How to Buy a Domain Name
how to buy a domain name|buy a domain|buying a domain Good domain names do that--they give the public an idea of what they will find at your site, and if they are the same as your company's name or brand, they make it easier to find your Web site on the Internet. A lot of people are under the misconception that they must purchase a domain through their ISP or content provider. While the service that these companies provide make it simpler for individuals and companies to purchase domains, you can do it yourself without any help (or fees) for the service. We're going to give you some tips, and show you some interesting facts that you may not be aware of, even if you're a regular domain dominator. If the domain is available, you can then proceed to the next step, the InterNIC's accredited registrar directory. You will be asked to fill in some information about the purchasing agent--yourself--and you will need to know in advance the two DNS servers you will be using for your domain. An easy way to find this info out is to look up the domain of the ISP or host you will be using. Their two DNS servers will most likely be the same ones that you will need, and you can copy and paste them from the whois lookup page to your registration form (provided you have opened two browser windows). Do-it-yourself domain registration! If you have registered any domains before, even if your ISP did it for you, then you will have a "NIC handle," which is the name that InterNIC gives you when you are a registrant. You can lookup the previously registered domain, find your own NIC handle, and use it in the registration form for your new domain. That will save you from having to fill in repetitious name and address section multiple times. Once you have filled out and submitted the form, InterNIC will email you the form, and you simply reply to the email. You don't have to place any new info in the form, just reply to the email, sending the info they have sent you back to them. They do this to stop people from registering domains under other people's name without their consent. Although I said you don't need to go through your ISP to actually register the domain, that doesn't mean that your ISP won't come into play here. You'll need to give them a call or drop them an email explaining what you are doing, and they may charge you a fee to setup the domain on their system and add it to the DNS files. There will of course be a fee for you to actually host the site on their servers, although you are under no obligation to host it with them. Once the domain is bought and paid for, you can move it to any ISP or host you wish.
