Have you ever wondered what it takes to have your own domain name? Would you like to have your own .com? Well I am here to tell you how you can make that happen.

The first step in domain name registration is figuring out what name you want to register. It can be difficult to find a name that you like and one that is still available for purchase. I like to use Dotster.com to help me come up with a name and to check the name’s availability. Simply go to Dotster.com and enter in your idea, for example petnames.com. As you will see petnames.com is taken, but there are other alternative extensions that are available besides .com. There are also additional domain name suggestions for you to consider in the tab on the left.

This process can take a while as you are really trying to find the best name possible. I like to keep a list of available names as I go along and then choose the best domain name from the list when I feel like I have enough good candidates. I tend to have between 20 and 50 good domain name candidates listed.

When you have selected a name, then I suggest you go to a site like GoDaddy.com to save yourself some money on the domain name registration. GoDaddy is currently charging $8.95 for domain names while Dotster is charging $14.95. There is nothing wrong with Dotster, but domain name registration is a commodity service and GoDaddy has a better price. If you want to go even lower, Yahoo! is currently offering domain name registration for $2.99.

Once you have chosen your registrar, then you enter your chosen name and follow the directions to complete the transaction. There will be several pieces of information that you will need to give, like your name, address, email address, and phone number. I suggest you use an email address that you do not ever plan on losing. That way you will always be able to receive contact messages related to your domain name registration. Complete your purchase and you are ready to go. Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of a new domain name!

So what is next? Well now you need to build your site, find a web host, and publish your site to your web host’s servers. Once you have that done, you need to update the DNS entries related to your domain name. Your website’s DNS records are kept with the company where you purchased your domain name registration. Now you are the proud owner of a published website. I have breezed through the whole build, host, and publish process because I plan on providing more details in a follow-up series of articles. Thanks for reading and have fun with your new domain name.

Jason D. Barrett is currently focused on writing search engine optimization articles for KansasCitySEO.com, writing a search engine optimization blog for KansasCitySEO.com, and writing technology articles for ScoutTechnology.com.