Why Should I register a Domain Name?
Getting a domain name registered is the first step to having a real presence on the Internet. Combined with optional web hosting (we can suggest an ISP, or you can use your current ISP) you'll get a real internet address in the form of http://www.yourcompany.com instead of being "part" of a provider's web site. Once your name is registered you can also get optional business e-mail in the form of "name@yourcompany.com". Of course, you don't need a web site to have e-mail or vice versa.
How Do I Register a Name?
What if I'm not sure of the name that I want?
How many names can I register?
What is the cost to register a domain name?
How long does it take to register a domain name?
Do I have to use the name right away, or can I just "reserve" it for future use?
Do I have to be a "company" to register a domain name?
What is the difference between .com, .net, and .org?
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" .com " names were originally designated for commercial (for profit) organizations or individuals but now are typically used for any purpose .
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" .net " was originally for network providers, but can now be used for any purpose , commercial, non-profit, or personal.
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" .org " was orignally designated for non-profit organizations or groups, but now can be used for any purpose , commercial, non-profit, or personal.
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".edu" is for 4-year, degree granting colleges/universities ONLY.
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".gov" is for US Federal Government agencies ONLY.
Other TLD's:
TLD stands for "Top Level Domain", so ".com", ".net", ".org", ".edu", ".gov" are all examples of TLD's.
We currently do not offer registration in any TLD other than the ones listed above. The new "potential" TLD's (ie .shop, .firm etc.) are STILL not available, and will probably never be as desirable as any of the ones listed above even when/if they are available.
The same is true for top level country domains (examples: .cc, .to, .md, .uk, .ca, etc. ) which have ALWAYS been available to register, but will never be as desirable as .com .net or .org.
How long can a domain name be, and what characters/numbers or symbols can it contain?
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A domain name can be up to 63 characters PLUS the extension
(.com, .net, .org etc.)
Keep in mind that domain names longer than 22 characters (plus the extension) may not be compatible with older browsers, e-mail programs or certain Internet applications.
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A domain name can contain characters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), or both.
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A domain name can contain a dash "-" (example: psych-online.com).
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"Case" (upper or lower) does not matter with domain names. The domain name "Larry.com" is the same as "LARRY.COM" or "LarRy.Com".
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Names are assigned on a first come, first serve basis. Subject to any trademark, legal, or ICANN rules or changes, once you register a name it's yours as long as the appropriate initial and renewal fees are paid. (Please note that registration of a domain name, does not prevent a company or individual with an exact or similar trademark from raising objections to the registration through legal or domain dispute methods. Please make a good faith effort not to infringe on known trademarks.)
Once I register the name, what can I do with it?
As mentioned previously, you can :
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Just reserve it for future use.
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Use it for a Web page. There will be an additional charge to "create" the pages unless you would like to do this yourself. There will also be an additional charge for "hosting" of the web pages (as opposed to just "hosting" the domain name). The charge for this varies with the company providing the hosting, but would typically cost anywhere from $15 to $50 per month plus setup charges. (Note: There are also apparently several companies that claim to provide "free" web hosting in certain situations. Additionally, If you have a free website with your ISP, you will have to arrange with them to provide the "linking" of your domain name to your website. ISP's would typically (but not always) charge extra for this service.)
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Use it for E-Mail. E-mail service is typically included in the price of the service described above but can be purchased separately, that is, without a web page or web site.
Where is your domain name dispute policy located?
Can I register on-line, right now?
If you already know the name or names that you want to register, simply fill out our form located here
Is there a database that I can search to see what domain names are currently available?
Yes, If you would like to research available domain names, use the form located Here. This is a free service.
Now after registering Domain name it is the time to find a hosting service:
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Find a Hosting Service:
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There are several very good Hosting Services on the web. We suggest going out to TopSites.com to find out what sites are ranked amongst the top 25. (It is very important to find a good hosting service because it can mean the difference between your site being up most of the time or 98% of the time. I don't know about you, but if I spend good money to have a site designed, I want people to be able to get to it).
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Once you find approximately 5 hosting services that you think you'd like to go with, make sure they will be able to provide the services you need. I.E.
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Are you going to have a site with a database behind it? Then you will need to make sure the service allows the type of database you will be using. (i.e. Microsoft Access, SQL Server, etc).
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Do you want to sell items on your site? If so, how many? Some hosting sites only allow a minimum number of products on their site. Make sure any shopping cart program they provide allows for the number of products you want to sell.
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Are you going to need to do special programming on your site? I.E. will your developer be programming in ASP, Cold Fusion, Java, or Perl? If so, you need to make sure your hosting service provides an NT or Windows 2000 server for ASP, and a Unix Server for Perl, etc.
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How big will your site get? Will you need more than 5 Megabytes of space? Some sites charge extra for anything above 5 Meg.
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and so on and so on ....
you can Host site and have web space with us at reasonable prices.
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Find a web developer:
Once you have the domain name and hosting issues worked out, you will now need to find a web developer (you may want to find the developer first so that you make sure your hosting service is on a platform that the developer programs for. I.E. Unix or Windows)
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Where do you go to find a good developer? And who can you trust?
I have had so many clients tell me how they hired another web developer, but they never finished the site for them. I have several sites that I had to "finish" because the prior developer skipped before completing the site.
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What is the going rate for web design?
This is a good question. Because you can find all kinds of prices for website design, ranging from $49.00 to several thousand dollars. But what kind of site are you going to get for $49.00? I'd be afraid to ask.
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You can design the site yourself.
There are many, many web design software packages out on the market that will take you step-by-step through the web design process. You just need to decide whether you have the time and the patience to do this on your own. If you do, great! Because you will save yourself a lot of money! If not, then you may want to consider paying someone to design it for you.
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Upload your site to the server:
Now a good web developer will include this in his/her web design package. But not all do. If you go with a less expensive designer, or decide to design the site yourself, then you will need to obtain the FTP information from your hosting service, along with an FTP program . And once you have both, you will then need to upload your site to the hosting company's server.
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If necessary, setup an online merchant account and shopping cart program:
If you are going to sell your product online, then you will need to get an online merchant account and some kind of shopping cart program. And you will need to connect the two programmatically. This sometimes only requires limited HTML programming knowledge, but usually requires some kind of cgi scripting knowledge like: ASP, Java or Perl.
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Submit your website to the major search engines:
There are several sites on the web that will do this for you for a fee. You can use them or you can buy a site submission software package and do it yourself (prices range from $49.00 to several hundred dollars). However, just submitting your site via a site submission software package does not guarantee that your site will be listed on the major search engines. Some of the search engines require manual submissions, and will reject your site if you don't follow their instructions, step by step. Also, you will need to make sure your web pages contain the proper META tags containing your site description, title and keywords.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Well, that was not our intention. But it is important to understand just what goes into putting a website on the internet. And if you know, step-by-step what is required, then the whole process will go much smoother.
No skills needed, no HTML, no scripts... New advances in internet technology have made it possible for anyone to create a website without any programming knowledge.
Hosting your website should be a fun experience, easy and affordable. With Purohits.com , it is!
If you would like for Purohits.com to provide more detailed consulting services for you, please mail us sales@purohits.com and someone from Purohits.com will contact you right away. Good luck! |