How important is domain registration and hosting to your website? As I have looked into the creation of websites, both for myself or for a business, it has become crystal clear that one of the most important steps in the process is the domain registration and hosting. I was always taught to take things one step at a time, and without those first two steps in the process, your website will be marginal at best.

Good domain registration and hosting is going to cost you money, but it is worth it. When you go with a free domain or hosting service, you do not end up with your own domain name. The idea is to have the address of your website in the format of http://yourname.com or http://yourcompanyname.com rather than one that is generic to a free domain registration and hosting service.

The first step in domain registration and hosting is to choose a domain name. Your domain name is that web address that you want. The registration should not cost more than five to ten dollars for a year. Just get on line and check out the various services to find the price you can afford to get the domain name you want, as long as it is available. Remember, the choice of what domain name to use for your website is one of the most important things you are going to do for it.

In the domain registration and hosting process, choose a domain name that is not only descriptive of your website, but also easy for people or customers to remember. Try to choose a domain name that is going to also be useable as a keyword so that it will show up higher in web searches. As an example, if your website is about squirrels, then you might check to see if http://squirrel.com is available or something along those lines. You may even try variations like http://squirrellover.com or something like that.

Once you have the domain name registered, the next step in the domain registration and hosting process is to find someone who can host your website. A hosting service will actually place your website on the internet for you at the address you have registered. It is good practice to use two different companies: one for your hosting and one for your domain registration. That way if you part company with your website hosting company, you will still have easy control of your domain name. It is just better not to have all of your eggs in one basket when it comes to your personal website.

Domain registration and hosting is a crucial part of developing a presence on the internet for yourself or your company. It is tempting to go with a free service so that you can get up and running as quickly and easily as possible, but the best thing you can do to properly market and draw traffic to your website is to take the time to make your domain registration and hosting a priority so that you get the domain you want and a hosting service that will best fit your needs.