Domain Hosting

Up until a few years ago, anyone in the United States who wished to register a domain name had to do so through a company called Network Solutions. Network Solutions still maintains the central database of domain names to prevent companies from assigning duplicate web addresses, but the government did not want Network Solutions to have a monopoly on the domain name business. Today, consequently, there are many companies through which an individual or business can register their domain names.

The process of choosing a domain name is incredibly simple. There are many "lookup" sites that will let you know instantaneously whether or not a domain name you want to use has been taken. Once you've found a domain name that is available, registration costs only a few dollars. The "trick" to choosing a domain name is not registering it; it's choosing a name that will be easy to remember.

The easiest names to remember are names that reflect either a company brand or a company service. In cases where an individual is trying to select a domain name for his or her own site, a short phrase or even a person's name is easy to remember. Unfortunately, many businesses and individuals find themselves locked into cumbersome domain names because of the domain name format required by their web host. There are two solutions: choose a new web hosting provider or choose a domain hosting provider that will redirect visitors from a gateway site to the real one.

Benefits of a Domain Hosting Site
With a good domain name hosting provider, companies and individuals can register their domain names and set them up so that when visitors type in the name of a website, the domain hosting company instantly connects the user to the "real" site. All of the data associated with the website is stored with the web host--not the domain host. Companies and individuals that already have web hosting plans they like might want to avoid switching plans, but they might also want to remove their ISP's name from their web addresses. By choosing a domain hosting company in addition to the traditional website hosting outfit, site owners can have their cake and eat it too.