This is part number one of the “First Steps” series. Before you can register your domain name you need to know what you want to call your business! Writing down a list of keywords that inspire you, or describe you can be very helpful. Adding words like ‘porn, sex, xxx’ to your domain name may limit your reach on the web. For instance, many email spam blockers would instantly categorize any legitimate email you may be sending out as spam. Also, search engines may filter you out immediately and possibly unfairly. Once you have your keywords, form a few possible business name ideas. Keep them short. Catchy. Descriptive. And enticing. Use something you wouldn’t mind seeing written out on a business card, or in a logo on your website. Something with lots of possibilities. Also, keep it easy to spell and remember. Many people just use bookmarks, but isn’t it much easier to type out your favorite websites and access them from any computer?

Now comes the reality. Checking if your domain name is available. Head over to GoDaddy.com (by the way I’m not affiliated with them, I’ve simply used their services for years and never had one problem) with your ideas nearby. The best suggestion I have is to aim for a .com. Using .net, .org, .biz, etc can be harder to remember and many people just remember your business name, assuming it’s a .com and they can find it later. Essentially, make it as easy as possible for your potential customers to find you. Sadly, you have to assume your site is one of many in a large list, and most people have a very short attention span. Make sure you stick out in people’s minds and make it easy for them to remember you! Now, all of this can be very difficult considering the huge amount of .com’s that are already registered and taken. Very often I’ve had to go to option 4, 5 or 6 on my list. But stay strong, and make sure you get something you can live with for a very long time (changing domain names often is bad for business).

So now, let’s say you’ve found the perfect domain name. What next? It’s actually pretty simple.

1. Add to cart.
2. Enter in your personal and billing information (GoDaddy accepts Paypal!)
3. Ignore all the crappy addons they want to sell you.
4. IMPORTANT! Add Private Registration. This is absolutely mandatory in my eyes. Just do it.
5. As far as picking registration length… ask yourself how optimistic you’re feeling about this business? (…hopefully very!) Go for a few years.
6. Again, ignore all the ‘great deals’ they want to sell you.
7. Check out.
8. Save all the login info they give you.

And that’s it. You now have a domain name! Stay tuned for part two in the “First Steps” series!

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