What is a domain name?

A domain name is essentially a signpost on the Internet. Every Website you've ever been to, and every email you've ever composed, has used a domain name in its address. People register domain names in order to "stake a claim" to a particular name -- whether for business or personal reasons. Once a domain name is registered to a person or company, it is that person's to use exclusively as long as they continue to pay the yearly renewal fee. Our domain name is HostSupreme.com, and we also own HostSupreme.net and HostSupreme.org.

Why do I need to register a domain name?
Most Internet providers offer you a directory on their own domain. Most of the time, they look like this: http://www.yourisp.com/~yourname/. In addition to having to explain the little squiggle mark (~ which is called a tilde) to your less net-savvy customers, this can prove cumbersome on business cards and letterhead, and it does not reflect the unique nature of your business or homepage. Registering a domain name for your business or organization is essential to your marketing efforts. A domain name gives your business a unique identity on the World-Wide Web.

How will I be able to tell if my desired domain name is already taken?
When you begin registering a domain name, we will search the domain name database (which is known as "WhoIs") to see if your requested domain name is available. If the domain request comes up with "no match" you will be able to register that domain name.

Once I have a domain name, how long may I use it?
If there are no trademark disputes, your secured domain name will be yours for as long as you maintain the yearly registration fees.

What if my desired domain name is the same as a trademarked name?
Generally, if you've registered the name in good faith, it's not a name belonging to an internationally known company, and you can show that you have a legitimate reason to use that name then you are likely to be able to keep that name. That may not be the case if it can be shown that you purchased the name for the express purpose of re-selling it to a company with a legitimate claim to the name. Please see the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy for details.

How do I choose a good domain name?
Choose a name that reflects the intent and purpose of your Website or business. Try to keep it short and snappy, and say it out loud, as if you were telling someone at a party to visit your Web page. Some domain names look good on paper but are confusing when you try to send someone to them over the phone. Keep in mind the image that it conjures... your domain name will be one of the ways people recognize or evaluate their sites for their interests when they are searching via Yahoo! or other search engines. When facing a large number of choices, the snappiest domain sometimes graps the most attention.

What are the valid characters for a domain name and how long can it be?
The only valid characters for a domain name are letters, numbers and a hyphen "-". Other special characters like the underscore "_" or then exclamation mark "!" are not permitted.

A domain name can be up to 63 characters long, plus the characters used to identify the Top Level Domain (.com, .biz, .info, .net, .org). Do not type the www. before your domain name when registering.

What is the difference between yourname.com and www.yourname.com?
yourdomain.com is the name of the domain itself. www.yourname.com is the actual address of your domain on the Web. When your domain is hosted by HostSupreme, visitors can reach your Website by typing either yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com. Both will direct visitors to the same Website.