In order to have your website be reachable by the general public you need a domain name. A domain name is the industry term for what everyone else calls a web address or website address. It's what appears in the Address Bar of the visitor's browser.



A domain registrar is a company that sells such an address. There are many registrars out there and which one you choose to purchase your domain through is completely up to you. Here are some suggestions on things to consider when you choose your domain registrar.

What kind of reputation do they have? Are they a well known company in general? There are some companies that sell web hosting, offer free email to the general public, and even search engine companies, who also offer domain registration. They are potentially good choices, because you know they are trustworthy.

However, you know as well as anyone does, that you tend to pay for the bigger brand. Therefore, many of the most well-known companies out there are going to charge significantly more for their domain names.

Thus, another thing to look at is the rates the registrar charges for domain names. The rate is usually a yearly fee. What else do they include? Sometimes you can get hosting and even basic web design services that include the actual domain registration as a bonus. Why pay a separate fee for the domain if you can get it free with other services? That is going to depend on whether the company offering the hosting and design services you like best, also happens to offer a free domain with the package you want.

What kind of control panel is offered? Does the registrar make it easy to set up your domain? Do they offer support? If so, what kind? Do they offer phone, chat, email, or otherwise? Live support of some kind is great because, if you need to tweak your domain, set it up, create redirect(s), or anything else, you may not want to wait a long time for a slow response from the registrar.

Therefore, any company that only offers email support may not be the right choice, but it depends on whether you are comfortable with slower responses. Let's face it: domain registration is not the most critical service, when it comes to live support being necessary. It's most certainly not as big of a deal for a domain registrar not to offer live support as it would be, for example, for a hosting company not to offer live support.

Definitely do a little research before you choose your registrar, but not so much research that it hinders you from moving forward. Domains are affordable almost everywhere you buy them, usually only a few dollars or more per year. It's not rocket science. Find a registrar, register your domain, and move on to bigger and better things like content and marketing!