Do you own a domain name? Do you know what one is? You ought to think about registering a personalized domain name today, even if you don’t want to build a web page around it right now. Why? Because unique names are being taken all the time. Get yours before the one you want is gone.
A domain name system, or DNS, is a unique address on the web. Internet website addresses are really numbers, like 62.27.168.170. But no one can remember those, so there is a unique name that goes with it: TobyLaura.com, or GreenExamPrep.com, or JerrySuzie.com. (The numbers hide behind the name).
To get a personalized web address, it must be registered with ICANN. They are the “boss” of DNS naming. To register a personalized domain name, you visit one of many registration websites, like GoDaddy or NetworkSolutions, and they take care of the rest. I have used GoDaddy for mine, and think they have the best set up and control functions, once you get serious about a web page. Personal domain names are $10 dollars a year — a paltry amount for what you get with those ten bucks. So even if you only want personalized e-mail, like Laura and I have, or you want to get your internet domain name registered so that in five years, you can put up a photo album page or blog, it won’t cost much at all. Skip two Starbuck’s and you’ve paid for your web page for a year.
When I bought my Mac computer, it came with a free program called iWeb that I use to put this website together with ease and the click of a few buttons. You don’t need iWeb or some fancy program to have a website. Enter my favorite internet friend: Google. JerrySuzie.com is my parents’ blog and even though they have a personalized web address, the actual pages are hosted by Google Blogger — of course, for free. They only pay ten bucks a year for the personal DNS.
Once you have your domain name registered, there is one other step involved in having a web page: You need a host. A host is simply the computer that stores your web pages so that when someone types in the address: TobyLaura.com, it sends their computer the information on our website to their computer. A domain name with no host means there is nothing behind that name. In the same way, a lot of hosted pages with no name means there is no way to get to those pages. Apple hosts our web site through Me.com for a small fee (this service ends June 30th, 2012). Google hosts my parent’s website for free, but they are limited in what they can do (you get what you pay for here).
I registered both TobyLaura.com and TobyCline.com. I don’t use TobyCline.com much as it is somewhat of a guinea pig for working with different website functions. Right now, you can click on TobyCline.com and see what Google will do for free as a host. I spent a few minutes throwing that page together so that some friends of mine could download some files about my interview at Cathay Pacific. Google gives you 100 megabytes of online storage to upload files, pictures, text, music, or anything, really. Or, I could point TobyCline.com to a Google blog like my parents have done. Once you own a domain name, the possibilities are endless. I own e-mail at the tobycline.com domain as well — it is a Gmail e-mail account that Google provides — of course, for free. I can do that because I own that domain.
Anyone can have a free Google page (like what I made at TobyCline.com) or free Google blog, and there are plenty of other free places to set up web pages, like Yahoo! to name one other. But, it sure looks snazzy when you add personalized e-mail and web addresses. If you want to start up a business or a side venture, personal domains are a must to set yourself apart and allow the public to take you seriously.
You never know what the future brings, and in this internet age, where the world is getting larger, but coming closer together, the web’s role in our daily lives will only get more and more important. So stop by GoDaddy.com today and in five minutes, you can have StaceyJonesRocks.com, SECbeatsOSU.com or my personal favorite: HottieBrands.com!
For more, visit TobyLaura.com!