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| SANMetrix |  | | R2 Dzigns was commissioned to design a complete product identity including letterhead, presentation folders, CD-ROM and cardboard sleeve in preparation for their new software launch. | | Design and Printed by R2 Dzigns | |
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Domain Names - What are they & Do I need one? |
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Sunday, 12 September 2004 |
What Is A Domain Name?
A domain name is basically the name that people type into their browser to get to your site, a bit like a street address but for the Internet. The most popular domain names are of the form www.yourdomain.com.au or www.yourdomain.com (where yourdomain is the name of your website etc.). For example Microsoft have the domain name: www.microsoft.com and Yahoo have www.yahoo.com.
All domain names are prefixed by a protocol, for example http://, which means HyperText Transfer Protocol. In basic terms this simply means it is a web page and not an FTP server (prefixed with ftp://) or a news server (prefixed with news://) etc. Most browsers automatically add this in for you so it is not normally written in an address when it is shown as text (like in the examples above).
Why Do I Need One?
This is probably the most commonly asked question regarding domain names. With so many free alternatives to a dedicated domain name people don't really understand why you need your own domain. There are several very good reasons to get one, though:
· Easy To Remember
If you were told these two by different businesses which one are much more likely to remember and visit, obviously the second.
www.myhost.net/myownarea/longword/048739/yourname.html
or
www.yourname.com
· Address Never Changes
If you move your site to another server or web hosting provider, and you don’t have your own domain name, all external links and search engine submissions will need to be updated. With your own domain name your site's address never changes no matter where it is hosted.
· Domain Names Are Going Fast
Thousands of new domain names are registered every month. It is only a matter of time before the one you are looking for is taken. Once someone else has the domain name of your choice it can be quite difficult to get it from the current domain owner and some may refuse to sell you the name. For example, the BBC had to pay $30million for www.bbc.com.
· E-mail
When you have your own domain name you can have your own e-mail address (and sometimes unlimited ones) as well:
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!
· Options For Sub-domains
Once you have your own domain you may be able to host sub-domains on it meaning that instead of having www.yourdomain.com.au/yourproduct you could have http://yourproduct.yourdomain.com.au, which is easier to remember.
Does someone have your domain?
One of the problems with the amount of sites already on the Internet with registered domains the chances of finding a really generic domain such as www.computers.com.au or www.computers.com are fairly limited. If you can't get one of these you will need to think of a different choice or try and buy the domain name from the owner. Some people are cleaver and think up domain names, which haven't been taken but are still very desirable by using hyphens etc. There are generators available (such as NameSpin) which will assist in doing this for you.
However, if you are trying to get a domain name that is the same or similar to your company name e.g. www.mycompany.com.au it is more likely to be free.
To check whether you domain you will need to use, what is known as, a Whois lookup tool. Whois is the database that records what domain names are taken and the contact information for them all. There are many whois tools on the web but many do not provide full information, all though all will tell you if a domain is taken.
How do I get a domain?
Essentially, you have two options; you can register your domain yourself or pay someone to register it for you, such as your hosting provider.
If you choose to register the domain yourself, you can do it through one of the authorised by auDA registrars or their resellers. Registrars have trained staff who can assist you with any inquiries about registering or renewing a domain name.
Compare prices between registrars and resellers before registering as there can be a large difference in pricing and some will also charge a set up fee.
How much will it cost?
Depending on what type of domain you wish to register, and which registrar you choose, the cost associated with registering a domain name can be quite different. Different countries charge different amounts for registering a domain name. This is the basic fee for registering a name and the registrars will then add to this to cover profits and running costs. Depending who you use to register your domain, prices for domain names for .com.au or .net.au can vary between $79 and $140 a year. Similar price variations also apply to other domains such as .com, co.uk, co.nz etc.
As well the domain registration fee you may be required to pay a set up fee to have your domain pointed to your site. The fees associated can vary greatly from free up to about $150.
However, many web hosting firms will do this free of charge and may also include free extras like e-mail forwarding. Getting your domain from your web host is probably the best option as they will probably do it free and will set it up with your account.
Sub-domains
Sub-domains are a very good way of getting a short, memorable address for little or no cost. Sub-domains are a free addition to most domain names and usually take the form of: http://yourname.yourdomain.com.au e.g. http://news.yourdomain.com.au. Many hosting firms allow you at least one sub-domain.
Some companies, though, specialise in providing short, easy to remember sub-domains, for example http://yourname.inuk.com. The only problem with a sub-domain is that the company who is hosting the sub-domain gets free advertising for their site.
Free alternatives
There are also a number of companies who offer a free alternative to a domain name. It is not a sub-domain but it is still very cheap. The first company to do this was V3-Redirection Services who started offering http://come.to/yourname for free. This was instantly popular and V3 have added numerous more domains. Other companies have followed suit and also offer their own versions of this type of service.
The majority of these free providers require you to display a banner or logo on the main page of your site or include a link to their site.
Conclusion
The deregulation of the domain name business and the huge number of international domains has meant that it is very easy now to get a good domain name cheaply. If you still don't want to buy one, though, there are many alternatives, many of which are free, and these are certainly worth looking at.
If you would require further assistance in choosing your domain or would prefer someone to organise domain name on your behalf, please contact R2 Dzigns. |
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