Register a Domain
From HelpBase
Most customers who publish a site on Family History Hosting will also want to use a custom domain name. (If you don't know what a domain name is, please read the domain name help page.)
These are the steps involved in using a custom domain name:
- Select an available name
- Select a domain registrar service
- Register the domain name
- Configure the name servers
Select an available name
How do you determine what names are available? One way is to visit the site of a "domain registrar". "Domain registrars" are the Internet services that manage the database of domain names. GoDaddy is one example of a domain registrar. They also provide other services such as web hosting, email, etc., but those are redundant for Family History Hosting customers.
GoDaddy has a "Domain Name Search" feature on their main page. You can use it to determine what domain names are available. Think of some domain names that are appropriate for your site and enter them there. After you enter a name, click the [Go] button and GoDaddy's site will tell you whether the domain name is available. If it isn't, it will suggest some alternatives. Try different names until you find one you like that is available.
Once you select a name, you have to register it. Registering the domain name essentially assigns the domain ownership to you for a specified period of time. The registrar will take care of the essential technical details. You have to choose a registrar, create an account with that registrar, and decide how long you want to reserve the name.
Select a domain registrar service
Family History Hosting offers domain registration services, but we are a low-volume registrar and so our prices are not the lowest you will find. We are also not a full-service registrar; we offer domain name registration as a convenience to those customers who want one-stop shopping and are willing to accept the limitations associated with our registration services. For those reasons, and others, we recommend that you use a full-service registrar. GoDaddy, described above, is a good choice.
We suggest you reserve your domain name for at least two years. It's not a good idea to register for a domain for a short period of time. If you let your registration lapse, someone else can grab it, and it's likely you will not be able to get it back.
Register the domain name
Registering a domain name involves telling the domain registrar service which domain you want, and for how long. Their web site will lead you through the process. You will have to provide a name and address and other identifying information, and some form of payment. The process is similar to any online purchase.
Registrars collect various identifying information about you during the registration process including your name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number. Most of the information you provide will be part of the public WHOIS database and thus available to anyone who cares to look. Many registrars offer a privacy feature where those details are suppressed, replaced by generic information about the registrar. Those privacy options increase the cost of registering the domain name, but they are worth it if you want to guard your identity.
Configure the name servers
The final step in registering the domain name is to tell the domain registrar the name servers associated with your domain. The name servers are used by the Internet network software to find the server that hosts your web pages. Family History Hosting provides the name servers for you, so all you have to do is find out how to enter them via your domain registrar's web site. The values you need are on the Common settings page.
