam, and at worse you could be a
victim of identity theft.
To hide this information, you’ll need some form of ‘domain ID’ protection. These add-ons
essentially mask your information to the outside world and use placeholders instead. While mail is
still forwarded to your inbox, there’s a protective layer between you and the sender.
WhoisGuard mask your personal information to ensure it’s not publicly available.

❖ RENEW YOUR REGISTRATION ON TIME
At this point, you’ll have a domain name registered and ready to go. However, your registration is
only valid for the time period that you selected, which is usually one year by default. After that year
expires, you’ll need to renew your domain name to continue using it.
Some registrars hold onto your domain name for a period of time before auctioning it off. Most
domain registrars will notify you by email at the 30- and 7-day mark before expiration, and you
should think carefully before letting a renewal period lapse. Domains can be difficult (or impossible)
to reclaim once they’ve expired.
The best way to keep on top of this is to set up automatic renewals. In fact, you’ll often find that
it’s set by default. In our opinion, you probably don’t want to auto-renew all of your domains, but
for the most important and permanent, letting your registrar handle renewals is going to save you a
potential headache down the line.