At North Country Design we understand that there is more to domain registration than finding a cool URL that is available. We always educate our customers to the domain name buying process, their options and the value of making smarter domain purchases.

What is a domain name?

A domain name is the name you type into the address bar of a browser (such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) to get to a site on the web. For example: yahoo.com, google.com, northcountrydesign.us or craigslist25.com are all domain names.

What does it mean to register a domain name?

To preserve order on the Internet, and to ensure that no two people ever own the same domain name, there is a central registry of all domain names maintained by The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). In order for you to own your domain name, your name and business information must be added to ICANN’s database. This process is called registering a domain name. Only ICANN approved registrars (such as GoDaddy) can register your domain name.

What’s in a good domain name?

A good domain name is short (1 to 3 words), easy to remember, and representative of your business.

What is a domain name pointer? Why might I need one?

A domain name pointer is simply a domain name that “points to” another web site. We recommend using 301 permanent redirects because they are search engine friendly. Some popular uses for domain pointers include using them to track marketing campaigns or to target a specific market segment.

How Long Should I Register A Domian Name For?

We recommend you register your domain name for a period of at least 5 years. Search engines take into consideration the length of time you’ve purchased your domain for when calculating your page rank on search engines. The longer you reserve it for, the longer they assume you’ll be in business and as such – they’ll give you more credibility.

How Much Does Domain Registration Cost?

We use GoDaddy for all of our domain name purchases. We set you up with your own account, purchase the domain name(s) that you want and ensure that you understand the control panel. We will configure everything for you and we are available for support if you need it.