Do's for Domains

One of the first things any new business person or company tends to do these days when they are setting up a new venture is to check if their domain name is available.  Hastily they go online and type their chosen domain into "Whois" or some hosting company website to see if the domain they want is available.

"Amazing, it's there, the one I want!" says the searcher "I must register it right away before someone else gets it!".  So immediately they look for the cheapest company online to register their precious domain, secure it and sit back and plan their online strategies.

Wrong move, and potentially disastrous.  Why?

First item on our list of things to do is:
"Do think about your online strategy before registering a domain."

I have a number of examples where the strategy displayed in the second paragraph above has caused problems.  One company who registered an .eu domain with an obscure Scandinavian company found they couldn't connect it to the beautiful new website which had been constructed by a website designer for them.  The domain had to be transferred.  Another company bought a domain through a company in Australia and found that despite numerous e-mails they couldn't get their domain transferred and had to register a similar one.

Part of your online strategy plan should be "Who does my website designer recommend I register my domain with?" or if you are doing things yourself "Where will my website be hosted?".  A moments thought now can save you time and money in the future.

Second "do" which follows from the first "Do consider cost, but consider what you need too."  So if you want to register your domain with a hosting company, does it offer the facilities and services you will need?  Do you want e-mail based on your domain?  For example, office@newcompany.co.uk.  If you do, make sure you get a package from the hosting company that includes e-mail. 

Many new websites require facilities like SQL databases or CMS features that require PHP to be running on the host server, check with your web designer to see what they suggest first, before setting up hosting or registering your domain.

Domains are an important part of business these days so it pays to do things the right way, first time.