It might be your first time to grab a domain name so your are looking for domain name registration process guide. It's a good thing that you made it here because today, I'll be providing those steps on how to do that. Well, domain name registration might be a bit intimidating at first but it is actually simple and easy. The process might differ a bit from one domain name store to the other but all have the same processes in general. I personally bought my domain names from godaddy so the steps I'm showing you here is the steps being done there. I also tried buying a domain name once from name cheap and the stesp are almost the same anyway. Godaddy just have more complicated ways by offering a lot of products from them but you don't have to worry about those things if you only plan to buy a domain name.
Steps on Registering a Domain Name at Godaddy
1. Choose a Rich Keyword or Domain Name that You Can Brand
I know that I don't have to say this because I'm sure that you already have a domain name in your mind that you wanted to buy. I just want to remind it however because once you bought a domain name, you cannot undo it and choose another one again. So before going there, make up you mind and do the final decision.
2. Search for the Available Domain Name
In the godaddy home page, you can see a blank provided for you to type the desired domain name you wanted to register. Just type it in there and then click search. It will then tell you if the domain name is available or not. If the .com is not available then try .org or .net. You can even grab other domain name extensions such as .info, .biz, etc. It is however hard to rank well in google if you get those as extensions. So if the .com, .org, or .net are no longer available for the domain name you wanted, try researching for other terms of try adding a character or a word to it. In fact, godaddy is even suggesting domain names in case the one you are searching is not available anymore.
3. Add and Continue
Once you had a desired domain name already which is available, just hit add and then continue to registration. Godaddy is great but they keep on offering you stuffs but you don't have to take them all for now. They will offer you bulk registration but if you only planned to buy a single domain name then just click continue to registration again.
4. Fill Up Contact Information
The next step then is for you to fill up your contact information for you to sign up at godaddy. You will just need to do this though if it's your first time to buy a domain name from them. Feel free to spend some time for it now then and the next time you buy a domain name from them, you just have to log in to your account.
5. Length of Registration
After signing up, you then need to choose the length of registration of your domain. You can choose from 1 - 10 years. I normally just choose one year but you can go higher if you have more budget.
6. Ignore Privacy Options and Click "next"
Again, they will offer you privacy options here but just leave it as it is and click "next."
7. Skip Other Offers
They will then offer you email accounts and hosting and what not but you just have to ignore those things for now unless you wanted to host your website at godaddy (I suggest you host it at Hostgator however).
8. Buy it
Finally, here you are in the "cashier." Just double check your payment information such as credit card number (I use paypal though so that's not a concern for me). Just click the check box for "I have read and agree to the terms and condition" then click place order now. There you have it!
9. DNS Settings
There is one last thing you still have to do though. If you purchased the hosting plan at Hostgator as I suggested, they will send you an email that contains the DNS settings for your site. Once you received that, go back to godaddy and click "my account" menu. In there, you can see the domain name you just bought. Click the "manage domain name" and click the DNS settings. Enter the DNS you got from Hostgator in the 2 DNS fields.
I know that the steps look like too long and it's a bit confusing at first but don't panic. It is actually simple once you do it. I hope you now learned the steps on how to register a domain name. Wishing your website a success with the domain name you are planning to start with.
Article Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/web-hosting/domain-name-registration-process-guide By chamberlane altatis
