One of the more common questions asked by people doing business online is "Should I get my own domain name?" If price is the overwhelming concern, it is less expensive to host under your provider's name. However, there are major advantages to having your own domain name:
Credibility
Having a web site address like www.yourcompany.com always looks better than www.someoneelse.com/customer/a-z/WhereAmI/ and shows that you at least spent the money for your own domain. It's much easier to remember, too.
Portability
If your hosting provider goes out of business or gives you poor customer service, having your own domain name allows you to leave and go to another provider without having to change your web site address.
Manageability
A domain name gives you multiple e-mail addresses such as sales@domain.com, info@domain.com, you@domain.com instead of user@isp.net. You can change your dial-up ISP without having to worry about changing your e-mail address as you can have them all forward to the new one.
"Brandability"
If your company name is Best Shoes, having a domain name such as www.bestshoes.com helps promote your brand and helps people find your company on the web. Also, with around 200,000 domain names being snapped up every month, it is a good idea to register yours before someone else does!
Network Solutions is one provider of domain name registration services, and charges a fee of $70 for the first two years. After the first two years InterNIC will bill $35 annually per domain name. This is in addition to what the hosting provider charges to set up your account.
One word of caution: When obtaining a domain name make certain that your hosting provider has you listed as the Administrative Contact for the domain name (i.e. the "owner"). Otherwise you don't have ownership of the domain and you will be at the mercy of the provider should you ever want to leave and keep your domain name. Internet Advertising Solutions always lists the client as the Administrative Contact - it's just good ethics!
By the way, there are important differences between domain hosting and Virtual Server hosting. While both give you the advantages of a domain name, you should still be aware of the differences and make an educated decision when choosing a hosting provider. For more information please take a look at the Virtual Servers article.
