Choosing a Domain Name

The internet is growing daily, so it's important to establish a web presence to compete effectively. Your first step is to register a domain name. Contact us so we can search to see if your choice is available.

A domain name is similar to a postal or physical address, except it refers to your location on the internet. It provides directions to your reserved disc space on a web server and just as potential customers need to know your street address to find your offices, they need your domain name to find your website.

The options are .co.za, .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info among others. You could register a combination of the available options, eg. a .co.za and a .com to protect your business from competing companies who may want to register the same name.

Even if you don't have a website, a domain name can be reserved so that you have the domain name of your choice when the time for a website comes.

A domain name can also be used in your email address, so instead of being name@mweb.co.za you become name@yourcompanyname.co.za. By registering a domain you often influence the manner in which customers view your operation.

When choosing a domain try to keep it as close as possible to your business activity or the name of your business. Aim to keep your domain name short but not abbreviated beyond recognition. It should be easy to say, remember and spell. Domains can't include spaces or other symbols.

Some Definitions

Parking is for when you want to reserve a domain name for future use.
Pointing is when you have more than one domain name and you want them to re-direct browsers to another domain owned by you, eg. uniwebserve.co.za can point to uniwebserve.com.

Popular domain extensions

.co.za South African businesses usually register a .co.za extension but also try to reserve the international .com equivalent to protect their name.

.com or "commercial," is the original and most commonly used international extension for business. There are no restrictions on using this extension – provided the name is still available.

.biz or "business" is a newer extension and is restricted for business websites only. There are many more available options and you have a better chance of finding the domain name you really want for your business.

.net or "network" is generally used by internet companies. It is unrestricted so anyone can register a .net domain.

.org or "organization" is generally used by non-profit or non-governmental organisations but is also unrestricted and is therefore also available to business.

.info or "information" indicates a site that provides information about a business, idea or advice. It is an unrestricted domain name extension.

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