Like much of the World Wide Web, choosing a domain name is relatively straightforward, technically. It's all the "other stuff" that will trip you up. A web site is a very up front, open for all to see, extension of your business. And it starts with your domain name.

     In this article we will describe the rules governing domain names and how to design a name that complies with those rules. We will also cover what's involved in getting a domain name, what a domain name really is, and how it works. Finally, we will discuss how this all relates to you and your web site.

     A domain name is a combination of letters, numbers and/or hyphens, up to 63 characters long. The rule allows up to 67 characters, but that includes the .com, .net or .org extension. The name cannot begin nor end with a hyphen. The most significant rule is that each domain name must be unique.

     With that much latitude defining a rules-compliant name that reflects your business is reasonably easy. There are factors beyond the rules, however, that should be considered.

     Your domain name identifies your business; make it descriptive but keep it brief. The rule says you CAN have 63 characters. It doesn't say you SHOULD. If your business name (skip the spaces) falls within the length rule it may be your best bet. Consistency is a by-law of marketing so using your business name makes a lot of sense. If your business has already established some "name recognition" so much the better for your URL.

     Long domain names are difficult to look at and cumbersome to type. While many visitors will find your site from searches or links, some people will actually type in your domain name to reach you. Keep them in mind. Web Marketing Technologies strongly urges its clients to include their URL on all marketing material, from business cards to print ads. You want the domain name to look good when included on such marketing materials. A good name should be memorable and easy to look at and should be short enough to type in without error.

     Looking back at the Y2K fiasco suggests there may also be some hidden dangers inherent in longer domain names. The 63 character limit is relatively new. Just a few years ago the rule limited names to 22 characters. If you recall, a great deal of the Y2K issue revolved around decades of programmers making assumptions about dates and their formats. One must wonder how many programs have been written and are still widely used that expect to get domain names with 22 characters or less. We know of at least one case in which a major registrar rejected a registrar transfer request because the email processing software truncated the lengthy domain name. It took weeks, numerous emails and phone calls, and an amazing amount of frustration to track this one down.

     Registrars, by the way, keep track of who the various domain names belong to and charge an annual fee for the service. A number of companies, including Web Marketing Technologies, will act as agent for you to supply the information for the registration. The registration process includes the name, address, phone, fax, zip, etc. of the entity that actually "owns" the domain name. The registrar will also want to know those same particulars for a billing contact (obvious function), a technical contact (generally a techie involved directly with the server your site resides on) and an administrative contact (another techie, this one involved in the business / practical aspects of the web site). The registrar also keeps track of where on the World Wide Web your web site can actually be found.

     The Internet is an amazingly simple and naive sort of network. When you type in a URL and hit "enter", your browser, via your ISP's server, shouts out to its Internet neighbors "Hey, are you So-and-so (your domain name in the url)?" Most of the time the answer is "No, but you might try over there." At some point the request reaches a 'Domain Name Server' which answers back "I am not, but that domain can be found on the computer with the IP address number-dot-number-dot-number-dot-number, ask them. The IP (Internet Protocol) address is how computers actually identify themselves to each other. The registrar keeps track of the Domain Name Servers which in turn point to the IP address of the computer that actually stores and serves up the files that make up your web site.

     The first step in the path to a web site is to register the unique name you have created with a registrar such as Tucows or Network Solutions. Web Marketing Technologies always works through Tucows. We take care of the registration details for our clients so they can concentrate on their business.

     One piece of information the registrar will want to know is the IP address of the Domain Name Server that will host your web site. We will cover Domain Name Servers and where your web site actually lives in the next discussion.