A good domain name is the best place to start when you are setting up your own website or blog. These days, it`s becoming rather difficult to find good domain names, so even if you aren`t starting your site just yet, you should be thinking of an URL that you want.

Now, there are any number of places to register your domain name and a lot of them are probably quite good. One that you`ll hear plenty about is GoDaddy, which I have promoted in the past. However, just over a year ago, I had some problems with a hacker getting into my GoDaddy account and they were less than helpful. It was only through threats of legal action that I was able to get my account back from the hacker, then began a number of issues with GoDaddy. Long story short, I let all my other domains lapse there and moved to a new site.

I currently buy my domain names through NameCheap. To date, I have had NO issues with them. They provide a free WhoIs guard with purchase (this was the reason my GoDaddy account was hacked) and they are so easy to use it`s ridiculous. Now, I`m a firm believer in only recommending things that you know and have tried, which is why I`m recommending NameCheap. I`ve used them for over a year and haven`t had any problems. Now, I have never had need of their support but the very fact that they have Live Support and an easy to use support area makes me feel quite comfortable. GoDaddy makes it impossible for you to reach a real person unless you call them, which is hardly great if you live outside the US.

In order to find out if your chosen domain name is available, just type it into any domain site and you will be able to see if it is taken or not. In many cases, only the .com will be taken and you might be tempted to go with .net or .info. Let me just say that these are not ideal and you really want a .com URL if you can swing it. This will give you more credibility right from the start.

Other things to consider when choosing an URL:

• Keep it short, three to four words is pretty much the max
• Avoid weird shortened versions (if you want genesis.com, but it`s not available, gnesis.com is a poor option, no one will remember!)
• Use your keywords
• Look for generic names if all else fails (learning.com can be used for millions of things, science.learning.com, crafts.learning.com, for example)
• If breaking up words, be sure to us “-” rather than “_” to make it easier for people to type in
• Stick to easily spelled words so people can type them in

Often, your chosen domain name will be picked up while you`re still thinking about it, so head over to NameCheap and find yourself one that works and consider investing in it before someone else does. Next week, I`ll be giving a tutorial on how to set up your domain, including changing the nameservers and attaching the domain to your webhost.

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