Domain Name Registration

If you need a domain name first check it is still available to register. I recommend the New Zealand Domain Commission website for searching availability of .nz names: www.dnc.org.nz it's a reliable resource for establishing the who, the what and the where.

Choosing a name

Golden rule is the chosen name must be easy to say, spell and remember. That's really all there is to it. It also has to be available to register of course. While containing key words applicable to your business might be helpful, it's not essential as Google is very good at seeing through all that palava. Say, spell, remember.

How it works

A DNS registry converts easily remembered english language names to unique IP numbers. Think phone book, it's like a telephone directory that takes a name and converts it to a number, it even puts you straight through to where you need to go.

You type a domain name in the address bar of a browser and push the enter key or click Go. Simply put, armed with a domain name the web browser seeks out a DNS server, which in the flick of an eye then redirects the browser to the unique location on the internet of the website. Specifically it points it to an IP (internet protocol) number where it finds a folder on a host server, where the browser by default will retrieve an index.html file. Your home page.

There are two components to maintaining a domain name and website, the registry who knows where your domain lives, and where it actually lives, your web host.

A prerequisite of domain name registration is somewhere specific for the registry to point to, two seperate locations in fact, in case one fails. These two locations are often two website hosting servers, sitting side by side in the secure air conditioned server room of your chosen hosting service.

You can do this all yourself and provide me with just the host FTP details if you wish.

Or simply provide me with your billing details and I'll take care of everything and charge registration costs of NZ$60 for a New Zealand domain name (.co.nz, .net.nz, .org.nz etc) or NZ$67.50 for an international domain name (.com, .net, .biz etc). It will be added to your invoice.

Please note: I simply draw pictures and write HTML, this article is deliberately simplified and may contain technical errors, but hopefully you get the general ideas...