So what is a domain name? A domain name is a web address that ends in .com, .org, .net, or another similar ending. Getting a domain is really easy. When I wanted davesite.com, I made sure no one else had it, and just started paying my small yearly fee for it. Now whenever someone types www.davesite.com in their web browser, my web site magically pops up.

The most important feature of a domain is that you own it.

When you get a domain, you own the worldwide name. As long as you've picked a legal name for it (not someone else's trademark) no one will be able to take it from you.

What's a URL? - URL is a geek term that stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It just means (web) address. My URL is http://www.davesite.com/.

Domains are important because:

• Your URL never changes. When you print a flyer, or include the URL in a book, you don't have to worry about it.
• It looks better than being on someone else's site.
• Your e-mail address never has to change. If you own the domain, you@yourdomain.com/.net/.org will always work.
• You have the freedom to move. There are thousands of domain hosts to choose from, so you can pick a new one whenever you want.
• Domain hosts don't show ads on your site. (If you want ads, you'll have to add them yourself.)

When you purchase a domain name, you decide where the domain should go. How's that for control?

One of my sites is hosted with Globat Hosting, one is hosted by GreenGeeks, one is hosted by FutureQuest, and one is hosted by 1&1. All of these hosts offer great support and service for the dollar.

The main things to look for in a host are:

• disk storage space
• monthly data transfer bandwidth
• free daily statistics

**Please bookmark this page now for future reference.**

Here's how a web host works: They have the high speed data lines, the staff, the powerful server computers, the climate controlled rooms, the backup generators, the security, and all that jazz. You're placed on a server computer shared with several other web sites. The web host arranges these computers into rack mounts or server farms. They watch over your site to make sure the computer and connection are running fine. (It's still your job to make sure all your links work and that you have no broken images.)

So how does the web host tie in with a domain name? When you're ready to register a domain name, you need to have a web host picked out, and a plan set up with that web host. Then you'll enter your web host's domain name server IP addresses to resolve your site. (Good news: It's easy, and some hosts even do it for you.)

So say I go with the fictitious web host "Dave's Great Web Hosting Service." Here are the steps to get my web site running:

1. I select the plan of my choice and pay for it, specifying what my domain name will be. I choose a username and password so only I have editing access to my web site.
2. (Skip this if your host gives you free domain) "Dave's Great Web Hosting Service" accepts my choices, and tells me that when I register, I should use 123.456.789.111 and 123.456.789.112 as the DNS servers.
3. (Skip this if your host gives you free domain) I visit a registrar and I select and pay for my domain name, matching the name I specified in Step 1. During the registration process, I enter my information as the administrative contact, and I specify the DNS settings provided in step 2.
4. After two to three days, my domain name is sent to DNS servers around the world, and people can access my virtual domain on "Dave's Great Web Hosting Service" by typing in the domain name I registered, and they'll probably never know I'm in Pennsylvania and my web host is in Florida.

Free domain with Yahoo! Hosting, GreenGeeks, and 1&1. (click above)

If for some reason Dave's Great Web Hosting Service wasn't for me, I could move to another web host as long as I wasn't locked into a long term contract. So if I now selected Drew's Even Better Web Hosting Service, I could just set up an account following step 1, edit my domain's DNS settings, upload my web site to the new server, and after two to three days, my domain is magically pointing to my site on Drew's Even Better Web Hosting Service, and my web visitors won't know the difference unless I tell them I've moved to a new server.

Caution: It sounds easy to move a web site to a new host, but depending on how complex your site is, it can be very time consuming. It's always wisest to pick the most appropriate host right away, instead of moving from host to host constantly.

Some hosts offer a free domain and some make you pay for the domain yourself. So you'll need to calculate the cost of the domain name into your budget in addition to your monthly hosting fee. Domain registrations usually run a yearly fee per domain of $10 to $25.

Tip: Before you register a domain yourself, make sure your host doesn't include it free for the first year in the price!

It is extremely important to look at the monthly data transfer bandwidth included in a plan and the fee per megabyte when you go over if you plan to have a popular web site. There are some easy calculations you can do to get a feel for how much bandwidth is enough. (Remember, 1 character is a byte, 1,000 bytes is a kilobyte or K, 1,000K is a megabyte (MB) and 1,000MB is a gigabyte (GB))

Add up the amount of space consumed by your typical web page, and multiply it by your number of daily visitors, and then multiply it by 31. (Calculate Interactively Below.) If your web page has 10 kilobytes of HTML text, 5 images of 15 kilobytes each, and you expect 50 daily visitors, your calculation looks like this:

Bandwidth per visitor: 10K + (5 * 15K) = 85K
Bandwidth per day, 50 visitors: 85K * 50 = 4250K or 4.25MB
Bandwidth per month: 4.25MB * 31 = 131.75MB

In this scenario, you would use only 131.75MB of bandwith per month. Add a second web page with 5 different graphics? You've just doubled your possible bandwidth requirements.

Now, here's a more complex scenario. Are you planning to open your web site with a Flash introduction? What size is that introduction file? For a 1MB file, at 50 visitors a day, you're looking at this:

Bandwidth per visitor: 85K + 1000K = 1085K
Bandwidth per day, 50 visitors: 1085K * 50 = 54250K or 54.25MB
Bandwith per month: 54.25MB * 31 = 1681.75MB

Ack, that one megabyte Flash file sent your bandwidth through the roof. Moral of the story? If you are having a simple, plain text site with just a few graphics and are not expecting many visitors, a small monthly data transfer rate may be your best choice. However, if you are expecting a lot of visitors, or plan to have multimedia, anything from Flash to a short movie clip to MP3 music, you better be very careful about the plan you choose. Some hosts charge 10 cents or more per megabyte over your limit.

Bandwidth Estimator Visitors per Day: Bandwidth per Visitor: KB Estimated Minimum Bandwidth per Month: MB ( GB )

Are you required to pay the fee if you go over? Absolutely. Even if you cancel your host afterwards, your bill will still be due. This is why it's terribly important to plan ahead and choose the right plan, right away.

As you can see, getting a domain really isn't that hard.

Read my short Globat Web Hosting Review.

Want to help the environment with every visitor you get? GreenGeeks is a great choice, 300% efficient hosting!