Why This Matters
Buying your domain is one of the first steps you will undertake before building your website. Your domain is the address at which your website will reside (e.g. www.google.com) and is the cornerstone of your digital identity including your email identity.
You will also need a host – that host will store your entire website, including all its pages, the design, the resources, etc. on their servers. Most hosts will also help you purchase the domain and bundle it with a website hosting package. Be aware that prices will vary for your domain depending on who you purchase it through, despite buying the exact same domain with no differences.
Note: Having your domain hosted with a domain hosting company and your website hosted elsewhere will give you more flexibility and emergency response capabilities. If your website is mission critical and your server goes down you can repoint your domain to a new site.
Resources
Do’s and Don’ts of Securing a Domain Name – Things to consider when establishing the domain name for your website.
Domain Names Lookup Through ICANN – The ICANN registration data lookup tool gives you the ability to look up the current registration data for domain names and Internet number resources.
FAQ Related to Registering a Domain Name – General questions about domains and registration.
Recommendations
Figure out which registrar will work best for your particular circumstance and if you’d like your domain name and hosting done by the same company or different companies.
You will likely be offered a number of add-ons with your purchase if you are also buying website hosting along with your domain name. Do your research and decide which add-ons you actually need, and keep track of them, as you can usually cancel the add-ons you find you don’t require.
If you are working with a web designer or a service provider that is also building your website – make sure if they are buying your domain name – you own your own domain name. There are stories of the occasional company that will buy a companies domain name and when they are let go, they do not give the domain name back to the company. This will set a company back because they will have to invest in rebranding if their website was part of their marketing, changing and then migrating all emails to new email addresses and general business disruption.
easyDNS – A great option overall, this is a Canadian company with dedicated DNS hosting. Also offers Managed WordPress options as well as inexpensive options.
Bluehost – A well-rounded choice for domain and hosting, well-reviewed.
GoDaddy – One of the most popular options for domain and hosting. There have been some complaints about its customer service, and the platform is a little clunky. However, they will usually provide the initial best deal for your domain, and being so popular, most service providers will have experience using GoDaddy despite its issues.