How to Register a Domain Name for Your Website

pcmag.com:

Once you've decided to build a website, you must make an important decision, even before you consult our list of the best web hosting services: What's your domain name going to be? You know, it's the [yoursitename.extension] web address by which all your (hopefully) many visitors find you. Your domain name is, in effect, the name of your website, so you want to make sure you get a good one.

Purchasing a name is a relatively simple process, but finding one that isn't already taken can be a challenge. In addition, you should make sure that you understand the contract between you and the domain name registrar. If this is starting to sound a bit complicated, don't worry: We're here to help you get started.

Domain names put a friendly face on hard-to-remember numeric internet addresses. Every computer on the internet has a unique internet protocol (IP) number. A domain name represents this IP number. For example, the IP number for the domain name whitehouse.gov is 104.109.178.94. The purpose of a domain name is to give users an easy-to-remember handle so that when sending an e-mail to, let's say, the President of the United States, you can type [email protected] instead of the more unwieldy [email protected]

Anyone can buy a domain name. The most straightforward way to do so is to visit a domain name registrar, such as A2, GoDaddy, Google Domains, or Namecheap, key in the domain you want to buy, and pay a fee. The first two mentioned companies are web hosting services (more on that in a bit), while the last two are dedicated domain sellers.

You can't buy just any domain, of course—only one that isn't already registered by another person or business and that bears a valid domain suffix. In general, you'll want to buy