Your Domain Name is the start of your website journey.
This is the one piece of information that you need to own, as it’s your online “sign above the door”.
Getting your Domain Name set up is a fairly straight forward affair, although there are a few considerations you’ll need to take care of before you get your credit card out.
Part 1 of my Free E-Guide; The Straight Talk Web Guide explains the planning and a few key points you need to be sure about before you set your Domain Name up, but on this page I want to share with you the steps I follow.
How To Set Up A Domain Name
Step 1 – Search For Your Domain Name
You need to know up front if the Domain Name you want isn’t owned by someone else. So the first thing to do is to run a quick search to see that it is not already in use.
Open up your web browser of choice and select a Domain Name Registrar. I use Namecheap as I find their interface easy to manage. Then enter the Domain Name you want to create in the search bar.
I’ve entered my own Domain Name to see what results show up…
Thankfully, this Domain Name is not available as it is owned…by me
The generous folks at NameCheap will offer alternatives to your Domain Name, if the one you want has been bought by someone else.
Step 2 – Make Your Purchase
Once you’ve found the Domain Name of your dreams, the next step is to grab it for yourself.
After adding your Domain Name to the cart, you’ll be given some options to ponder over.
- Web Hosting
- VPN
- SSL
Out of these four, I would only select SSL.
I like to keep my Web Hosting and Email set up separate from my Domain Name, because I have a preferred Web Host different to Namecheap.
More importantly, I’ve found that it is less painful to move a website from one hosting provider to another when you DO NOT have your Domain Name registered with your web host.
Again, this is my preference.
Side Note:
If you do not have an account with Namecheap, you will be asked to set one up at this point. This will enable you to add your payment details and provide access to your own personal dashboard.
In this example, I have already set up my account, so you will not see this part here. Rest assured, it is a simple process, no more difficult than creating an Ebay or Amazon account, or registering your store card. All you need is your preferred email address and credit card details.
Step 3 – Confirm Your Order
You are almost at the finish line, you just need to review your bag of goodies and click Confirm Order to secure your Domain Name.
Here’s a quick run through of what Namecheap currently offer as checkout options:
Don’t forget you can read up on Domain Names in my free E-Guide (if you’ve not grabbed your copy already).
NEXT STEP –> Set Up Your Website Hosting