Our first step is to acquire our internet address, sometimes called a domain name. In our example we might consider www.MandMplumbing.com or MandMplumbing.ca (.ca is for Canadian businesses, .com is more generic). But these days most of the obvious names have been purchased, so you may need to think outside the box, for example, Amazon, Google – not names you would associate with an online retailer or a search engine. You can use a website like www.ionos.ca to search for and purchase your domain name.
TIP : Avoid long domain names. Although it’s unlikely you’ll be spelling out your domain name to someone over the phone, this will happen, or you might be typing it into a “Business websites address” field in an online form, so it’s easier to be able to say/type “mandmpumbing.ca” then it is to say “mikeandmichellesplumbing.ca”
For our example, Mike and Michelle have decided to purchase mandmplumbing.ca. They visit ionos.ca, search for it, and find that it’s available.
They complete the purchase and now they have their address.
The cost of a domain is usually in the region of $20 per year, but look for deals on the website.
A domain name is just a name, there’s no site and no server hosting it.
Mike and Michelle have their domain name. Now they need somewhere to host it. Let’s move on to Part 3
About BlitzBack
We help small business owners get online quickly, with rapid website development, search engine optimisation, digital marketing initiatives and more.
About the author: Brhum Bhatia
Brhum Bhatia is the founder of BlitzBack in Mississauga. He has a Computer Science degree and a background in programming, QA and IT, and took his own photography studio from around 100 results down on Google to number 1 in Burlington, Oakville and Hamilton. He now helps Ontario small businesses get found online.