What is a domain name?
A domain name is the address that you type into your browser’s address or location bar when you wish to visit a particular site. For example, our domain name is ‘www.rxhost.co.uk‘.
A domain name is very important for every commercial/organisation web site. Internet addresses are complicated at best, and if you don’t have a domain name, then customers will never find you.
Some providers will offer you a name under their own name, like: www.theircompany.com/yourcompany/. This is not a real domain name, it is a directory – and you should try to avoid it. A potential customer is far more likely to remember ‘www.yourcompanyname.co.uk’ than ‘www.freeprovider.co.uk/username/userdirectory/index.htm’. They also look far more professional.
Domain names must be registered and a fee is payable annually or every 2 years depending on the extension i.e. .com, .co.uk etc.
As part of our web hosting, we offer FREE domain registrations and FREE domain renewals. All you need to do is pay the monthly hosting fee. When the domain is due for renewal we will automatically renew it for you for as long as you continue to host with us. So, you will never need to worry about your domain name expiring.
The domain is registered in your name so you are the legal owner of the domain.
This is an important step as the domain name will represent your website and act as an easy way to reach your website.
The best domains are:
Short – A short domain name is easier to type, read, and remember.
Meaningful – Select a domain that relates to your site in a way that people will understand.
Clear – Avoid a name that is difficult to spell or pronounce.
In addition to visitors, also consider search engines. Search engines index your site and rank it for relevance against terms people search for. In order to maximize your sites exposure, consider including a relevant search term in your domain.
Also, remember to let people know about your new website address by using it on your correspondence. If you use an email signature remember to include your new web address.
You can use the domain checker below to see if a domain is available or not.
Sub Domains
In addition to your main domain name you can also have sub domains. These do not need to be registered with a domain name registrar (although the main domain name will need to be registered first).
For example you might have the domain http://www.yourdomain.com but you can also have the sub domain http://mystore.yourdomain.com
If you host your website with us we can set up any additional sub domains you might want.
Email Addresses
Domain names also allow you to have professional-looking e-mail addresses, such as ‘info@yourcompanyname.co.uk‘. If you host with us we can set up as many email addresses as you might require. Alternatively we can set up e-mail forwarding.
What is e-mail forwarding?
With a domain name and hosting, it is possible to forward any e-mail sent to an address at your domain, such as ‘info@yourcompanyname.co.uk’, to an existing e-mail account. This means that instead of customers having to remember a long and unprofessional-looking e-mail address, such as ‘a.person@username.freeserviceprovider.co.uk’, they can just remember your domain name. The fact that e-mail is forwarded automatically also means that you have the freedom to change your ISP (Internet Service Provider) as often as you wish without having to worry about changing your e-mail addresses on printed media and so forth. All we need to know is the real e-mail address where the mail is to be forwarded.
