If your Internet provider is currently hosting your website, your website address probably looks something like http://www.isp.net/users/your name/index.html. Whilst it is good to have a web site, it is essential that your site can be located from amongst the millions of other sites out there. This may not be an issue if your website is just there for a few close friends to access photos of your family, but if you have a business, your site should reflect your business name and be easy to find and remember.

So what it a domain name and how can it enable others to find your site by name?

In order to find a particular website, a computer needs to know where the computer hosting the website is located on the Internet. In order to do this, each computer has a series of numbers that identify it (known as an IP address). Since numbers are very hard for humans to remember, the domain name system was developed in the early 1980s to make it easy to find a particular server by name rather than number.

The domain name system (or DNS) consists of a hierarchy of names, with a top level domain- for example, com.au and one or more sub domains, which precede it. The owners of the top level domains delegate the sub domains to individuals and entities. For example, if you want a com.au domain name, such as pcauthority.com.au, you would need to obtain this name from the owner of the com.au space. Once you have that name you can then assign servers such as www to give the full name www.pcauthority.com.au that identifies your web server.

The first step in acquiring a domain name is to determine the most appropriate top level domain to belong to. This depends upon the type of entity you are. For example, a com or com.au ending specifies a commercial or personal sites, whereas id.au specifies an individual or family.

The next step involves checking to see that someone else hasn't registered that name first. You can check on the availability of your preferred domain name at several websites, including www.aunic.net, where you register a name with the au (Australian) country code.

Bear in mind that if you are looking to register your domain now, and you want a really catchy name, it may well be gone. If you find your name has been taken, you can try other suffixes, which are run by private companies, such as au.nu and au.com.

Acquiring a domain name doesn't cost an arm and a leg but it does depend on which suffix you choose. Generally, com and com.au suffixes are more expensive than lesser known suffixes.

For example, a com.au suffix at INA costs - $137.50 for two years and $121.00 for a .com, .org or .net suffix. In comparison, an au.nu suffix costs $33.00 per year but is not as easily identifiable. Whilst INA has a monopoly over the com.au name space, there is competition in the .com, or .net space… so shop around since you may be able to save some money.

Be sure to read the terms and conditions before filling in a registration form on line, as various policies and restrictions differ. For example, if you wish to register a domain name with a com.au suffix, you cannot use an Australian place name, such as "Melbourne" or a generic product or service name such as "weddings" or "winery". Furthermore, only commercial entities registered and trading in Australia can be allocated a com.au domain name.

If your proposed domain name is declined, or you believe that someone else is using a name that should rightfully be yours, you can dispute this. Disputes over existing or declined com.au names are settled via negotiation and conciliation with the administrator. If this fails, the dispute is referred to a commercial dispute center. But be warned- the costs of the dispute are borne by the originator of the dispute.

The next step is to submit your registration form and within a few days you should have a response as to whether it has been accepted. Then your credit card goes to work, and you get your very own domain name.

But before others can access your website using your new name you must specify at least two nameservers which are authoritative servers for your domain name. If you are very experienced you can undertake this yourself, however most people let their ISP do this for them.

Of course having a domain name is only the first step… you still need to design a web site which contains the information, sign up with an e-commerce portal if you want to sell goods and services and organise email. More next edition

Anna Rich & David Neiger