Many web site creation companies offer their own set of domain search tools and go from there to help walk you through every step of the process. The domain search itself should be the first and the most important step in creating a site. This is so for a number of reasons, but perhaps most importantly is that the domain search will net you the name that will become your identity.

If you're going through a domain hosting company to do your site creation and your domain search, you will want to start with the name. Use the domain search tools carefully to pick the best possible name for your site. Here are some tips on using domain search tools to find a good name:

* Use the domain search tools to see if your company name is available. If it's not, shoot for something close if you wanted to name your site by the company name.

* If you don't want to use a business name as the domain name, consider using the domain name search tools to find a name that reflects your products or services. If you sell an array of items that reflect a lot of different interests, shoot for a name that's catchy instead.

* Use the domain name search tools to find names that are relevant to your business or what you intend the site to do.

* Don't go for a domain name that's too long. Your domain search should be limited to names that fall in under 25 characters if at all possible.

Once you have a list of potential domain names chosen, pick the best one based on the following:

* Relevance. If you haven't found a domain name that's relevant to what you're trying to do, you need to keep looking.

* Marketing. As you look at domain names, remember web sites are marketing tools from the domain name right down to the appearance. If your site name is too long, too difficult to type or just awkward, keep looking.

When you have found the winner for your domain name, it's time to lock in that name. If you are using a hosting company's site to choose your domain name, it's likely they'll have easy steps for you to follow to do this. Go ahead and reserve the site name as quickly as possible if it's the one you want to use.

After you have your domain name locked down, many hosting companies will offer you the ability to create your site. Some sites will offer you tools to build on your domain name yourself, or you can hire their designers to do so. As you build up a site to go along with your domain name remember, a good web site:

* Not only has an easy domain name, but also has an easy-to-use format.

* Is clean, relevant and eye-catching.

* Is not cluttered.

* Provides information to users they can use

* Offers a door into your business or pursuit

Thanks to the advent of companies that help others build domains from the name on up, creating a web site is now pretty simple. It's important to do a domain search first, however, to ensure the site that's built has a good foundation starting from the name on up.