Do you
need a website or web pages ? Three years back,
a straight answer could have been difficult, but
not today. It is unequivocal 'Yes' for most businesses,
specially those who are seriously considering
e-commerce.
Owning a website is considerably
easier and cheaper today than it was even a few
years back. It is also quite cost effective to
have a website-catalog than printed one. In this
article we discuss the first step in marking your
presence in the Internet - your own domain name.
What
is domain name ?
A domain is a unique identity on
the Net - something like brand name or trademark.
However, what makes it different from trademark
or brand name is that the domain name is also
your address in the Net. Every registered domain
name has a unique number associated with it called
IP (Internet Protocol) Number, using which a computer
can locate your website from million others. For
example, 'infobanc.com' is a domain name and its
corresponding IP number is 203.54.15.1 While we
humans find it difficult to remember long numbers,
computers can communicate only through numbers.
So the dual use of domain name and number make
the identification process simpler for both human
and computer.
How does
the Identification Process Work ?
You enter an Internet address or
URL (Universal Resource Locator) http://www.infobanc.com
Now - http stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.
This is the protocol, or set of instructions,
the browser is to use to handle what's coming
up. What's coming will be hypertext, thus the
need for hypertext transfer protocol. That makes
sense. "://" is some leftover UNIX command which
means "everything that follows should be handled
this way." Put the two together and you can see
that the beginning is saying "The following address
is to be handled using hypertext transfer protocol."
"www.infobanc.com" is the actual address. In Internet
lingo it's the URL (Universal Resource Locator).
Now what does the computer do to
identify that part of Internet known as 'infobanc.com'
? Somewhere between you and the site you want
to find is something called a DNS server. That
stands for a Domain Name Server. It has a really,
really long list of domain names and the corresponding
IP numbers. Usually, the ISP that you have your
page on, has its own DNS server. If not, they
are attached to one close by. The DNS server reads
the text you put in, changing that text into the
corresponding IP number, then sends the request
off and into cyberspace. Have you ever put in
an address and received a message back that the
server you requested didn't have a DNS entry?
Well, now you know what that means. The DNS server
can't find a number that lines up with the text
you entered.
Who Allots
these Numbers ?
The Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a technical coordination
body for the Internet. Created in October 1998
by a broad coalition of the Internet's business,
technical, academic, and user communities, ICANN
coordinates the assignment of domain name and
corresponding IP numbers.
How do
I Register a Domain name ?
First of all, you need to find
out whether the domain name you want for your
business is available. whois database, available
with every domain registrar, helps you find the
domain names available for your business.
Once you decide the domain name,
visit any of ICANN accredited Registrars. The
worldwide list of ICANN accredited Rregistrars
is available at http://www.icann.org/registrars/accreditation-qualified-list.html
The fee varies from USD 10 to 35
per year, depending upon the registrar you select.
If you wish to pay in Indian Rupee, select an
Indian Registrar. The Domain Name Buyer's Guide
at http://www.domainnamebuyersguide.com performs
the service of ranking these registrars on the
basis of price and the terms of their contracts.
The site also includes Consumer Alerts about particular
issues of concern to those choosing a registrar.
Key Points
to Remember While Registering a Domain Name
-
There are several top level
domain (TLD) names like .com .net .org .biz
.name etc. However, the most desirable and
sought after are the .com domain names. If
you are unable to get a satisfactory .com
domain name - try .biz (business)
-
An interesting feature of web-based
business is that, for the most part your address
is your name. So, if your company is 'Durga
Exports', prefer domain name durgaexports.com
or durga-exports.com
-
Though long domain names are
acceptable now, select a name not longer than
8 characters. If its long, break it up with
'-' (e.g. glass-beads) or a number 'ties4family'
-
Always make sure that you and
only you are the 'owner' of the domain name.
Each domain name has multiple contacts associated
with it - make sure that you are the 'Administrative
Contact' and 'Billing Contact'. Your consultant
or ISP could be the 'Technical Contact' but
certainly not 'Administrative Contact' or
'Billing Contact'.
-
If you wish to change your Registrar,
you can always do so.
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