Purchase a URL

Chances are that by "purchase a URL" you are referring to purchasing a web address, or what is more commonly know as buying a domain name. These expressions are used interchangeably, but the most common saying is "buying a domain name".

The term URL means Uniform Resource Locator and in pratice is your web address 

By purchasing a URL or domain name, you final intent is usually to have an online presence.  Most likely this will translate into having a website of some kind.  It can be a personal or business site, it can be a blog, or an ecommerce site.

Under certain, rare circumstances, you could also buy a URL just to protect a name so that know one else takes it.  This could be your name, or your business name.  It is also possible to purchase a URL for passive income.  This is called domain parking.

The actual process of purchasing a URL e really straight forward.  But before you get to the buying stage, you must first think of the name you would like to buy. 

Choosing a domain name is the most important part of the entire process.  You should also have  several different options available because chances are the domain you want could be already taken.  Try to think of domain names that are both commercial, have the keywords you want, and reflect the message you want to convey.

The registrar is the company you choose to register your domain. Some people might make a big deal out of this decision, but it isn't really that important what registrar you use as long as its one of the major ones. GoDaddy is a name that comes to mind.

The one thing you should keep in mind is the yearly cost of registering and renewing your domain. I would not go with any registrar that charges more than $12 to purchase a URL at current rates.

Once you pick a registrar, you can start testing the domain name options you have written down. When checking for availability of the domains, you should always try to register the .com version first. If that is not available, the .net and .org should be your next choices.

Its possible, like I said before, that your first option is not available, and in this case you test the other options on you list.

Once you have settled on an available domain, your final step is to pay for the URL you purchased. At most registrars this can be done with Paypal or credit cards, and your domain will immediately be made available to you.

Before you can finalize the sale, you will have to enter valid contact information for the domain. Please make sue this is accurate, especially the contact email since it will be used to communicate important information about your domain.

When making payment on your domain, you will also be given the option of buying domain privacy. Domain privacy keeps your contact information from the public eye. Usually this costs an additional $2 a year. Very few registrars offer this service for free.

Once you have done all this, congratulations, you have just purchased a URL. And remember, the whole process takes but a few minutes and is not as complicated as it might sound!