If you are simply registering your name (like Tom Smith) or a company name (like Tom Smith Consulting) as a domain name, the choice is pretty simple. You simply need to decide what form or forms of your name you want to register, assuming it's available. For example, www.TomSmith.com or www.Tom-Smith.com or www.ThomasSmith.com or www.TomDavidSmith.com (if you use your full name) or www.TomDSmith.com or www.TSmith.com and so on. And in the corporate example, www.SmithConsulting.com or www.SmithConsultingInc.com or www.Smith-Consulting.com and so on.

If you are not sure whether you should get your full name or a shortened version, you can always be safe and get both, assuming they're available. A man named Joe Bob Smith, for example, might get both www.JoeSmith.com and www.JoeBobSmith.com

You also can always get names that are more common like www.PhoneBook.com that might be good business ventures, but it's obviously very hard to think up a good one that somebody hasn't already snapped up.

If you were getting your Name as a Domain Name just to protect it, it would appear you're too late -- and if that is because you have a fairly common name, it would probably be a great example why you should consider getting your spouse and kids' Domain Names before they are gone too.  

If you were getting your Name as a Domain Name because you want to have a website online, obviously, it would have been great if you could have had the name you wanted (ie www.TomSmith.com) But if your main concern is having a website online, the game's not over just yet. You simply need to find an alternative that is available. That means adding a hyphen and looking for www.tom-smith.com, or going with www.thomassmith.com, or adding your middle initial and so on. 

Or...you can change the ending of the address. When you pick a name, there are different endings you can choose, such as .com, .org, .net or .edu. Most people tend to get ".com" endings if nobody else has taken it, but it doesn't mean you can't dare to be different if it's already snapped up. For example, Bob Smith could get www.bobsmith.net or www.bobsmith.biz or both.  You can own as many domain names as you want. 

If you are purchasing the Domain Name as an investment, or for proprietary reasons, once you Get Your Name, then just take advantage of Free Domain Forwarding and set up the link to the site where you want people re-directed to, and then that's it, you're done. Your other option is to build a website (or have one built for you).  A website is, essentially, the "thing" people see when they type in a Domain Name Address.  So when you type in www.IdeaListEnterprises.com, what you see on the screen, that's the "website."

To set up Domain Forwarding, click on Step by Step Help and then click on "I just registered my Domain Name and now I'm back to set up Domain Forwarding."

To build a website, look around and talk to people you know and get a good recommendation for a web developer you can hire -- or a web-building program you can get that allows you to do-it-yourself (an increasingly easy thing to do these days).

There are three main options.

Option One is to hire someone to build it for you for a fee.  There are many excellent web-development companies out there. 

Option Two is called Free Domain Forwarding and is increasingly popular among corporate executives, school and religious officials, lawyers, journalists and very civic-minded people. Free Domain Forwarding means that somebody types in your Domain Name address and they get Forwarded (or re-directed) to another already existing website - or even a specific page on an existing website if you prefer.   For those who do not have time to learn how to build a site, or the time to update, or the money to spend on one, this is the perfect option.  For one thing, it's FREE.  For another, it makes sense.  If your company or school or church or publication or network already has a page about you on their website, you can simply make it so that people who type in your Domain Name end up directly on that page about you! 

Option Three --  If you do want a website that you personally create, you can also always build it yourself.  Nowadays, virtually anyone can do it given the "self-starter" type of technology that exists. In fact, this website was built with one of those very kinds of programs -- programs specifically intended to help internet novices build a website.

You do not need to purchase a website building program here. You can purchase your Domain Name through this service, and a website building program somewhere else. Think of it as registering your license plate in one location and buying the car somewhere else.

It's up to you. ideaList enterprises inc. (WorldsGreatestName.com) has no involvement whatsoever with the programming of your website, and cannot be, and is not, responsible for anything you put on your website and/or anything that does or does not happen directly or indirectly because of it, and by ordering a website and related services, if any, through ideaList enterprises inc, you and all related parties understand and agree ideaList enterprises inc. and its officers and related parties have no involvement, bear no responsibility and shall be held harmless now and forever for anything which you publish on your site and anything which happens directly or indirectly because of it. 

Having said that, there are some things we can specifically encourage you to keep in mind when building and updating your website. To read them, go to Safety on the Internet.

And speaking of safety, if you do purchase a name or other services, DO NOT SHARE YOUR PASSWORDS OR OTHER RELEVANT ACCOUNT INFORMATION WITH OTHERS even if they are a close friend or appear to be contacting you on behalf of a very legitimate entity. 

If and when you have built a website and do want people to be able to actually see your website on the internet, you'll need to get 'hosting'. Hosting is the fee, usually paid on a month-to-month basis, that allows you to display your website online.

You can think of it like this: You have built a car (the website) and there's an auto show in town. To have your car on display during the show, you need to rent a booth (hosting). If you don't rent the booth, it's okay, you still own your car -- it simply won't be on display during the auto show.

You do not need to order your hosting service here. You can order your Domain Name here and get your hosting through another source. The two do not have to be intertwined.

The cost of a hosting plan, regardless of where you get it, typically depends on the size and traffic of your website. To continue the earlier example...if you display a Yugo in the auto show, you will rent a small booth. If you display a truck, you will need to rent a larger space. The larger your website, the more it will cost to display it.

 SPECIAL NOTE: Some web-building programs such as Website Tonight -- come with a hosting plan. In other words, you own a domain name and you purchase Website Tonight to build and manage your website -- and you won't need to order additional hosting (as long as you keep the size and traffic of your website within the Website Tonight guidelines).

There's only way to find out. Just just click on the statement below.

"I'm at least 18 years old. I've read everything up to this point and understand it and agree to it and now I would like to find out if the Domain Name I want is available.