What is a domain name?

A Domain name is a common name that everyday people can use to reach a website instead of remembering the Internet Address.
The Internet Address of a website is called the IP address, which is just a unique combination of numbers (you can think of it as a telephone number). When you “register” a domain you are putting the IP address into a public directory (similar to a phonebook) and making it easy for people to lookup your website.

Truthfully, it does not matter which company you use for domain registration, they all do the same thing. So I recommend you choose the most economically priced one. Shologoo offer a free domain name and free hosting. They also offer automated wordpress setup, which is what we will be using with our hosting.

Tips when selecting a Domain Name

• Use Shorter names – Shorter names are easier to remember, the ideal is under 10 characters but this is not a must, the tools listed above can help with this.
• Avoid misspellings – Gimmicky tricks like adding “z” for plural words (i.e. “stealz” or “dealz”) make it harder to remember.
• Use Keywords that describe your business – This will help people and search engines know what your website is about instantly – i.e. “Robert Johnson Photography & Production Services” should try to use rjphotoservices.com (includes the descriptive keywords “photo” and “services”) rather than robertjohnsonproductions.com
• Try to avoid dashes – These also make it longer and harder to remember your domain name. Search engines also think of them as lower quality websites and rank these domains lower in their results.
• .com extensions are better for search engines, followed by .org, and .net.

Next Step: Web Hosting

After you decide on your Domain Name you will need to setup a dedicated place to house your website, this is where Web Hosting comes in. In the next step we go through how to setup Web Hosting for your own website.
 

Building a website is not an easy task, especially if you are not an expert web designer. Perhaps the major roadblocks for newbie webmasters are lack of knowledge and funds. If you are someone who wants to build a website quickly and easily without wasting time on learning HTML codes, this free guide for you!

 

Hi, my name is Adam Hill, I am a professional web developer and have been building websites for over 10 years. I created this website to help guide beginners on how to make a website using free and powerful web software called WordPress. Follow along this free and easy guide and you to will learn how to create your own website.

What you will be learning

• How to find and register a valuable Domain Name.
• How to Setup and Host your own website.
• How to Install WordPress in less than 5 minutes.
• How to Design your website and give it a professional look.
• Advanced tips for making your site a success and avoiding common problems.

For many people just getting started is the hardest part, so I have provided a completely free series of WordPress tutorials for beginners with videos and easy to follow step-by-step guides and checklists. You can watch the videos and use this guide freely, the purpose of the content is to be helpful and show you how to get started building your own website.
So follow along to join the thousands of people around the world who have successfully made their own websites using the powerful free software and affordable services that I include this guide.

Step 1: Domain Names

In the first section we will cover tools and techniques you can use to find a valuable Domain Name right now. Click the button below to get started with the first steps in this free guide.