Why Register a domain name?
Memorable Domain Name
Selecting a fitting domain name – often referred to as a URL – is the best way to help people locate your online presence. Choosing a domain name that is relevant to yourself or your website’s content adds memorability and credibility to your online presence.
Email Addresses
When you register a domain name, it also provides you with of personalized email addresses. The part of an email address that follows the “@” symbol is your domain name, and you can choose anything to precede the “@” symbol to make your email memorable, personal or specific. For example, registering the domain name “yourdomain.com” allows you to use email addresses such as “mail@yourdomain.com,” “paul@yourdomain.com” or “anything@yourdomain.com.”
Domain Forwarding or Domain Pointing
If you don’t have a personal webpage or blog, there are still great reasons to register a domain name. Using domain forwarding, you can set your domain name to redirect visitors to any other webpage on the Internet. For example, you could register “yourdomain.com” and set it to redirect visitors to your Facebook or Twitter page. This allows you to add a simple, memorable URL to your social network page while still providing you with unique email addresses and an easy-to-find Internet presence.
Sub-Domains
Registering a domain name gives you the option to add a sub-domain. A sub-domain is a prefix for your main domain name, such as “blog.yourdomain.com,” “sarah.yourdomain.com” or “support.yourdomain.com.” A sub-domain can contain its own unique web page, can be used for domain forwarding to other sites and can still provide unique email addresses such as “mail@sarah.yourdomain.com.”
Business or Product Promotion
Businesses and products are expected to have an Internet presence, and registering a relevant domain name is a great way to begin your online marketing and promotion. Sub-domains can be employed for creating specific product pages on your company domain name, and can drastically improve your ranking on search engines such as Google or Bing.
Availability
Registering a desired domain name as soon as possible is a great idea, as availability is rapidly decreasing. Thousands of domain names are registered every day, so waiting to register a specific domain that is relevant to you can lead to disappointment if someone else beats you to it. Domains expire after a predetermined length of time, but the previous owner is given first refusal to renew it before it becomes publicly available again.