Domain names

Buy your own domain name

It looks the business!

With your own domain name you will get your own email address, such as mary@yourdomain.com. Much more impressive than a yahoo address!
Even cheap hosting provides several email address, so you can have mary, info, office, accounts etc. all at yourdomain.com!
These email addresses can all be used with your own email client, such as Outlook or Outlook Express, or with web mail when you're away from the office and your own computer.
You can automatically forward these email addresses, so when you're on that well deserved break in the Bahamas, someone else can be dealing with the email.

What's in a name?

The name you choose can affect your search engine ranking. Using your own name is not usually the best option. Somewhere it should include what you do. So, if you are a plumber, include the word plumber in the name, for example, BobthePlumber, or BobsPlumbing. It will be much better for the search engines.
You may need to prevent other companies using a similar name. You may want to buy similar versions at the same time, for example, "plumbers4Us" and "plumbersForUs". Also consider if you want to buy other tlds such as both the .co.uk and com versions.

Less than you think!

Sites that provide free hosting, such as your Internet Service Provider, generally don't let you use your own domain name. You have to use something like http://users.(your isp's name)/(Some name you choose)/ . It's a bit long winded and not going to impress but it will be free.
You can also buy domain names without hosting and point it to where your web site is, for example, your free page on your isp's server. This often has email included. It can cost as little as $2.
If you buy your domain name from your web site host, it can cost as little as £6.50 per year upwards or in some cases, free. There are lots of different hosts out there and they all have different plans and costs.

Don't worry.

We will explain all the pros and cons and help you find the best option for your business. The choice is yours, limited only by your budget.