Anyone searching the internet will only find your website by typing in a URL (Universal Resource Locator) or by using a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, or MSN Search. This URL will correspond to a domain name which you have registered, and paid for, for a specified period of time.

     If your website will be hosted for free by a source such as Lycos, or it is a free hosting service provided by your ISP (Internet Service Provider), you may not have a choice of domain names. In fact, one may be assigned to you based on your username. This works just fine if your website is personal in nature, and will be used primarily to share photos and information with family and friends. You can simply send them the URL to find your site via email.

     If your website will be broader in scope than this, or will be an E-Commerce site to promote your business, and/or sell goods and services on-line, you'll need to search for, and register, your own domain name. Researching your options before purchasing that domain name will be critical to your success in promoting your site. Try to think of a very short and descriptive name for your new website. Then go to a service such as http://www.checkdomain.com. (one of but many that will perform this service) Make sure that the domain name you select is relevant to what your site is all about, and don't be discouraged if you can't find a good match right away. What may seen to be the most popular domain names in any category may already be in use, or may have been purchased (parked) by someone in hopes of selling that domain name. *** In anticipation of the opening of the Mashantucket Pequot Indian tribe's Foxwoods Casino (the largest gaming casino in the world), every possible permutation of a desirable domain name was bought up by speculators. Some were later sold to the tribe for many thousands of dollars. Just be persistent - you'll find one that will work for you. The .com suffix is arguably the best for a business site, but there are others available such as .biz. When you've registered your domain name, make a careful note of just which service registered the name for you, and the expiration date. Don't forget to renew, or you may lose your domain name to a competitor, undoing all the work you've done to promote your site."Site Me Up" can perform this service for you as part of one of our hosting packages.