Domain names are relatively straightforward! Or at least that’s the theory!!

The domain name is also, but technically not quiet correct, known as the website address.

Using an ISP’s domain name can look amateurish in an e-mail addresses, it is much more so with websites, giving the impression of hanging on another’s coat tails. The only exception being when a firm wants to re-inforce a local or professional affiliation by appearing as part of an existing site dedicated to a region or association. Even in such cases autonomy and continuity are better assured by having one’s own domain and merely using a page on the third party’s site to point users toward it.

Domains are classified according to their endings or “suffixes”. As a commercial organisation a company will almost certainly want a domain ending in .com or .co.uk. Other endings such as .biz and .ltd.uk are at least to date, insufficiently familiar to users, meaning the name can be too readily misremembered. Of the two desirable suffixes, .com is preferable for business with international activities, and arguably gives the impression of a bigger organisation, whilst .co.uk helps reassure users on the largely American-dominated web that they are indeed dealing with a UK firm.

The part of the domain name before the suffix will usually by the firms trading name, provided of course that the domain name has not already been registered, (which is increasingly likely these days). If the name is very long an abbreviation may be considered. Domain names are not case sensitive.

The actual registration of a domain name is a straightforward process that can be done online, either through your ISP or better still through a dedicated registration service company such as Discount Domains Ltd (http://www.discountdomainsuk.com). Renewal fees must be paid, typically every two years.

Checking if a domain name is freely available is very straightforward as most domain registration services provide a WHOIS service, as the name suggest, this checks the ownership details of a domain, note however that such services normally run 48 hours behind actual registrations.

Moving ISP’s can save money, however it may take time and incur extra charges. Pricing in the domain name registration industry have fallen considerably over recent years and a domain name typically now costs from $15 for two years registration.

Once your domain name is registered, you can either leave the domain name “parked” awaiting future use, or point it at a website, this is usually achieved by changing the Domain Name Server, or DNS settings on the domain to point at hosting company where your website is located. Almost all registration services offer a free user control panel to change these settings.

Web hosting is the provision of space on a web server to publish a web site. There are numerous hosting companies in the market, and most domain registration services also offer a hosting solution. Prices vary but $100 per annum should be sufficient for most business needs.

(C) Clare Lawrence 11th May 2004

About The Author

Clare Lawrence is CEO of Discount Domains Ltd - A leading UK provider of Domain name registration and Web Hosting services. Please feel free to re-publish this article provided this reference box remains together with a hyperlink to http://www.discountdomainsuk.com Clare can also be contacted on clare@discountdomainsuk.com.

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This truly is the business to get into in 2005. It’s a red hot opportunity that savvy investors can make a killing on when you know how. And this article will walk you step-by-step through the money-making process.

Don’t be put off by the term “investors”. I’m not talking big money down here. As long as you’ve got a spare

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With the advent of the internet and the ease of which information can readily be downloaded and compiled you would think that more people would realize that the public domain is a source of wonderful wealth that can be tapped into for huge profits.

I have spent the last 4 years “discovering” little known secrets of this information that is readily available to those who know where to look. Or should I say “prospect”. That’s exactly what it is. It’s Mining. When you mine the internet, you are not mining little rocks in a quarry or dredging a cold river looking for that elusive nugget of gold. You are searching for the gold of the future, and of the past. Information becomes your ore. You now become an information prospector. A “Millennium-Age Gold Miner.”

The tools of your trade are much different today than in the days of old. Your “pick-axe” has evolved into your mouse, and your “gold pan” is your hard drive. Your computer is the dredge and your internet connection is your “claim”. In the old days when a prospector found gold he would drive a stake in the ground and this would become his claim. You are doing the same thing when you sign the contract for your internet connection. You are staking a claim to the largest source of wealth in the world. Public Domain Information.

You transcend the boundaries of the physical world by entering a realm in which it is possible to find riches in the deepest recesses and crevices of the web. The public domain is the undiscovered country of the information age. It’s mysteries are deep as oceans and it’s knowledge as expansive as the universe. The public domain now becomes ultimate natural resource.

Information has always reigned king since the beginning of time. There are millions of us who know not the sheer power and value of the information that is freely available to anyone who knows where to look.

The new millennium, and the information-age is very much like the GoldRush of 1849 in which hundreds of thousands of people rushed westward in a stampede of gold seeking pioneers. Some were young, some old, some in between, but all sought a common goal. Gold. Only this time it is different, the gold we seek in this age is information, and it’s not mere thousands, but hundreds of millions people who are on this new quest blazing new trails and forging great new paths to wealth.

Information is abundant and widely available. You can mine this gold at anytime, from any place in the world. You do not have to travel vast distances facing the perils of the land to stake your claim. All you need is a computer and a connection to the web. From anywhere in the world you are able to seek out, find, download, and refine your treasure from the warm and cozy comfort of home.

Never before, in the history of man have you been able to procure such wealth so quickly. You are able to locate information on any subject in an instant, and your results are displayed before you faster than you could have ever imagined.

Your “gold pan” quickly become full of the valuable information-ore. Each time you find a nugget it motivates you to find more. You become entranced with the new found riches and it almost becomes obsession. The desire to find more pulses through your veins like a hot drug, steadily increasing your craving for more. The more you find the more you want. It the realization becomes obvious that you have “Gold-Fever” and now you can’t stop searching for more information.

This is what the public domain is. It’s an internet goldmine chock full of free information ready for the taking.

Stake your claim!

Eric Wichman is founder of PD Times a public domain resources site specializing in free resources for web content and references for webmasters, researchers, marketers, and businesses alike. Be sure to tell your friends about this great new resource for businesses using the public domain.

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