DO YOU OWN YOUR  .COM?

How many of you own your .com, .net, .org or .info.? 

Seriously, if you’ve never checked to see if your name is available as a web address, I highly recommend that you do so now! Chances are if you have a fairly common first and last name, your .com domain name could already be taken.

Plenty of places on the web allow you to register a domain name. Many web hosting services act as the go between you and  ICANN (Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers).  For the past five years I’ve used DreamHost to register all of my domain names and I’ve never had a problem doing so, but again there are hundreds of sites you can go to to get this done.

DOT COM DISAPPOINTMENT

I’ve experienced the disappointment of not getting my preferred .com name firsthand. Several years ago I tried to register my name as a web domain, but the .com version of www.rickhancock was already taken. I had to “settle” for the less popular .net. To get a .com version of my name, I had to put my first initial in front of Rick. Not exactly ideal, but under the circumstances it was the best I could do. 

I’m not actively using either of those domain names right now, but it dosens’t matter. The important thing is that I have them when I’m ready to use them. As long as I continue to renew my domain registration, I’m guaranteed to have the domain names I want.

REGISTER YOUR .COM FOR YOUR BLOG AND BUSINESS 

I offer the same .com warning if you write a blog or run a business or have a business idea you’ll want to promote via the web someday.

In fact, over the past few years, I’ve become a serial domain register. Meaning if I think I’ll ever want to use a particular name or phrase in the future for my web related business or personal use I’ll go ahead and register the name now so I’ll have access to it when I’m ready to use it. I have more than 20 .com names registered. 

DO IT FOR YOUR KIDS!

Parents, I strongly urge you to think about registering your kids’ .com names now! Your child may not need it for years to come, but I can almost guarantee that at some point in their lives they’ll have a need for their own personal domain name for either school, business or hobby. 

Many of my students are using their websites as online portfolios to help with internship and job searches. Using a .com registered under their own name goes a long way in presenting a professional image

CYBERSQUATTING

Here’s a challenge for you. In your web browser type the names of popular public figures. For example, barackobama.com will take you to the soon to be President’s campaign website. The world’s greatest golfer’s website can be found at tigerwoods.com 

But not all of the famous people we’ve heard of have claimed their cyber names. Some may in fact have become victims of cybersquatters. The more popular you or your business becomes, the more likely it is cyber prospectors will target your name and will register it before you even know it. It could be costly to try and grab your name back. 

Claim your .com now, BEFORE you become super famous or your business becomes super profitable. 

HOST OR HOSTED WEBSITE?

Many bloggers when they first start out use hosted blogging services like Blogger or WordPress.com.  These sites are fine and extremely easy to use especially if you are a new or an occasional blogger and you don’t want to spend a dime on web hosting services.

The hosted sites do have some limitations. WordPress.com for example seriously limits your ability to monetize your blog. Your ability to alter the way your blog looks and the option to add robust plugins and widgets to your site can also be hampered by using hosted blog services. It’s also likely your blog hosted by Blogger.com or WordPress.com won’t rank as high in Google or other web search engines.   

So, if you want to give yourself the most web flexibility signing up for web hosting services is the way to go! As I said earlier, I’ve been using DreamHost for several years to both register domain names and for web hosting. 

NEW TO WEB HOSTING?

If you’ve never signed up for a web hosting service before, it can be a little intimidating at first: Here are a few articles you might want to read

10 Critical Tips on Finding a Web Host

Web Hosting Talk

Webmaster World

Also check to see if the web host offers a one-click install option.  This is by far the easiest way to get a blog up and running quickly. It’s probably the main reason I’ve stuck with DreamHost for so long. Once my domain name is registered and hosted by DreamHost, installing a new WordPress.org blog template is a snap.

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