By Tim Knox

Should I Master My Own Domain

Everybody's talking about Domain names these days. A domain name or URL (Universal Resource Locator) is the alphanumeric name for a particular computer's (or network of computers) Internet Protocol (IP) address. An IP address is a series of numbers that identify a particular server on the internet. The domain name is what the site is called rather than referring to it by its IP address, which would be something like 123.123.123.45.

AOL.com is a domain name. So is Amazon.com. So is www.digitalgraphiti.com and www.yahoo.com. The question for you, the business owner, is: Should you secure your own custom domain name or just use the often cryptic URL that is assigned to you by your Internet Service Provider?

When you sign up for internet service your ISP will give you (or sell you) enough space on their server to post your website, usually 2 to 5 megabytes. Once you upload your site to the ISP's server you are on the web. The problem is you don't have a very memorable web address.

For example, if your ISP is Mindspring.com your internet address would be http://www.mindspring.com/~yourusername. This works, but it really doesn't say much for the professional image of your business. It would be much better to a web address that your customers could remember. Something like www.your_business_name.com.

Securing a domain name is not difficult if you know how to go about it, though it can be overly technical for most folks. The cost is $70 for basic registration for 2 years from InterNic (the organization that oversees domain ownership) and an additional $49 if you don't have a server to "park" your domain on. Most people prefer to let an internet service bureau like Digital Graphiti do all the work for them for a small fee.

One note: if your business has a common name, don't be surprised if the URL you want is already be taken. Think of variations that you can use. If you're adament about having a particular business URL you can contact the current owner and offer to buy it from them. However, this can be a very expensive purchase.

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Tim Knox is an Internet designer, developer, author and teacher. He is the Creative Director of Digital Graphiti. In a prior life, Tim was an award-winning humor columnist and cartoonist. His current writing projects include a book on web development for SAM's Publishing.