Although domain names are significantly less expensive today, it’s much more diffi-
cult to get the name you want. If you have a very unique band name, it might be easier,
but be prepared to settle for an alternate.
Consider this. In December, 2011 there were roughly 400 million websites on the In-
ternet and billions of pages within those sites. It becomes readily apparent that securing
the domain name you want can be a tough act. Beyond this, the Web spawned a new in-
dustry of domain name brokers. These companies buy huge blocks of domain names in
the hopes of selling them to folks. Getting mixed up with these companies can be prob-
lematic, at best. Although you might be able to purchase a “just right” name from Go-
Daddy for under $10, a broker might want to charge you several thousand dollars or more
for the name you want. So, go for the name you want, ideally your name or your band’s
name, but also create a list of alternatives, such as YourBandNameMusic.com or Your-
BandNameOnline.com.
Dot com is the most intuitive extension for domain names and the one you should
shoot for, but there are plenty of others including .net, .info, .org and .mobi for mobile de-
vices. Actually, there are over 300 extensions available worldwide for various purposes.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with having an extension other than dot com, it simply
requires a bit more marketing and promotion effort to get the name out to your public.
When guessing, people will typical try dot com first and then, maybe, try some others.
Getting .info or .net into their brains will require more effort on your part.
The other account you’ll need is a hosting account. A host is the server where your
site files live. “Server” is nothing more than a fancy name for a hard drive that’s con-
nected to the Internet. Like domain names, hosting tended to be much more expensive