I want to register a domain name. Like for example. www.mydomainname.com

What are the steps? and

What's the Cost?

I have read that I should go to a internet registrar (what's that) and just search for my desired domain name and it's that simple.

(It won't be a high traffic website but more of a buisness site for information to prospective clients.)

Don't I need someone to host the site?

I can't be the only BOTL with this question.

Many thanks in advance! :-)
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Someone can probably suggest a better place, but I got mine through godaddy.com.
On the front page, you can check if the name is available and see how much it will cost to register.
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:-)

godaddy is about the cheapest reliable registrar.

The cost varies depending upon the top-level domain (.com, .net, etc.) that you use; I think it is $7-$15 -- just for the domain registration.

Next you need a hosting service -- some business to host your domain (web site and pages and email). This can cost anywhere from $5-$10 per month depending upon your site. Usually you can get a break in price if you pay for a year at a time. Just to give you an idea, I am paying about $8/month for www.shilalasbeads.com.


When considering a hosting service you want to look at

• cost
• reliability (do they backup the site, will they restore it if a problem occurs)
• support (when I have problems can I contact them by phone, email, etc.)
• hosting services -- what kinds of web pages do I need and will they support those (for example, I use "ASP" pages on my site -- that is a scripting technology from Microsoft that allows the pages to be operate somewhat intelligently, so I need a hosting service that supports ASP)
• What kind of database support do they have (you may not need one now, but you may want one later to manage your products, features, costs, and inventory)
• Multiple domain support (you may want more than one domain pointing to the same site -- I have 14 names for my web site that all point to the same location.)

Some hosting services (including godaddy) have applets to help you build a basic site without requiring any skill at develping web pages.

Once you get this going then you need to configure the site for all your email addresses and create and upload your web pages.
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If you JUST need a domain name then go to joker.com, I've been using them for domain names for years and they're great. :-)
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I work for a pretty popular host, and :-)
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I recommend you first choose a provider. Many of them these days include the price of getting a domain name in their fees, no need for you to spend extra (even if its not that much, anyway). And price should not be your primary selection when choosing a provider, IMO, up time and service (and getting someone to either pick up a phone or answer an email within seconds when needed) should be of importance first. I use InMotion hosting and they are great.
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Sometimes the hosting providers charge a fee to do the registration themselves so it can be less expensive to do it yourself. Also some providers do not register you as the technical owner, so if you change providers you have to go through the extra hassle of having the provider transfer the technical role management of the domain to you. Not saying that they all do this, but it does happen pretty frequently.

Also, my list is not in any particular order of importance or anything else. Just random stream of conciousness... :-)
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