Getting Started

A 'Domain Name' is a name by which a company or organization is known on the Internet. It is the basis of your internet identity. For example, a company called LocalNet Corp. might use localnet.com as its domain name. With its domain name, LocalNet Corp. could host its web site at www.localnet.com, and use info@localnet.com as its e-mail address.

Domain names must be unique throughout the internet. In other words, there can only be ONE localnet.com. Domain Names are granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, it is important to register your domain name as soon as possible to ensure that your desired name isn't taken by someone else. A domain name may include a combination of letters, numbers and hyphens.

A domain extension is the highest-level category of Internet names. The extensions .com, .net and .org are called "generic" domains because they are not affiliated with any country. These types of extensions are unrestricted, meaning anyone from anywhere can register an unlimited amount of .com, .net or .org domain names. New extensions are .info and .biz, and are also unrestricted. The extensions .uk (from United Kingdom) and .it (from Italy) are examples of country code extensions. These types are operated by separate registry authorities in 192 countries. Unrestricted country-specific extensions allow anyone from anywhere to register a domain name just like .com, .net and .org.

First, you should think of a name that you would like to have. Whether you are an individual or business, this name should represent the main idea of whatever you will be associating with it (i.e. a web site). It is best to have a couple of choices, as many people are on the Internet, and many names have been taken.

Second, you should have an extension in mind (.com, .org, .net, etc.). The extension you choose can have a direct impact on the availability of your choice of domain name (ex. yourdomain.com is not available, but yourdomain.biz is available). Also, certain extensions provide certain expectations about your domain. A .com or .biz is likely to sell a product or service, while a .org or .net are likely to be non-profit organizations or informational sites.

Lastly, you must have a valid credit card. LocalNetHosting.com only accepts online payments, and in the form of a credit card. That's it.

You can either search for a different name, select one with a different extension (i.e. .biz instead of .com), or choose a different version of the name from the list LocalNetHosting.com generates during your search.

The availability of your domain name may take up to 72 hours. This is due to the fact that the registrar must update Internet address databases, so that servers will recognize your domain name. The time this may take is dependent upon the amount of new submissions at a given time.