An important contribution of the internet is that is a catalyst for making information active rather than passive.  For example, if someone has a great recipe for pizza, they can post the information on the internet where the data itself becomes active and interacts with visitors.  In a sense, this active-information phenomenon is one of the key motivators for people posting content online.  More than just "reaching out and touching someone", the internet provides a way to "put it out there and let it be touched".

Here are some key things to do:

• Get your own domain name (www.YourCompany.com) if you have a business or wish to project a professional image.

• Stay away from the FREE home page hosting companies that have excessive pop-ups, banners and frames.


 

If you have a company, plan on starting your own internet venture, want to use a shopping cart for ecommerce transactions, or just wish to have more control of the website you're developing, you'll need your own domain name. 

The internet is a virtual world with vast amount of information stored in various physical locations. This information is actually in many different computers that are linked together by hard wire and wireless communication electro-magnetic signals. The virtual world is indexed by domains. A domain name is a unique identifier of your web site. The domain name, typically typed in a form of URL in a browser, is mapped by the DNS (Domain Name System) to the IP address of the computer where your web site is located. So, to be part of the WWW (World Wide Web), you need a unique domain name. As an example, take the domain name of the site anywhere.com. The .com is an extension, most domains fall into .com, .org, .net, .edu, .org, .biz, etc. categories. ".com" extension (top-level domains) is most common for commercial web sites. Non-profit organizations might prefer using .org, internet related may use .net, universities would use .edu, etc.

A domain name can be any name you choose, as long as there is no conflict with an existing domain name. The best domain name, however, should serve your purpose... i.e., it should reflects your site's content; and it should be easy for people to remember so you can promote your site.

When you come up with a name, you must start by checking to see if it already exists. Many web hosting companies will do this for you, and some do it free, but the hosting companies that do this for you normally register the domain in their name, so if you ever want to change hosting companies you cannot easily take your domain name with you.

If the domain name you desire has already been taken, the registrar will offer you a few similar alternate suggestions that ARE available, you can choose one of these, or try other alternates of your own. For instance... you want happytrails.com but it is taken... try adding a dash to make it happy-trails.com.  Anyway, just keep trying alternatives until you are happy with a domain name, then after you decide simply register the domain you selected. We use Network Solutions (the first ICANN approved registrar) as our registering agency, but there are many to choose from. We strongly recommend you register your domain yourself, and in YOUR NAME, this way YOU are in complete control of your domain.  The registration cost for 1 domain for 1 year should not exceed $35.00, and many registrars are lower than that especially if you purchase more than one year. 

Next, go to step 2 to see what else you need to know....