The first step to starting your website is to choose a name for your website, which is also known as its domain name. You can only choose a domain name that is available for use. So, first of all, you have to check for the availability of your preferred choices. Subsequently follows domain name registration.

Advisable is that the name of the website should be self explanatory and the one that aptly conveys what your business is all about. Ideally, a domain name should be based on your keyword(s). Keywords are what people typically type into the search boxes of the various search engines to find relevant information. Thus, keyword based domain names help your website show up in search engine rank pages more spontaneously and facilitate people to have easier access to your site. It is important that the correct target audience is able to access your site through search engines. Short and memorable domain name is, therefore, the ideal choice for both instant and long lasting recall and recognition.

What registration does is that it gives you full copyright protection for a particular name, preventing others from using or misusing it. In other words, you gain full control over the use of the name and it becomes your exclusive property to be dealt with in the manner you think fit.

Many companies offer domain name services for registration of your domain name on your behalf. You can easily find services that are region specific, for instance if you are interested in domain name registration in Australia, you can find an appropriate service provider who looks after that particular geographical region. What you can do is visit one of these sites and check the availability of the domain names that you are interested in and also decide on which extension is best suited to the kind of website you wish to establish.

The extension is a part of the website's name that follows the actual name after a dot. Extensions like .org, .gov, .edu, .lib etc. convey the nature of enterprise of the website. Extensions are also region specific and domain name registration for Australia would be domain name followed by .au.

As regards the cost, there are different packages or schemes available in the market for cheap and reliable domain name registration services. There are a plethora of service providers out there and you can choose the one that suits your purpose the best.