The following article will provide you with a number of useful tips when registering a domain name for your Joomla web site.

Domain name registration tips for your Joomla web site

First we will look at the options available to you when purchasing a domain name. The first option is purchasing a domain name as part of a web hosting package. This a great if you want all your services bundled into one package and managed by one service provider. But what happens if you wish to move domain or maybe your not happy with the services the hosting company is offering . Well maybe you need to think about the second option which involves registering your domain name with a domain registration company. This option offers you far more flexibility based on the following.

1) Your domain name is not tied into a contract with your hosting provider. So if you want to move your Joomla site to a new web hosting company all you have to do is make a change to the Nameserver entry.

2) You will not incur any additional costs for moving your domain name as some hosting companies have being known to charge a fee to unlock or release a domain name.

3) You get full legal ownership of the domain name which is registered to you. I had an experience where I purchased a hosting package and got a free domain name. I later found out that the domain name was owned by the hosting company not me.

4) You also get additional functionality including a separate control panel which incorporates the following functionality. Web Forwarding, E-mail forwarding, Manage DNS , Change Nameservers, Change IPS Tag , Modify Contact Details , WHOIS Opt out , Holding Page Wizard and much more.

My advice would be to keep both services separate. Use a hosting provider for your Joomla web site and a domain registration service for your domain name.

Keywords in your domian  

If possible try and register a domian name which includes one of your primary keywords. The benifits of doing this is that you can increase your click through rates from the SERPs plus it will help you build upon your keyword rich inbound links from other web sites.

Register a short, memorable domain name

In theory you can register a new domain which contains up to 63 characters. The best approach is to register a name which contains no more than 7/8 characters which is easy to remember and easy to type into the browser. Also make sure it clearly reflects the business or service you are offering and if possible avoid under scores or numbers.

TLD - Top level domains

If possible go for a .com ( TLD ) top level domain.  If this fails then register the next best thing which is a .net, .org or regional country specific domain like a .co.uk

Register more than one domain

Its better to be safe than sorry so if you get an opportunity to register a number of domain name extensions ( .com, .net, .co.uk ) then go for it. This in the long term will protect your business and brand name. The last thing you want is to have a web site which becomes very popular only to find out that someone else ( your competitor )  has registered the same domain name but with a different extension. Also think about the future growth of your business you may be running a Joomla templates site now but in the future you may wish to offer web hosting or SEO services.

Renew your domain name

Don’t let your domain name expire. Keep a record of when you registered the domain name and when it will expire. Not all companies will remind you or you might have changed your email address and not received the renewal notice.

Trusted Domain registration service

Domain registration is big business which has seen the start up of some not so trust worthy web sites offering domain registration services. If possible try and ensure the domain registration web site is icann accredited. Here is a list of all the sites who are accredited.