What's In A (Domain) Name? (by Rachel Luxemburg)

What’s In A (Domain) Name?
by Rachel
            Luxemburg
One of the
            decisions you have to make when setting up a website is
            whether or not to get your own domain name.
           
            The most frequent objection we hear about having a ‘virtual
            domain’ is that it’s an unnecessary expense. And yes, it does
            cost you a little more money to get a domain name.
           
            Your extra costs will be:
           
           
              Registering a domain with InterNIC is $100.
              If your ISP submits your registration forms you’ll
              probably be charged from $25 to $100 for their time and
              effort in setting up the domain.
              Some ISPs charge more money per month to host virtual
              domains.
            In short, it could cost you an extra $200, plus possible
            higher hosting fees, to get a domain name. Compare that to the
            total cost of having a website created and marketing it, and
            that’s a very small additional expense.
           
            What are the benefits?
           
            As the Internet gains users, the professionalism of your
            website become more important. Would you name your business
            “Susan’s subdivision of the Bob Company”? No. So why be
            www.somebody-else.com/~your-company?
            In addition, if you want to advertise your website in
            brochures, your letterhead, business cards, or other forms of
            advertising, your website address needs to be easy to
            remember. A certain percentage of your hit traffic will come
            through search engines and other links where the user doesn’t
            have to type anything, but if you want people to be able to
            just sit down at their browser and go straight to your
            website, a domain name makes the job easier for them.
            It’s possible that the domain name you want has already
            been registered by someone else. Are you out of luck? No. In
            the near future, seven new domain endings will be added to the
            now-familiar .com, .net, and .org: ‘.store’ for businesses
            offering goods, ‘.info’ for information services, ‘.nom’ for
            individuals who want personal sites, ‘.firm’ for businesses or
            firms, ‘.web’ for entities emphasizing the Web, ‘.arts’ for
            cultural groups and ‘rec’ for recreational or entertainment
            activities.
            Brought
            to you by: World Wide Information Outlet - http://certificate.net/wwio/,
            your source of FREEWare Content online.
           
LinkAmerica
            Internet Services—(212) 334-0331
Technical Proficiency
            —Security—Total Value
We focus on the Internet so you
            can focus on your business
http://www.link-net.com/
           
rslux@link-net.com