There are numerous blogging services available that let you sign up and start blogging for free. They all have one important thing in common: they leave you with limited control. When seriously blogging, full control is what you want need! So, do yourself a favor and put down a few bucks to register a domain name. An added benefit of your own domain name is that you can have your own e-mail addresses.
This step can be a bit tedious, as most names you can think of have already been registered, many of them by domain hijackers who offer them for sale for ridiculous amounts. Don’t give up, eventually you will find one that is free and can be registered for under ten bucks.
When I look for a new domain name I usually grab a piece of paper and a pencil and I start writing down words that relate to the subject of my planned website. Combining the words in the list will quickly result in a big list of potential names for the website. If you think your list is too short, add terms like net, web and online and use these to make new word combinations.
Once you feel that your list of potential names is big enough, go online and check if any of them are available for registration. I use Dynadot for all my domain registrations and I’m very happy with their service. Dynadot is an ICANN accredited domain registrar and webhost, which means that they are right at the top of the domain registration chain, unlike domain resellers. The domain registration is fully automated, meaning that whenever you register a new domain name, it is ready for use within seconds.
Other domain registrars I have worked with require human intervention on the registrar side, which can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days until you can use your domain name. Another big plus of Dynadot is that they accept PayPal payments, so you don’t have to wait for bank transfers to complete or checks to clear. Dynadot also offers hosting services. I have not used their hosting service myself, but I’m sure it’s as good as their domain registration service.
If the .com name you like has already been registered by someone else, you might be able to register the .net or .org or some other extension. If multiple extensions are available for registration, you could register all of them, so no one else can register them later and cause confusion on your name.
