Creating your new website

Your choice needs serious consideration and these tips will help; saving you time, money, and stress. If you have any questions afterwards or you’d like to talk with a human being, just give us a call.

Your questions answered

• What’s a domain name?
• Do I need a domain name for my website?
• How do I choose the bit after the dot?
• What next?

Domain names and what they do

Our domain name is eurodns.com; it’s the name of our company and website. If you visit our website and look at the browser bar, you’ll see it in the URL.

More about the green stuff later…

Whether you’re an online or offline business, having a website legitimises you. The name of your website, if chosen wisely, identifies who you are, what you do, and it can locate. Remember, it’s your company name, your brand, and your email address; and it’s gonna be around for a while.

Choosing your domain name and extension

Firstly, take a look at how to protect your brand online. It would be a great shame to do all the work and then get hit by a trademark infringement.

• Okay, choosing a good name. If it’s easy to remember it’ll be easy to recommend, so keep it short and simple. Explaining abbreviations and special characters is a pain and increases the chances of error. Test it over the phone with someone who hasn’t heard it before. Do they understand what you’re saying? Consider registering misspellings, plural/singular forms, etc.
• You don’t have to limit yourself to one domain name. With so many new domain extensions to choose from, you can register multiple names and redirect to your main site. With the introduction of the new TLDS, there are now hundreds to choose from. Why not register .NEWS, .JOBS, and .EVENTS; they’ll give users more ways to find you.
• Country code domain extensions (ccTLDs) are perfect if you want to win audiences around the world.

You’ll find more detailed information in this post, exploring the alternative extensions.

Managing your domain names - keeping them safe and secure

You must protect your business and website, your domain names, and your customers. If customers are dubious about using your website, they’re not going to do business with you.

• SSL certificates protect online transactions and communication between you and your users. Every domain name you register with us comes with a free Alpha SSL certificate. If your business requirements require a higher protection level, you can upgrade to Domain, Organisation, or Extended validation. Remember the green stuff? The https and padlock icon show that our website is protected with SSL, so online transactions are secure.

• Two-step verification (TSV) will block unauthorised access to your account. Fraudsters are getting more devious by the day and passwords are easily hacked. Chances are you’re using TSV already. That fob or token you have for accessing your bank account is a double-lock on your account. TSV protects your credit card, email address, bank account, and more.
• To make sure you never lose your domain name due to an oversight, automatic renewal saves you having to remember the date. Losing it would be a nightmare, and getting it back is either costly or impossible. Unfortunately you can't use PayPal for domain name renewals, soz.
• If you register multiple domain names you can categorise them with domain folders and shared access, then you can assign tasks to other people. Despite sharing management functionality, you remain in overall control.
• The public display of owner contact details for all domain names is a rule imposed by ICANN, the administering body behind the Internet. Does this mean that spammers, marketers, domain name hijackers, and identity thieves can see your details? Yes it does, but we have a cloaking device! You can turn on domain privacy and go ex-directory.

Hosting your website

Setting up your website doesn’t have to be a chore or cost a fortune. It makes sense to register your domain names and host your website in once place. We’ve got a web hosting service that offers unlimited storage and traffic, plus there’s an easy drag and drop site builder with one-click installs.

It’s rather a lot to take in which is why I’ve linked to several previously published posts; you can just read what you need. Just give us a shout if you’d like to chat with one of the team - looking forward to hearing from you!

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