No this is not an Abbot and Costello comedy routine, but some serious information you need to know if considering your own web site. If you have ever looked into getting your own domain name, you have no doubt done a "whois" lookup. If you haven't, you can search to see if the name you wish is available at: VeriSign.com.

There are several types of extensions available for our use at the current time. For example, abc.com is an example of a "dot.com" site; abc.net a "dot.net" site; abc.org = a "dot.org" site; as well as dot.us, dot.biz, dot.info, dot.tv, dot.cc and finally dot.bz.

Dot.org sites were traditionally the domain of non-profit organizations, but have since opened up, so anyone can have that extension. There are other extensions such as dot.gov, but these are not available to the average person.

Before choosing a name with an extension, you should be aware that most browsers will allow you to simply enter the domain name such as "abc." The browser will then search for a web site with that name… but it isn't as simple as that, especially these days.

Internet Explorer first searches for a domain name with a dot.com extension. If it finds one, it connects to that site. If it doesn't, it will search for a dot.net extension and finally a dot.org extension. Then it will come back with a list of sites that closely resemble your search.

If you think you have a really neat name, the dot.com extension is already taken, but the dot.net is available, it may not be a good deal. People are conditioned to enter a name followed by ".com" and if you have the dot.net or dot.org extension, you just may be sending your clients to a competitor's site.

We recently tried to reserve a web site and checked under several names, but all the dot.com names that we initially thought of were taken. Rather than settling for a dot.net or dot.org extension, we continued to search until we found one with a dot.com that was appropriate for our business.

Remember, when you do a "Whois" search, the dot.com name is on first

Bob publishes the "Your Business" email newsletter and offers a wide range of business support services including web design and hosting, telemarketing, and valuable advertising options.
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