Looking for Domain Name advice

[&)ky#)^]

I finally decided to buy a domain name. It's just going to be for my personal blog. I don't know who to buy it from. GoDaddy seems to be the most popular, but there are so many other choices. Anyone have any recommendations?

What first level should I use? I don't really want .com since that's so commercial. A lot of people I know use .org, but that doesn't really seem appropriate. Neither does .net. .name seems like an appropriate choice, but that gTLD seems to be on its deathbed.

Also, is it possible for me to use multiple third-level domains? For example, if I register doe.com (hypothetically) can I use john.doe.com for my site and jane.doe.com for my wife's?

[Barrucadu]

I finally decided to buy a domain name. It's just going to be for my personal blog. I don't know who to buy it from. GoDaddy seems to be the most popular, but there are so many other choices. Anyone have any recommendations?
I've not used GoDaddy so I can't comment on how good they are, but I use Moniker and have never had any problems with them.


What first level should I use? I don't really want .com since that's so commercial. A lot of people I know use .org, but that doesn't really seem appropriate. Neither does .net. .name seems like an appropriate choice, but that gTLD seems to be on its deathbed.
.name is also pretty tacky really :P
I use .co.uk, I'm not a UK company but it seemed the best choice. My dad uses .me.uk: bottom line is to use whatever you like the most. If you're in America, what about .us?


Also, is it possible for me to use multiple third-level domains? For example, if I register doe.com (hypothetically) can I use john.doe.com for my site and jane.doe.com for my wife's?
Yes it is, you can have as many as you want.

[MelancholyMetronome]

Do not use GoDaddy, it's absolute crap. Use something like fatcow or dreamhost.

[&)ky#)^]

Okay, so GoDaddy is out. That's fine.

But how about which gTLD to use? .org seems to be popular for individuals. Any comments on that?

[Frak]

.me

[m0o]

Do NOT use GoDaddy! I've heard numerous stories about how they have poor customer service. I would highly recommend other sources for domain purchasing. I'll PM you with the one I usually do use.

There are a lot of extensions available these days. I suggest you be creative, look at the combination of things you can do before you actually purchase the domain name.

[&)ky#)^]

.me

.me seems really cheap to me. And kinda shady. I'm not diggin' the big push for .me stuff. .me is actually for Montenegro. Whenever I see a .me address, I just think of Montenegro. I wanted to take http://sher.by, but it is already taken and .by belongs to Belarus. Also, I don't speak Russian, so I can't really read anything on any of the sites that register those domains. ;)

[whiskeylover]

nearlyfreespeech.net.

[Project PWNED]

.me seems really cheap to me. And kinda shady. I'm not diggin' the big push for .me stuff. .me is actually for Montenegro. Whenever I see a .me address, I just think of Montenegro. I wanted to take http://sher.by, but it is already taken and .by belongs to Belarus. Also, I don't speak Russian, so I can't really read anything on any of the sites that register those domains. ;)

Some registrars will do registrations in other gTLDs, like GoDaddy and 1and1. I've used GoDaddy for awhile, don't be scared that someone has "horror stories" because everyone has horror stories about some company about something, usually something trivial like "didn't respond fast enough"

[xuCGC002]

freedomain.co.nr (http://freedomain.co.nr)

[Max_Mackie]

IMO Nearlyfreespeech is THE single best name/hosting provider. I've had 7$ in my account for the past 2 years (for 3 websites, not that much traffic). Its mega cheap and theres alot of support + easy interface.

Oh by the way, did I mention there are no ads everywhere?

[Dr. C]

Some thoughts on domains

1) Register the domain with a different company that you use for hosting or DNS. Cost is typically around $10 - $12 a year for a .com. If one is not happy with the registrar, DNS or the hosting company it is very simple to change if the registrar and DNS provider are separate companies. Keep the registration paid and ensure the email contacts remain valid
2) Make sure you know who the underlying register is if using a domain reseller
3) Make sure you or your company are listed on the registry records as the registrant, and administrative contacts. If any other contacts are different change them to you or your company.
4) Register the .com even if you are not going to use it. The danger here is that many Internet users assume that a domain is .com. If there is a strong site on say an .org and the .com is available for registration, someone else will register the .com and point it to a parasite site (smiling faces and paid links) or even worse to an adult site. One can always redirect the .com to the .org site using a 301 redirect for example
5) Country code domains make sense only for a site that is specific to a particular country. The only exceptions are .tv (Tuvalu) for video, television sites or possibly .cc. I would stay with .com, .net, .org, or .info
6) Setting up sub domains is simple if your hosting / DNS provider allows this.
7) Watch out for trademark issues.


8) Keep in mind what may be a small insignificant site with a blog today can turn into a valuable asset in the future. It is important to take precautions to protect the site now.

[mobilediesel]

Has anyone tried doteasy.com? My wife just registered a domain pretty cheap. $5.95

[HappinessNow]

I finally decided to buy a domain name. It's just going to be for my personal blog. I don't know who to buy it from. GoDaddy seems to be the most popular, but there are so many other choices. Anyone have any recommendations?

What first level should I use? I don't really want .com since that's so commercial. A lot of people I know use .org, but that doesn't really seem appropriate. Neither does .net. .name seems like an appropriate choice, but that gTLD seems to be on its deathbed.

Also, is it possible for me to use multiple third-level domains? For example, if I register doe.com (hypothetically) can I use john.doe.com for my site and jane.doe.com for my wife's?

Buy it from Google (using their partner eNom NOT godaddy!)...easiest way is to start a blogger account then go settings>publishing>custom domain then for $10 a year you have a domain name that also has included all google application, including a custom Gmail account that is yourname@yourdomain.com

***be sure that you use eNom and NOT godaddy.

[PhoHammer]

Godaddy is who I use, but their site is annoying. However, I rarely have to go there (once a year per domain name) as I get my domains' email forwarded.

They have .info's for $0.89/year.

Edit:

Hi,create website with your wished name but buy that domain name and host sites from this http://www.goresellers.com/ site,here only i am successfully make number of website at very low cost.

wow, I think he/she made that account specifically to offer you that great advice!

[Maheriano]

You know the domain extensions are regulated right? Like .org is used for organizations such as an Ubuntu forum, .ca can only be purchased with a Canadian IP, .tv is for television related sites, .mobi is mobile sites....

So if I visit your site and the extension doesn't match up I'm going to wonder WTF is going on.

Do not register GoDaddy, they suck. 1and1 is okay, so is DotEasy. I use Hostgo.com for all my hosting, been doing so for 5 years.

[user1397]

.info and .net seem completely reasonable to me

[HappinessNow]

You know the domain extensions are regulated right? Like .org is used for organizations such as an Ubuntu forum, .ca can only be purchased with a Canadian IP, .tv is for television related sites, .mobi is mobile sites....

So if I visit your site and the extension doesn't match up I'm going to wonder WTF is going on.

Do not register GoDaddy, they suck. 1and1 is okay, so is DotEasy. I use Hostgo.com for all my hosting, been doing so for 5 years.anybody can buy .org

[chris200x9]

netfirms right now 6.95 plus you get a free 25mb and 1 gig transfer, good for in case of down page.