You think of a suitable domain name. It contains keywords that are found in search engines, has no trademark issues and is easy for people to remember. You try to register the domain with a domain name registrar. Unfortunately, it has already been taken. You decide to try the domain with a hyphen in it. That version of your domain name is not taken, but should you go on and invest in it? This article will explore what webmasters need to consider if they are deciding to use domains containing hyphens.

First, they need to think about their visitors. Most people are not accustomed to using hyphenated domain names. Even if they like a website, it may simply forget to include the hyphen. If this happens then the unhyphenated version of the domain name will be what receives traffic, which is definitely not what a webmaster wants. Of course, if a domain is not hyphenated in the first place, then such an issue would never arise.

However, a hyphenated domain that is keyword-rich has a higher chance of getting a good ranking from a search engine than a non-hyphenated domain that is not SEO optimized. A higher search engine ranking might outweigh the inconvenience if having a hyphenated domain name. This is because if a website has a high search engine ranking, people won’t need to type in the domain in order to access it. They can simply click on the URL in the search engine results.  And if they like the site, they will bookmark it; this is preferable, since it shows they are really interested in what the site has to offer.

Webmasters should also consider whether their domain is more understandable if they use a hyphen. Consider the unusual domain name molestationnursery.com. This is actually in reference to a website that talks about mole nurseries, not molestation. Yet, what will most website visitors think if they saw the domain in that manner?  Including hyphens can make such a website much clearer.

It would also be better for SEO, since search engines would index mole-station-nursery.com with keywords related to moles.
So, basically, there are advantages and disadvantages to using hyphenated domain names. If a webmaster thinks their domain name is going to bring them a lot of search engine traffic, they should purchase the domain. And in some cases, a hyphenated domain name is helpful to make its meaning easier to understand.

Otherwise, webmasters should try their best to create non-hyphenated domains, since these are the types of domains that rule the Internet. If they are having trouble coming up with a better domain, they can consider using a domain name generator.  Many domain name companies provide rudimentary domain name generators if a selected domain gets turned down.  Webmasters don’t have to settle for these generators though, since there are more advanced domain name generators that can offer even more suggestions.

Have you ever tried to transfer your domain name or website to a new low cost web hosting and didn’t receive help from your current web host? This is probably as they do not want to lose you and their income. You need to choose a reliable web host so your website will function with maximum efficiency.

Reasons to transfer a domain name to a new host company:

Host did not deliver what was promised in their advertising

Slow or unresponsive technical support

Unreliable service

Too expensive

Limited space and bandwidth for your website

Wish to switch from a Windows server to a low cost website server

Don’t have full functionalities needed to host your website

How to transfer web site to a new host company

1. Find a reliable host company

The main features to consider in a good web host are:

sufficient space and bandwidth to host your website

fast, efficient, knowledgeable technical support

site statistics to track the performance of the site

daily backups of your files

server is active 99% of the time (1% needed for server upgrades)

2. Change your name servers

The name servers are used to point your domain name to the server where your website will be hosted. After signing up to your new web host they will send you the new name servers. They will look like this:

ns1.yourdomain dot com

ns2.yourdomain dot com

Example

These are the steps for changing your name servers if you’re using Go Daddy as your domain name registrar:

Log into your account with your username and password

Go to domain manager

Check the box next to your domain name

Click the name servers icon presents itself the page

Check the box that says “I have specific nameservers for my domains”.

Enter your new name servers in the 2 boxes… nameserver 1 and nameserver 2

Click okay

Allow 24 to 48 hours for the name servers to be activated. This time is needed for your domain to propagate over the internet. Do a Whois lookup at Whois dot net to check if the name servers have been activated. If this has been successfully completed now you can upload your website files to the server and your website will appear on the internet.

3. Cancel your previous host

Only do this once you have transferred your domain name to the managed reseller. Sometimes if you tell your old host you intend to transfer to another one that won’t let you or are reluctant to do so because they don’t want to lose you as their customer. Some web hosting providers will bundle the domain name and hosting service together. By trying to move to a new web host you may lose the domain name. In this case your only choice will be to register a replacement before transferring to a new web hosting service.

