The question is actually much bigger than that. There are literally hundreds of top level domain name extensions (TLDs). As of March 2009, there were 280 of them. Of course, most of them are reserved for country codes, like .ca for Canada and .mx for Mexico. A much smaller number are for general use.

Here is a list of the most popular domain extensions and what the represent:
.com is intended for commercial websites. It is the most popular.
.net was originally intended for network providers, although individuals and commercial sites are purchasing them now.
.org represents the word “organization” and is primarily used by non-profits.
.biz is used for small business websites.
.info signifies a resource website.
.mobi is reserved for mobile device websites.
.tv was intended for the islands of Tuvalu, but is now being used to represent television.
.us is for the good ol’ USA.
.ws was originally designated as the country code for Western Samoa, but is now commonly used as an acronym for websites.
.name and .me are intended for personal use.
.edu is reserved for educational institutions.
.gov is reserved for US government agencies.

Does it really matter?

Yep!  Not only does the domain name extension tell the visitor what type of site it is, but it is a professional representation of you.  I can’t swear to it, but I’d also bet that the search engines give you more credit in rankings for having a more popular domain extension like .com.  And having a .com extension on your URL will probably make you easier to find.  I don’t know about you, but I always assume a .com before anything else.

Do I need to purchase them all?

In my opinion, no.  Personally, I never have.  I purchase the .com every time.  (Although I’m tempted to try for one of the new .co extensions… keep reading…)   It really just depends on how important brand protection is to you.  If you found a great .com and want to make sure nobody else gets their hands on your idea, purchase a group of domain names with the most popular domain name extensions.  

What if the domain name I want is taken?

If you absolutely have to have a particular domain name and the .com is taken, go for the .info or the .biz.  … ORRR  the brand new .co!   The .co domain extension was originally intended for Columbia usage, but has now been released for public company/corporation/commerce use.  Could you get much closer to a .com?  Just give up an ‘m’ and you’re golden.   If the inital price of a .co is any indication, the demand will be high!  As I type this article, the price at www.GoDaddy.com is $29.99!

How to Create Your Own Professional Website

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As I get involved with more and more client web sites, I am noticing an alarming trend. Nine out of ten web site owners cannot access control of their own sites!

What do I mean by this?

If you had to change to a new hosting company, how would you go about it? Do you even have the login information for your domain account? (I can hear many of you going, “Huh?”)

Or, if you want someone new to go in and make a few changes to your web site pages, can you give them FTP access? (Again, “Huh?”)

Facts You Need to Know

Every web site is comprised of two parts:

1. Domain name (i.e. yourname.com)

2. Web Hosting (i.e. the actual web space where you “park” your domain)

You have to sign up and pay for each of these services separately. Even if your host offers domain name registration, it is still two separate accounts and you need to have the login information for each.

Domain Name

As I said, your domain name is your web site URL, such as yoursite.com. You must pay for ownership of your domain yearly. It’s not very expensive, but it is very important to know that is must be renewed. If you let your registration lapse, your site will disappear, even if your hosting account is current.

You need to be able to access your domain account to tell the Internet where to look for your site. Your DNS settings inside your domain account identify the host server space where you web site files reside.

This sounds more complicated than it really is. Your host has a machine called a server that stores web site files. The DNS settings tell the Internet exactly which machine houses your files.

When you want to change hosts, you have to change these settings to correspond to the new host’s server. This is not complicated. Every host provides the information you need to do this easily, provided you can login into your domain account.

To maintain control of your business web site, you must be able to login to your domain registration account.

Web Hosting

Again, your web host provides the web space where you “park” your domain. They store your web site files (such as graphics, html files, etc.) on a machine call a server and then those files become accessible via the Internet.

You need to be able to access your web site files. This is NOT information for designers only. If you want to have complete control of your business, you need this information too.

I’ve already mentioned FTP, which stands for File Transfer Program. It is the software used to transfer files from your computer’s hard drive to your server space and vice versa. All changes to web sites must be made via FTP and if you don’t have the connection information, you can’t do anything to your site without the person who does.

In order to have complete control of your business web site, you must have, or be able to grant, access to your web site files.

What’s the Big Deal?

I had a host once that literally disappeared. A major breakdown in communication meant that while I had paid for a year’s worth of hosting, I was going to have to settle for only two months instead. My site was down and I had to find another host right away. (To this day I never heard from that host again. I was offline for weeks while I tried everything I could to reach them!)

The point is, I didn’t know how to login to my domain registration account to changes the DNS settings to my new host’s server! I had long since left the host that actually registered it for me. Thank goodness he was kind enough to simply hand over my login information at my request. Thank goodness he was even still in business!

And it’s the same with web sites. I can’t tell you how many of my clients originally started off with another designer who has moved on to other things. Some can’t even get their old designer on the phone anymore! But, when they come to me because they’ve decide to find someone new to work on it, they can’t give me access to their site. In most cases they don’t have any idea what I’m talking about when I ask.

Protect Yourself!

I know that technophobia is a real problem for some people. As soon as someone says something like “HTML” they tune out thinking there’s no way they’ll ever understand what’s being said from that point forward. But your domain and hosting are not something you can just leave to others. They are the backbone of your business web site.

It’s really not complicated. And it’s so important to maintain control of your business web site. You absolutely must have access to your domain registration account AND your web hosting account.

Even if you never use the information yourself, you need to have it. Without access to both of these accounts, your business could end up dead in the water.

About the Author – Cathy Wagner, owner of ONE STOP Internet Business Services, is a writer/author, webmaster, and online business expert. Her articles and business advice have been published all over the Internet. She personally helps a wide variety of online business people sell their products and services more effectively and she’s earned an excellent reputation as an honest and knowledgeable expert in her field who is truly committed to helping others.

Domain – The name and address of your website. When you purchase a domain, you are really just buying a name for and giving directions to your belongings. You are calling your belongings “Your Stuff” and letting people know where your stuff currently is. You can change the location of “Your Stuff” at a later time and give new directions.

Host – The physical location of your website data. It is the computer where your data is stored. Your hosting company owns the computer. In other words, it’s the house where you store your belongings. Your hosting company is your landlord.

Disc Space – How much storage space you can have and how much storage space your website uses. It is measured in MB/GB. Using the house and belongings analogy, it is the square feet of living space vs. how much space your belongings take up. You’re gonna pay more for a bigger house. (You shouldn’t pay for a mansion when you only need a one bedroom apartment.)

Bandwidth – How much data is being tranferred between your host and the rest of the internet. If you really want to calculate an estimate of your bandwidth usage each month, here’s a formula: [(avg page size X avg page views X number of daily visitors) + (avg file size X avg daily downloads)] X 31. You have to pay for your share of internet usage. The analogy on this one is tough. I guess you could call it how many people you have visiting you and how much stuff they are bringing in and out of your house with them. You have to pay for your share of the road usage that gets them to your house. (You shouldn’t pay much for road usage if you are a hermit, but you could pay alot if you have big trucks going back and forth.)

I hope you have found this information helpful.