Set Up Your Own Domain Name

So you've been using the internet for a while now. You've always wanted to have your own domain name, whether it's YourName.com or anything else. The problem is, you have no clue how to go about setting it up. Here is a basic overview to help you get your own domain up and running.
If you want to set up your own domain name, you really only need two main things. A registrar and a web host. A domain registrar is where you go to see if the domain name you want is available to register. Registering a domain can be as cheap as $1.99 or as expensive as $35, so it's best to shop around. Different registrars may offer you services in addition to registering your domain such as keeping your personal information hidden. When you register a domain name, people can do a whois lookup of your domain to see who owns it. If you don't want your personal information to be seen, you can sign up for whois protection when you register a domain. It may be called different things with different registrars.
Now that you have your domain name registered, you need a place to host it. Some registrars may offer to host your domain, but I recommend using an external hosting service since they can often be found cheaper and give you more options. When looking for a web host, the old adage, "you get what you pay for," is often true. Be wary of cheap hosts that promise a lot for a very low price. These hosts don't often stay in business for very long.




One basic thing to look for in a host is the amount of web space that you'll get. Web space is just that, it's how many megabytes or gigabytes of space you'll get to upload your content. If you're planning on uploading a lot of media such as audio and video, you'll want as much space as you can possibly get. For personal sites where you just want a blog, a photo gallery, or a place to put your portfolio, 500 MB of space should be more than enough to get started. You can always upgrade to a better plan later, if you outgrow your space.
The other thing to keep in mind is how much bandwidth a host will give you. Bandwidth is the amount of transfer that you're allowed per month. For instance, if you upload a 1 MB photo on your website and 20 people view your photo, you've just used up 20 MB of your allotted bandwidth. If you expect to be getting a lot of traffic, you'll want more bandwidth. Always avoid any host who says they can give you unlimited bandwidth. There is no such thing as unlimited bandwidth, there is always a catch somewhere with hosts that offer it. Some may even suspend your account for using too many resources.
Those are the two basic things in finding a web host. There are a lot of other things to consider, depending on your needs. Other features to look for are how many e-mail addresses you'll get, whether or not you can host multiple domains on one account, and a plethora of other options! A lot of hosts offer auto-installer services. For example, if you needed an image gallery for your website, you can just log in to your domain's control panel, find the auto-installation service, and after a few clicks, your gallery will be up and running. It's that simple!
That's a fairly basic overview of setting up your own domain name. Once you sign up with a web host, they should send you the details to get you started with uploading your content. Enjoy having your own personal domain name!