Decide on a Domain Name
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The address of a website (like www.hud.gov) is the site's URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This is how people will find your website. The easier your website's URL is to remember, the more people are likely to visit your site.
The URL for a website on a free service might look like this:
This website began on Geocities but now has its own domain name: Which address are you more likely to remember? You can create an easy-to-remember domain name and have it registered (so others can find it). Search for "domain names" on any search engine and you'll find several companies who can register your domain name. It pays to shop a bit, but it is easy to register your chosen name for a few dollars a years, with significant discounts for multi-year registration. You will pay a bit more for a .com domain than a .org or .net. Consider long-term registration, as it can save you a lot of grief if you forget to renew. Many websites have been "hijacked" when unsuspecting owners forget to renew their URLs. There are even services that help find high traffic URLs whose registration has lapsed. Before you register, come up with a few variations of your preferred name, as your chosen name may already be taken. Here are some sites that perform domain name registration:
http://www.register.com |