How To Buy Domain Names

There comes a time when most web users want to get a domain name of their own, and they need to find out exactly how to buy domain names.

As with almost every other product or service in the information age, domain names can be bought online, as long as you have a credit card or a PayPal account.

When you buy a domain name, you are really registering yourself as the owner of the name, and it will be yours as long as you keep paying the small annual fee, which is about $10.

It is not necessary to actually build a web site for the name (unless you want to). You can simply buy the domain name to reserve it for later, or to keep it as in investment.

So, how exactly do you buy a domain name? Here are the steps you have to follow.

1. Go to an online domain registration service, like GoDaddy.

2. Check that the domain name you want is still available - in other words, that no one else has registered it yet. You do this by typing the name you want into the domain search box, on the GoDaddy home page. If the domain is available, you will get a page telling you that almost immediately. You are in luck!

3. You will also see various options (domain name suffixes) which will be available to register - .com, .info.net, .org, .mobi and so on. You are likely to be interested in the .com name, which is still the most popular type of domain name.

4. Press the Continue button, and you will be taken to a screen where you enter your name, address, email address and other contact details. These are used to register you as the owner of the domain name. Press Continue.

5. Another screen will appear, where you can check the details you entered are correct. It is worth double checking that the spelling of your domain is right! Do this and press Continue again.

6. The next screen lets you select how many years you want to register the domain for (one year is the minimum) and whether you want to make your registration private. Private registration stops a lot of spam, as otherwise your email address is publicly available to anyone who checks the ownership of the domain.

7. On the next screen, you review your purchase details, and select your method of payment. You then set up a login and password (you only ever need to do this once, however many domains you buy later).

8. You will need to enter your credit card or Paypal details, and you are done - you have bought your domain name.

This may seem like a lot of steps, but it's really very easy, and only takes a couple of minutes.

To get started, and to buy your domain name, go to my how to buy domain names page, where I show you the best place to buy domains, and give you some valuable tips about getting your domain.

Scott Kintraw writes about how the web can enhance your life.