Need help setting up your own web site? Don't know where to start? Carving out your little piece of cyberspace requires more work than you might think and a lot of planning. Developing a web site will consume a lot of your time if you've never done it before, thus making the experience very frustrating. And this shouldn't be the case, because you know what? Web design is supposed to be fun. Everyone has different needs, though. A business that requires a shopping cart has a bigger task ahead than the one that doesn't.
I'll be writing a series of posts that will cover the most basic and practical information you need before getting started. I'll explain the four steps of web development from start to finish. This guide will address important questions I've been asked regarding domain registration, web hosting, design, and marketing. So get ready to learn all the tips and tricks of the trade. I encourage you to ask me questions along the way, and I'll address them as we go along.

Choosing a Domain Name

A domain name plays a critical role in the success of your site, thus making this task the single most important step in the set-up process. It could potentially work for or against your business. For this reason alone, I'll begin the series with domain registration tips you should always keep in mind.

1. Be Creative: I personally refuse to register anything but a dot com name, even if other Top Level Domain (TLD) extensions, such as dot net or dot org, are available. More than 70 million domain names have been registered to date, so don't be discouraged if it seems impossible to snag a catchy name. But don't despair, instead be very creative. Dare to create a word that no one's even heard of yet. Ever heard of Digg, Skype, Flickr, Typepad, YouTube or MySpace?

2. Dot Com or Bust: Always aim for dot com extension, period. I've heard so many people complain about losing traffic to another site because they registered their site under the dot net or dot org suffix. People will instinctively enter dot com first 99.9 percent of the time, so don't risk it. The most dreadful story I've heard to date was from a friend who was invited to talk about his business on national television. He had registered a dot net domain name, so when the domain was flashed across the screen, the domain name appeared with a dot com extension at the end. Big mistake. The owner of the dot com domain was running an adults-only web site. Needless to say, that major news station got plenty of complaints from angry viewers, and my friend eventually decided to shut down the site. True story.

3. Keep it short: I know, impossible. Today's short means means 10 letters or more. Gone are the days when you could get anything shorter. But a short name is more memorable than say, www.techiedivasguidetogadgets.com. A domain name should be easy to spell, remember, and type.

4. Avoid Confusion: Stay far away from domains with dashes, numbers, dots, and anything else that requires too much thinking. Del.icio.us is a great name, but I could never remember how to spell it. Unless your business name contains a number or dash, you should just avoid these characters altogether.

5. Use Keywords: This crosses over to marketing a bit, but any search engine optimization guru will tell you that incorporating keywords into your domain name is a very strategic move. If you can, optimize your domain name by including the all-encompassing word that describes the scope of your site. This will minimize your search engine advertising costs in the long run. Keywords based domains also help your audience identify your site's purpose.

6. Play it Safe: Avoid the use of trademarked names in your domain name to prevent legal issues. This may seem like a no-brainer to most of us, but even fan sites run the risk of being sued. It doesn't matter if you're an affiliate who sells the company's products or accessories. If you register a domain with a trademarked name you're just asking for trouble.

Whew! And those were just some tips on choosing a domain name. Next up, things you should know before you register your domain name.