Tip

When transferring to a new web hosting provider ask them for advice or help in the transfer. They’re usually very happy to help.

What Is A Domain Name?

A domain is a name that identifies IP addresses on the internet. The domain name Yahoo.com represents about fifteen IP addresses. Domain names are used to identify Web pages. For example, in the URL http://www.yahoo.com/index.html, the domain name is yahoo.com. 

You register a domain name through a domain name services registrar. The domain name industry is regulated and overseen by ICANN, which is an organization responsible for providing standards and procedures for certifying companies as domain name registrars. 

Domain name registration has grown over the years. Network Solutions was the first domain name registrar to ever provide such a service. That was many years ago but today there are many accredited registrars. Only a domain name registrar is permitted to access and modify the master database domains that are on InterNIC servers. The fee is determined by the registrar as far as getting a domain name and some registers have special domain name packages.

Do You Really Need a Domain Name?

You use a domain name to create an identity on the World Wide Web and domain names can also be used for branding purposes, such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc.  In picking a domain name, the title shouldn’t stray far from what your company is all about. This will allow you to market your web-site as a subsidiary of your business and put your domain name on business cards and advertisements.

Once you have selected a domain, you must register it with a domain name registrar. This is a task you can do easily. Many web hosting companies offer a complete package that includes hosting and the registering of the domain name for you. It is possible that the fees will include a one time set-up fee for all of the backend technical work that needs to be accomplished. You will then pay your service provider a monthly, semi-annual or annual fee for web site hosting services.

Many domain registrar services have competent online tools to help you get your domain name and hosting site up and running.

 

As with choosing a domain name registrar, ask your friends for a recommendation. There are plenty of bad hosts out there, but there arc also plenty of good hosts out there—a personal recommendation from a friend or trusted associate can help ease the confusion of picking a host out of the masses. If you have an established site or have been working in web development for very long, there isn’t much that we can tell you that you haven’t already heard.

Communities can sometimes be resource intensive. The larger the community the more intensive it is. Large communities sometimes need to tweak their server settings and/or script settings to minimize this and even give a community its own server or even an army of servers. (This is just for your information, however, as if your community is new – you are nowhere near needing to think about this unless you expect to be profiled by USA TODAY or the Watt Street Journal tomorrow or something like that.)

If you’re just starting out and you plan to be just a basic discussion community, you can probably begin with a basic plan that won’t put much of a hole in your wallet. PHP (the coding language that many community software options are written in) and MySQL (a database management system that many of those same options use to store your community’s posts, member information, and other data) are popular solutions (although there are others). If you go that route, make sure that your host offers at least PHP and MySQL so that you are able to host your community site. You should check the community software s resource sites for recommendations on how much space and bandwidth it would be wise to start out with. Be sure to contact any potential host and ask if you can upgrade your plan to a larger one at the drop of a hat. It is important that you have this flexibility in case your community grows suddenly.

The larger your community gets, the more bandwidth, space, and resources it will require. You need to be able to host all community files (including users’ uploaded avatars, images, attachments, and more) as well as the database and backups of the database. To make the most of your money and server space, you should probably go through the server from time to time and remove anything that is not needed. As an example, many servers have stat programs installed by default. The longer your site runs and the more visitors it gets, the larger these files will be. If you find them useful and want Eo keep them, you may want to download them to your computer and then delete them from your server to free up that space every once in a while. All hosts go down from time to time, but you want a host that minimizes its downtime and has excellent support. Downtime itself is not a reason to leave a host. How a host responds to downtime and how often it occurs are, however. It is beyond the scope of this book to go into any great detail about hosting or the technical aspects of managing the server that will be home to you community.

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I have reviewed several "top 10", "top 25" & "best of" sites regarding both of these and find that there is some similarity in favorite sites for the domain name registrat and web hosting site….but i have also found that many prefer to register their domain name with one site and pick up the hosting and design from another? So, I am trying to find a definitive answer as to which service provider sites are the best for both, and should i use the same or different sites for completing the multiple tasks in trying to register my site and get it up and running asap????