Domain Names, Registrars, And Your Online Identity

A domain name is the name by which your website is known.

Examples include "cbc.ca", "thechronicleherald.ca", "facebook.com" and "twitter.com". Note that there is no "www" in these!

A domain name can end in ".com", ".net", ".org", or ".ca" - those are the common ones. For a full list of all top level domains, Wikipedia is the place to look.

In order to register a domain name, you have to purchase it from a registrar. Some registrars include OpenSRS (who operates through resellers only, local Halifax resellers being at least Airfire, Dynamic Hosting, and JustHosting.Ca), Register.com and Network Solutions. Each of these registrars or resellers has different policies and prices for different kinds of domains, make sure you shop around before you shop around before you make a snap decision.

Once you have a domain name, you can then use it to put your website and email online!