Author: Harvey Segal

1. What is a Domain Name ?

How would you react to this letter in your post ?

"Dear Sir,

We are sorry to advise you that we are no longer trading as your ISP and
your web site name
"www.localisp/~business/retail/videorecorderland.com" is no longer active".

Consider the effect this would have on your business.

Think of all the locations where your Url is recorded, both

• Online - with customers, adverts, search engines and all the web
  sites that link to yours, and
• Offline - your company stationery, business cards, letterheads,
  envelopes, newspaper ads, brochures, shipping labels, catalogs, etc.

All these contacts are now LOST to you - they will visit your site only to
be met by the 'Url not recognised' message.

So can this be avoided ?

Yes, simply. You can have a name which NEVER changes.

This is a 'Domain' name - a unique name which will always be yours,
independent of an ISP.

If this alone was the only benefit of a domain name it would still be a MUST
for any business. But there are many more advantages and this article will
review them, explain how to choose and obtain a domain name and how
to move from an ISP based web site name to a domain web site.

In our example above the domain name could be simplified to the very
impressive www.VCRworld.com , gaining all the advantages which
will be explained below.

2. What makes a good Domain Name ?

The key elements of a good domain name are

2.1 It should convey effectively the nature of your business

A name such as golfnews.com will immediately give the reader an idea of
what the site contains, with no further description. It will also be easy to
recall from memory at a later time.

But, a warning, you must also plan ahead for any future diversity.

Suppose you then decide to provide news about other sporting activities.
It would make no sense to set up new names such as

golfnews.com/boxing
golfnews.com/tennis

The name of your site should be generic in order to allow for future variation.

If you had chosen the more general "sportsnews.com" this gives you
the flexibility to add

sportsnews.com/golf
sportsnews.com/boxing
sportsnews.com/tennis

2.2 It should be easy to remember and to spell.

Can you recall the web address at the start of the article ?

I doubt it.

(It was www.localisp/~business/videorecorderland.com)

Can you remember the new name ?

Probably yes.

(It was www.VCRworld.com)

Think of the situations when you need to convey the spelling of your Url.
It could be in spoken format (during a conversation, a phone call, in your
voice mail) or printed format (on all your stationery). You want to make it
as easy as possible for your customer to record it and to recall it later and,
hopefully, to communicate it to others.

You need to avoid a name that is too long or one with confusing characters
such as '~' or '-' or mixing 'I' with '1' (And just how do you explain the
tilde sign '~' over the phone ?)

3. What are the benefits of a Domain Name ?

3.1. Portability

A domain name means that you are free to move to a different web host
or ISP and leave the name unchanged.

Why would you want to move ?

Some of the reasons could be

• A better standard of support (quick response and competent
  replies to technical questions)
• Lower prices
• Faster connectivity to your site
• Better tools and features

Whatever the reason you are no longer tied to your old ISP.

3.2. A professional image for your company

Would you feel comfortable about ordering goods offline from a
company based at

Flat 4a, Dodgy Street, Cheaptown

or about sending an order online to an Email address of
perkins23@localisp.com , where there is no way of finding any
information about the company such as the postal address.

Contrast this to ordering from sales@VCRworld.com where you have
the option of obtaining company details through their registered domain
name (via http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/whois).

Think of the credibility it lends to your company to have a name based
on the business: contrast this to a cheap sounding name possibly
hosted on a free site.

3.3. Ease of use for your customer

A well chosen domain name will be shorter to enter into a browser and
easier to say over the phone or appear on a business card. In addition
a customer may guess that your site name is www.[yourcompany].com
and reach it successfully.

3.4. Submission to search engines

Some search engines may not accept submissions from free
(non-domain) sites

4. How to register a Domain Name

Domain names are issued by a central organisation called InterNIC.
Most Web Hosting companies will handle the registration process for
you, but make sure that you are properly listed as the owner of the
domain when it is registered.

The price is $70 for the first two years with an annual renewal of $35 .

5. How to choose a Web Host

If you have a business site on the web then you should aim for nothing
less than a professional hosting site providing 24 hours support, who
will give you a domain name - not one which incorporates their own name.

Although a domain name will simplify your move to another provider if
you are not happy, it is best to choose right the first time. Technical
features apart here is a useful rule for choosing any company which
provides a service: ensure that their level of support is first rate.

Do not tolerate automated messages with false promises to respond
in 24 hours. Ignore what they claim to achieve and prove it for yourself.
Send in questions and observe the quality and speed of response.

6. How to transfer to a domain site

If you are moving from a non-domain site to a domain site, typically
with a new provider, you will not want to lose all the traffic currently
visiting your old site.

Such traffic is coming from, for example

• Other sites linking to yours
• Existing articles or sales letters submitted to newsgroups or forums
• Existing ads at other web sites

First, you change the individual pages on your old site to point to
the new site.

For example,

"We have now moved to another site. Click here to visit new site".

You can find which sites are linking to you, if they are registered in a
given search engine, by searching for "link:old address". You will then
need to make contact with these sites and inform them of the new name.

However it is likely that there will still be unidentified sources conveying
visitors to your site. What you can do is to ask the visitor where he heard
about your site prior to redirecting him. A free gift may provide the
incentive which provides this information.

Ideally you should have counters to tell you how many times your old
pages are being accessed. Once you feel that no more traffic is reaching
your old site or that it does not justify the cost of maintaining it you can
cancel the original site.
A final tip - depending on your relationship with your old provider there
is no need to announce your intention to move until you are ready.

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