Jan 11
18
My Facebook wall is starting to get filled up with baby pictures. Friends are having babies, becoming aunts and uncles and grandparents (yes, grandparents). I’ve only gotten invited to one baby shower (thank God), but it got me thinking about the absolute best gift you could get for a baby. And then it hit me: their name…their DOMAIN name. 
My name is Ryan Burch, and you’ve obviously arrived at my site somehow. Whether you know me personally, or Googled my name, or just came across a blog post randomly, you got here…to my site, with MY NAME as the website address. To tell you the truth, I got pretty lucky that it was still available. There are a few Ryan Burchs out there that are pretty famous (I’m mostly infamous). Having my own custom domain does so much for me though: It pops up on Google searches, so I have control over at least a portion of what people (think employers or business contacts) see when they search my name. I have a place to post my resume, and record stuff like this blog entry. I applied for a ton of jobs last spring, and almost every one of them asked to include my web address, or blog link along with the application. If employers are asking for this information right now, what kind of digital world will today’s babies be living in when they apply for jobs 20 years from now? Do your younger loved ones a favor, and by their name. They’ll thank you later. Trust me.
First off, I have all my domains registered through GoDaddy. I’ve found that their customer support is fantastic. I recommend calling them directly because they are experts at walking you through the process. If you’d like to set the domain up yourself online, here are the steps:
1. Check name availability.
You’ll need to first check to see if the name you want to buy is available. All of my domains are registered through Godaddy.com, so I’ll start from there. Go to that site and type your domain name idea into the search bar on the center of the page. Clicking “Search” will take you to a second page that will list whether your domain name idea is open. It will also list all of the available names that are similar to your search.
2. Refine your choice.
If the name you’d like isn’t available, try different iterations of the name. For example: www.FirstMiddleLast.com or www.FirstMiddleInitialLast.com. The “.com” or “.net” after your domain name idea is called a file extension, and it helps to be flexible with those if you’re trying to secure a popular name. “.com” names are obviously the most popular file extensions and probably the best to purchase. A popular extension of late is “.me.” So, you could choose www.FirstLast.Me.
3. Make your purchase.
a.) Pick which domain names you’d like to register. Godaddy (and most sites) will usually offer a discount for securing multiple names. If you really want to lock everything down, buy multiple extensions. For instance: I could purchase www.RyanBurch.com, www.RyanBurch.net and www.RyanBurch.me. In most cases, just one domain should be fine.
b.) If you’re booking the domain through Godaddy online, the steps are pretty simple to follow.
-Book the number of years you’d like to register the name for. Once again, Godaddy (and most registrars) will offer a deal for booking multiple years.
-An “uncertified” domain is fine.
-If you don’t know what a nameserver is, don’t mess with this option. Just click the “Park my domain at Godaddy” link.
-Make sure to specify whether you want your domain to be automatically paid for and renewed.
-The privacy tab is important. I have the “Standard” privacy in place, because I want people to find me. You may want to purchase one of the privacy packages so that your contact information is hidden when people search for the owner of the domain name you are purchasing.
-You probably won’t need any of the other add ons that GoDaddy offers until you are actually ready to set up a real website. Remember, we’re just locking in the name right now.
.
.
.
.