How To Register Your Very First Domain Name

So you decided you want to register your very first domain name and you'd like help on how to do this. Well your lucky, because in a moment I'll be showing you step by step instructions on how you can do exactly that.

So here's what you have to do to:

1. Open up your browser and type in godaddy.com in the address bar. Godaddy is a very large and one of the most popular "domain registrar" companies. In this tutorial I'll be using Godaddy to register a domain name, but truth be told, it's not the only "domain registrar" companies out there. There are plenty of them, but I have personally been using Godaddy for many years now and I haven't had any issues with them whatsoever. Plus you can register website for as little as $2 for an entire year. Kind of neat.

2. Think of a domain name you would like to call your website, this is going to be what people type into their browsers when they decide to visit your website. Now, chances are, registering a domain name of your choice is going to be a little more difficult than you think. Most likely you'll find it frustrating as nearly all but 1 address have already been taken. Here are some tips for coming up with good domain names that nobody has ever heard of before:

• Tip #1: Have alliteration in your domain name. For example if you have a website talking about cats, you could come up with all sorts of bazaar names like creepycat.com, cutecat.com, custodiancat.com, kingcat.com (I hope these aren't taken, I'm just thinking off the top of my head). The point is, come up with a good website name people would actually remember.
• Tip #2:There's a website called http://www.nameboy.com. Nameboy is a website that gives you good ideas on what to name your website. Go to Nameboy.com, when you get there, there's a place where you type in a variation of keywords and it will spit out a list of possible domain names that have yet to be taken. This is a very helpful tool that will save you a lot of time and effort and will make coming up with good domain names a breeze!

3. Once you have selected a domain name, now you're ready. It's time to register that name, so go ahead and type it into the Godaddy box. It will tell you whether or not the address has been taken, if it hasn't then you're in luck, continue with the registration by clicking on next.

Once you hit the next page, it will ask you a couple of questions regarding your personal details and some website features you can have. Godaddy would like to know how long you want to register your website for. It's up to you how long you want to choose, if this is your first time I recommend you just choose one year (You can change these details at a later stage). It also wants to know about your website privacy, there are a number of privacy options you can choose but honestly it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. I usually go for the standard but if I would like to have an extra layer of security I'll go with the business registration. Finally it will ask you for personal address and payment details. Type in accordingly and head onto next step. You're almost done!

4. By now you'll have the checkout page in front of you. You'll see the address you are registering and any other additional features you have selected. Once you're happy with it, go ahead and check out.

You have just registered your very first domain name that belongs to you. When people decide to visit your website, all they need is to type the domain name you have just registered and they'll be able to see your website in it's all its glory. Of course you'll need to add stuff to it but you have just accomplished a big milestone. So give yourself a pat on the back. Now all you need is to host your own website and add content to it, something I'll be discussing in future articles so stay tuned:)