woensdag, oktober 04, 2006
What's in a name?
The first thing you need when you want to make new web application is a name such as www.myfunkyname.com . It's called a DNS name (short for Domain Name System) and it's not free but almost. You basically need to pay a yearly small registration fee to your registrar. The rules and tariffs are different for the different top domains.
So, let's talk about the top domain. These are fixed and the most known ones include .com, .net, .org . Last year some new top level domains were started to overcome the shortage of names, such as .biz and .name. And then there all all country top domain names ending in the two character ISO acronym such as .us, .be and even .tv (the island Tuvalu!). Each country's assigned registrar decides upon the rules for getting a name. The rules for .com, .net and .org are very simple: first come, first served. And let the courts settle it when a snot teen from Alabama registers kentuckyfriedchicken.com instead of KFC. Or if a Dutch guy registers belgium.be because our own government was too slow (true story!). Anyway, I have chosen for a .com name for my site because that is what most people will naturally fill in when searching for a site. If you want to be sure, you can also reserve the same name with .net, .org or other endings and all point them to your domain. Or names that can easily be mistaken for yours. It costs extra, but otherwise somebody else might piggyback on your name. For example, whitehouse.com is NOT the same as whitehouse.gov . (Believe me, don't check it out, I said don't !) Anyway, if you want to know more about the top internet domains available, check out http://data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt .
How can you check if your great name is still available? How can you reserve your name? There are many registrar services and hosting providers that will help you out here. I personally recommend keeping the name and the web server (hosting) choice separated to avoid a tie-in with your hosting provider. In one of the next posts I will cover web hosting for your site, but you need to know it is an independant decision from where you reserve your name. You can have you name pointing or redirecting to any server or site on the web, and that way you can switch hosting providers easily: you just copy your site somewhere else and adjust your web name link.
The registrar I have chosen for my internet sites is directnic.com . They were the cheapest when I first needed a site, they charge 15$ per year per name and there online management tools are great. It's a completely web based service and I'm very happy with it. They will send you reminder mails when your names expire and allow for redirection, domain parking, your own e-mail addresses ending in @yourfunkyname.com, adjusting the name server (NS records) etc... Right now there are even cheaper registrars out there, but I'm happy with mine and I want to keep all my names in one place. BTW all my sites multitaal.com, bertdecoutere.com and kleinzwarthuis.com point to different folders on the same webspace I have purchased.
So, in conclusion
Next time I'll discuss how I decided on buying web space.
So, let's talk about the top domain. These are fixed and the most known ones include .com, .net, .org . Last year some new top level domains were started to overcome the shortage of names, such as .biz and .name. And then there all all country top domain names ending in the two character ISO acronym such as .us, .be and even .tv (the island Tuvalu!). Each country's assigned registrar decides upon the rules for getting a name. The rules for .com, .net and .org are very simple: first come, first served. And let the courts settle it when a snot teen from Alabama registers kentuckyfriedchicken.com instead of KFC. Or if a Dutch guy registers belgium.be because our own government was too slow (true story!). Anyway, I have chosen for a .com name for my site because that is what most people will naturally fill in when searching for a site. If you want to be sure, you can also reserve the same name with .net, .org or other endings and all point them to your domain. Or names that can easily be mistaken for yours. It costs extra, but otherwise somebody else might piggyback on your name. For example, whitehouse.com is NOT the same as whitehouse.gov . (Believe me, don't check it out, I said don't !) Anyway, if you want to know more about the top internet domains available, check out http://data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt .
How can you check if your great name is still available? How can you reserve your name? There are many registrar services and hosting providers that will help you out here. I personally recommend keeping the name and the web server (hosting) choice separated to avoid a tie-in with your hosting provider. In one of the next posts I will cover web hosting for your site, but you need to know it is an independant decision from where you reserve your name. You can have you name pointing or redirecting to any server or site on the web, and that way you can switch hosting providers easily: you just copy your site somewhere else and adjust your web name link.
The registrar I have chosen for my internet sites is directnic.com . They were the cheapest when I first needed a site, they charge 15$ per year per name and there online management tools are great. It's a completely web based service and I'm very happy with it. They will send you reminder mails when your names expire and allow for redirection, domain parking, your own e-mail addresses ending in @yourfunkyname.com, adjusting the name server (NS records) etc... Right now there are even cheaper registrars out there, but I'm happy with mine and I want to keep all my names in one place. BTW all my sites multitaal.com, bertdecoutere.com and kleinzwarthuis.com point to different folders on the same webspace I have purchased.
So, in conclusion
- Check out this list of registrars if you want to reserve your own name(s)
- Keep in mind that buying web space and buying a web name are two independent decisions. You want to own your own name, so make sure it's not your registration service that legally owns the name!
- The most used top domains are .com, .net and .org
- Check if your chosen name is still available, for example on www.directnic.com
Next time I'll discuss how I decided on buying web space.
