DNS is an abbreviation for domain name system. The domain name system is like the phone book for the internet.

DNS is essentially a database of IP addresses.  Each IP address contains a series of numbers that allow computers to communicate with each other. A website is identified on a server by its IP address. Instead of your visitors having to remember an IP address to type into their browser to access your site, they can instead just use your more memorable domain name. When your domain is entered into the browser, DNS translates it into an IP address because that is what computers understand. Your computer is able to connect to your domain hosting and show your website on the web browser once the IP address is found.

A domain name registration is the simple process of reserving your website’s name for a specified period of time. The Domain Registrant is the user who actually registers the domain name (you) and the Domain Registrar is the company who helps that user with their domain registration (in our case we use Register Domain as our Registrar).

A domain is a name you use for your web address. That which people type in the address bar of their browser to visit your website.

E-Mail Hosting is the space we provide for the hosting of your e-mails under your domain.

In planning your online presence, a domain name is one of the most important decisions you will make, particularly if you rely on non-internet promotion to drive traffic to your site. If you expect all of your visitors to come to your site by simply clicking a link from a search engine or from other web sites, your domain name can be almost anything. However, if you expect any portion of your audience to manually type the domain name into their browser’s address bar, you need to choose a domain name carefully.

Your domain name becomes the “brand name” of your web site. Millions of dollars and millions of hours have been spent researching effective branding. Most of the results of that research apply directly to choosing internet domain names. A “good” or effective domain name meets most or all of the following criteria.

Easy to spell and pronounce

You should avoid words that are difficult to spell, or can be spelled more than one way. You should also choose a domain name that allows you to say the name to someone else, who can then easily type the name into a browser. They should not have to ask you to spell it out for them.

Some “good” examples are yahoo.com, cnn.com, infoseek.com, and excite.com. Even the more “unusual” of these domain names can be typed easily and correctly based on the spoken word.

Some domain names that are not as easy to spell are eidos.com, submit-me.net, and hisel.com. In particular, hyphenated domain names are often problematic. The natural tendency is to pronounce the name as if it were not hyphenated. Even if you specifically say “submit hyphen me dot net,” for example, people may forget to insert the hyphen.

Easy to remember

Presumably you want people to visit your web site more than once. Therefore, you should choose a distinctive name that is easy to remember. Many of the other suggestions in this article can help you create a memorable domain name. Avoiding hyphens and irrelevant number combinations in a domain name helps as well.

Evoking positive associations

“Cover Girl” makeup, “Irish Spring” soap, and “Bounty” paper towels evoke positive associations in the consumer’s mind, even when those associations have no direct connection to the product. Research has shown that individuals remember information better, and form more positive attitudes when the information is associated with positive, happy images.

Some examples of positive domain names are yahoo.com, islandofgifts.com, alohaprints.com, and webolicious.com.

Reinforcing the site’s concept

The visitor should be able to draw some connection between a site’s domain name and its content. Consistency between content and name can aid in memory and encourage repeat visits. A domain name that is completely contrary to the site’s content can cause dissonance in the visitor’s cognitive processes, and is likely to result in more negative attitudes being formed. (A notable exception is when the dissonance is used in a humorous or ironic way.)

Some examples of domain names that are relevant to the site’s actual content are yourdomainhost.com, 3dfxgames.com, perlarchive.com, etoys.com, blackfilm.com, downloads.com, and shareware.com.

Shorter is better

Usually, shorter domain names are better than longer domain names. Shorter domain names are easier to spell, and easier to type. Unfortunately, most of the “good” short names are unavailable. Practically all two-, three-, and four-letter combinations are already registered.

Three-letter names seem to be very appealing, perhaps because so many individuals and companies have names that can be initialized into three-letter combinations. Some people try to compensate for the shortage of these domain names by hyphenating between each letter (for example, x-y-z.com). This may not be a good idea, though, for reasons given above.

The domain name registration system puts a limit on long names. Domain names cannot exceed 63 characters in length. (This does not include the top-level domain, such as .com or .net.). In any event, if you are considering a domain name that is 63 characters long, you may want to reconsider.

Uniqueness

Finding a unique domain name gets harder with each passing day. It seems that all of the really unique names have been taken. However, you do not want a domain name that so closely resembles other domain names that your visitors become confused and type in your competition’s URL.

The distinctiveness issue is why so many consumer products companies “create” brand-new words for their brand names—words like Exxon, Xerox, and Citgo. Note also that these distinctive made-up words are easy to pronounce. A domain name like xycjxyk.com is certainly unique, but it is not going to be effective in generating traffic, and no one will be able to remember it.

Say something about the visitor

Along with positively associating the site’s concept, good domain names often say something positive or unique about the visitor. This makes the experience and the domain name more personally relevant to the visitor. For example, you can often achieve this effect by directing the domain name specifically toward the visitor with the words “you”, “your”, or some variation.

Some examples of this technique are doityourself.com, lovingyou.com, and myownemail.com.

Avoid linguistic traps

One of the reasons many companies make up new words for their brands is to avoid using a word that has potentially negative connotations in different languages or cultures. One of the more popular marketing-related urban legends involves Chevrolet’s attempt to sell the Nova automobile in Spanish-speaking countries. As the story goes, one possible interpretation of Nova in Spanish is “it doesn’t go,” which, of course, would be an unfortunate name for an automobile.

Urban legends aside, the point is to “step back” from the domain names you are considering, and look at them from as many possible viewpoints as possible. When you combine multiple words into one name, check to see how many other, unintended words might be derived from the name. Look for any possible unwanted double-entendres that may be hiding in the combination. Always consider your target audience, and that audience’s likely interpretation of your domain name.

Conclusion

Selecting the right domain name has never been easy, and it gets more difficult as the number of registered domains increases. However, it remains one of the most important decisions you can make for your web site.

A good process is to select a number of possible names, and then ask for comments from disinterested third parties. Play the word association game to discover what associations the name invokes, and to uncover any unintended meanings or difficulties. Ask your testers to spell the names to see if they meet the easy-to-spell criteria. Also ask them what type of content they would expect to find on such a web site.

The domain name choice you make now can have large impacts later on. So think about it carefully, and do some research. A little work now can pay big dividends in the future.

There are different prices for different domains. You normally pay an annual fee. The following are pricing of popular domains:

• • • .co.za >> R100.00
    • .org.za >> R100.00
    • .com >> R275.00
    • .org >> R275.00

We are able to register other top level domains.

hen you order E-Mail Hosting, you will be presented with the following three options:

• • Register a new domain
  • Transfer your domain from another registrar
  • I will be using my existing domain and update my nameserver

You will select the first option to register a new domain. The system will check whether the domain is available. If it is available, then you will proceed to the next step. If it is not available, then you will have to choose another name.

Once a domain is registered, it CANNOT be cancelled or deleted or reversed even if the domain name is spelled incorrectly or it is not the domain you wanted or whatever the case might be. Thus, there will be no refund since the money would have been paid over to the domain Registrar on registration.

You will have to register and pay for a new domain. The incorrect domain will expire after a year.

When you register a domain name with The Website Hoster, you will get access to a user-friendly Client Area. You can manage your domains and all of the features included with your domain registration in this Client Area. You will be provided with a username and password to login. Just some of the domain features you’ll be able to manage include adding/changing your nameservers, transfer a new domain to us, changing DNS records and much more!

It takes up to 48 hours for a domain to become active after we have accepted your order. If your domain is not active after 48 hours, then you must send us a support e-mail.