There are a lot of companies out there who will offer to help you register your own domain. I’ve mentioned a few of the bigger names, such as Verisign, Dotster, and GoDaddy. Often a hosting provider or an ISP will provide you with domain registration services as a reseller.
I’m going to assume for now that you’ve selected a domain name and that you know which top-level domains (TLD’s) you want to register your name in. Examples of top-level domains are .com, .net, .org, .info, .me, etc. If you’re not sure about your options, see the list of valid TLD’s . Each TLD is represented by its own domain registry, which is operated by an entity called a registrar. In most cases, you won’t be dealing directly with the registrar — you’ll most likely be dealing with a company that partners with the registrar to provide registration services.
This is where you need to be very careful. Sometimes when a third-party registration service provider registers a domain on your behalf, they effectively control your domain as the administrative contact. For example, domain registration provider Tucows has a business model where they only deal directly with the reseller and not with the domain owner. This could put you in a very bad position if you need to make changes to your domain or if your domain isn’t renewed properly by the reseller. Imagine the trouble you’d have if your domain registration expired and the reseller went out of business a year earlier or doesn’t return your phone calls. I’ve seen it happen.
Make sure you’re doing business with a reliable registration service provider and that you have complete control over your domain registration. Don’t ever risk having your domain expire because of a reseller’s billing error. Cheaper is not necessarily better if your domain is effectively being held hostage.
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