Registering the Perfect Name
Congratulations: You chose your domain name, and you're ready to make it official. The next step is to register the name with a domain registrar. You can sign up using any company that specializes in domain registration. The registrar takes care of all the paperwork that's required to activate your new domain name, including these tasks:
- Submitting contact information
- Determining the duration of the registration period
- Listing your domain in the official Internet list of domains maintained by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) at www.icann.org
Who you gonna call?
Who registers domains? Your ISP (Internet service provider) might do it because many now provide this service along with hosting options. Or you can use any other company or Web site that acts as a third-party affiliate for registrars. In other words, now you can register a domain name with almost anyone! Although finding a place to sign up is a piece of cake, Table 1-1 provides a brief price comparison of some of the top online registrars for standard .com extensions. Now you have a wide range of extension choices, from .com and .net to .biz and .tv, and they usually vary in price. For example, the popular .mobi extension, for mobile use, costs somewhat more, than a .com or .net extension. Extensions, such as .co (short for company) and .TV are among the most expensive.
Most domain registrars also offer services such as hosting, e-mail, Web sites, blogs, and ...
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