Multiple Domain Names

[Spartan]

Is it important to register multiple domain names such as domainname.com and domainname.co.uk, or will one suffice? Also, which is the most important domain name extension to have in your opinion? Am I right in thinking .com is the one to go for?

[pianoperformer]

It is up to you, really. If you have only one, then definitely get the .com. If you want others depends on whether you'd be threatened if someone registered the same name with a different TLD. However, I'd probably 301 redirect the other domains so that Google doesn't think they have duplicate content.

[Spartan]

I think I'll probably stick to the .com only then, even though I'm English.

[Spartan]

Do you think it would make that much difference if I only registered a .co.uk domain name instead? Because most .com names are taken and I am English after all. Would it be ill advisable?

What about .net, is that a good TLD?

[pianoperformer]

If you register the .co.uk version of a .com, you'll have to worry about trademark, though since you're in the UK, i don't know if that would be applicable. Also you will have to worry about people typing .com instead of .co.uk. The same applies for .net.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

If you register the .co.uk version of a .com, you'll have to worry about trademark, though since you're in the UK, i don't know if that would be applicable. Also you will have to worry about people typing .com instead of .co.uk. The same applies for .net.

Ok thanks. I noticed you used WordPress to create your blogs, is that the best free blogging software in your opinion?

If you buy a domain name from godaddy.com, how good are the free website templates?

[pianoperformer]

Yes, it is the best in my opinion. there are also plenty of plugins for it.

I get my domains through NameCheap. godaddy's interface, to me, is too clunky. Also I've of late been hearing some bad reviews of them. I used to spend a lot of time over at Web Hosting Talk, and the common consensus there was that Godaddy pretty much is worthless anymore.

I don't know what free templates you are talking about.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by pianoperformer

Yes, it is the best in my opinion. there are also plenty of plugins for it.

I get my domains through NameCheap. godaddy's interface, to me, is too clunky. Also I've of late been hearing some bad reviews of them. I used to spend a lot of time over at Web Hosting Talk, and the common consensus there was that Godaddy pretty much is worthless anymore.

I don't know what free templates you are talking about.

Hmm, my bad, there is a hosting service for a small fee, but I suspect it isn't that great?

I'll check out namecheap.com

[Spartan]

"Did you know that when you register a domain, your name, address, email address and phone number are immediately made available to anyone who wants to see them? That’s right. Your personal information is exposed 24 hours a day, everyday, to anyone, anywhere."

I didn't know this. Apparently you have to pay another fee just to hide your personal details!? Is this worth bothering about?

Also, how many years did you register your name for?

[pianoperformer]

yes, that's right. With NameCheap, you do get free whois protection for a year I think. I never worry about it really. I just use whois protection for the sites I don't necesarily want tied with my name.

Anywya, no Godaddy's hosting is horrible, from what I've heard. In general, you should never get hosting with the same company as you get your domain. if you ever want to change hosts, you can have quite some difficulty moving if the company has both your hosting and domain.

I'd recommend Cartika Hosting or WebOnce Technologies. The former if money doesn't matter and you want high quality, the second if you want a bit of both (being inexpensive and fairly reliable).

Edit: I always register for 1 year. It's easier for budgeting for me.

[Spartan]

How did you add your domain name to your WordPress blog? Does the registration process do this automatically? Sorry, I've never registered one before. What name server did you use, the default one?

[artrenegade]

You state that you are english, does that mean you are actually in the UK? the co.uk extension is used by sites actually based in the UK and it is of importance to them to be indentified as such. If that's the case with you go for it, otherwise .com is the best bet. I'd say, excluding the .uk, the preferred extensions in order are:

1. .com
2. .net
3. .org
4. .info
5. .biz
6. .us
<-----insert .uk here
7. .name
8. .gov
etc., etc..

You do have to pay extra to mask your info, probably a good idea!
I host with godaddy.com and haven't had any trouble.

[DanielBrenton]

To all --

I've been using DomainMonger.com for my domain registration. Registration includes whois protection (though they're not as user friendly about that as some services -- I had to deduce how to use this and they confirmed it after the fact) and also free web-forwarding and a few other "gimmes" that other services insist on nickel and diming you to death for. At the moment it's $17.00 USD a year for most domains (.TV and .MOBI are more) but with the simple convenience of the service it's more than worth it to me. There are better price breaks if you go for a longer period, of course.

I should note DomainMonger is a TWOCOWS affiliate, so if DomainMonger were to go under, you wouldn't lose your registration.

The worst HAS to be Network Solutions. I'm tempted to start swearing here, but it didn't seem like they could do anything right for me, they are just too expensive for what they provide, and I was constantly being hounded to be upsold one thing or another. This may be a politically incorrect statement, but I also prefer speaking to a customer service department that understands colloquial American English. That got real old, real fast.

I do have a complaint about BlueHost: I like having an SSL directory so I can do web design work without it getting indexed by the web-bots, and BlueHost wouldn't set that up for me without me sending a copy of my driver's license to them. Don't have that issue at my current service, Hurricane Electric, but Hurricane Electric is definitely nowhere near as user-friendly as a lot of the others.

[JimOfferman]

You don't need to have multiple TLDs... one will suffice. In fact, limiting yourself to a single address makes it easier for people to find you!

Also, domain names only mean anything to internet savvy people (which includes most of us here). I saw a presentation by a guy from Microsoft or Google (can't remember which) a while ago. He noted that their top search queries where for company names. This turned out to be because a lot of people just enter "Google" or "Microsoft" in the address bar, rather than typing in the actual domain name (the browser than uses your favorite search engine to find the corresponding domain).