Creating and launching your website is a big deal! Your website is often the first point of contact between you and your potential customers, so you have to make a good first impression. Whether you are completely hands-off, hands-on, or somewhere in between, there are some key components that you have to understand before you get started. Remember, launching a site can be stressful—but it doesn’t have to be!

Before you create a new site or redesign your current one, be sure to refer to these ideas to prevent any confusion. Here are some important questions and tips to get you started:

What is a Domain Name?

When most people think about the internet, they’re really thinking about their favorite websites like Google, Facebook, or YouTube. That name you see in the browser address bar is the domain name of that website.

Domain names are further divided into various top-level domains such as .com, .org, .gov, etc. It goes without saying that choosing an appropriate domain name for your website should be a top priority.

What Purpose Does a Domain Name Serve?

While we are accustomed to thinking that websites only exist at their domain ‘locations’, there’s a little secret that you should know about websites and domain names. As it turns out, every single website actually exists at a specific IP address.

For instance, Google’s website actually exists at 172.217.2.4. Domain names were invented to help us so that we don’t have to remember that number every time we want to go to that website.

Can you imagine how difficult that would be? So, to make things easier for everyone, the domain name www.google.com is assigned to the IP address 172.217.2.4 so that by typing the domain name only, you will reach Google’s site. Definitely easier than remembering a unique number sequence for every website you wish to visit!

Who Assigns these Domain Names?

Domain names and IP addresses are matched up like names and phone numbers in an ol’ time telephone book. An organization called ICAN keeps track of domain names and what IP addresses they point to. ICAN has various vendors that are certified to facilitate the buying, selling, and configuration of domain names; these organizations are called registrars.

The most popular registrar is godaddy.com but there are many, many others. Namecheap, Network Solutions, and TuCows, just to name a few. On godaddy.com and its contemporaries, you can buy and sell domain names and configure domains that you own.

We Can Help

Here at 33 Mile Radius, we build custom, performance-based websites on premium dedicated SSD servers. This ensures that our websites run fast and that the traffic from one does not impact another. If a client doesn’t have a domain we can help them find one that fits their business, but more frequently our clients already own a domain.

Whatever you need to make your dream website a reality, the experts at 33 Mile Radius can help!

Your Domain

Once your new website is built, we will need to configure the domain. This means that we’ll need access to that client’s registrar account. The most frequent problems and their solutions at this point in the process are as follows:

Forgot Registrar

• Just like the phone books of yesteryear, domain names and their owners are public information. To see who owns a domain and the registrar that manages it, you will need to do something called a “whois” lookup. Use the tool here to find out!

Forgot Registrar Password

• For most hosts, resetting your login information is a simple and easy process. As you go to log into their dashboard, look for the “forgot username” and/or “forgot password” link. Simply answer the information (most of the time this includes a few security questions as well as a billing question) and the information for reset is sent to the email address they have on file.

Domain Renewal

• Renewing your domain is VERY important. It is NOT a good idea to let a domain slip and not be renewed before its expiration date. That is a good way to lose it! Luckily, renewing your domain is simple, just log in to the website in which you purchased it. Most of the time, when you are purchasing your domain (especially on GoDaddy), you are given the option to automatically renew. This is a great option that ensures that you won’t lose your domain because of a slip-up.

Here at 33 Mile Radius, we regularly walk our clients through roadblocks to growing their business. Use our SEO analysis tool to test your site, or give us a call to see how we can take your business to the next level.