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Example: the domain name of my website is WebByShore.com. See example below. 

I selected this domain name because it represents my website name- Web Design by Shore Galaxy. Note that the "http://" is not considered part of the domain name.

First, I will provide some tips on choosing an ideal domain name for your organization. Then, I will show you step by step how to register this domain through a professional web host. 

Domain Name Considerations and Tips

• Ideally you want your domain name to be short as possible. Try to keep your domain name no longer than three words. The shorter the name, the easier it is to remember. Furthermore, there is less chances of making a mistake when typing in a short name.
• If possible, include your company name in your domain name.
• For website optimization purposes, include keywords in your name. Although this is not completely necessary for good website optimization, it may be helpful. Do not fret if you're unable to utilize the key word in your domain name. You can make up for it later in other ways.
• Be careful of how your domain name may look in the address bar. Although it may look OK on paper (such as your business card or company brochures), it may look very different when it resides in the address bar! For example, I chose this domain name for my website: www.WebByShore.com. It is supposed to represent my website name which is Web Design by Shore Galaxy. However when it is viewed in the address bar, it looks like this: www.webbyshore.com (Webby Shore)! However, I am OK with this since it is a bit catchy and easy to remember. But you can see by this example how other combinations may not work as you intended.
• Generate a list of many domain names from which you can choose from. It is nice to start with a variety of domain names and narrow it down to one that sounds good to you.
• Try for a ".com" extension. Most people relate better to dot com extensions especially when it comes to a professional website. This does make it more difficult to find a good domain name since the dot com extensions are the most popular and many of them are taken.

Think it Over!

Now, start brainstorming a list of possible domain names that you would like for your website. I normally just open up a new document in a word processing program such as Word Pad and start typing in names that sound good to me. Try many variations of names relating to your business or website name. Once you have a good list of names, try to narrow it down to just the ones that you will be satisfied with as your official domain name.

Next I will show you how to check on the availability of the domain names that you would like to use.  And if you find one that is available, we will get you started with a professional web host that will register the domain for you. 

Part 3: Domain Availability Check

Table of Contents for this Series