These days it’s so easy to get your own little spot on the Internet. Companies like Facebook and MySpace let you set up a page for free in minutes by answering a few questions. So if you can do that, why bother setting up your own website, when it can take a substantial amount of time, effort and money?
I’d compare it to renting an apartment vs. owning a house. When you’re young, your only option may be to rent: you don’t have enough money for a down-payment, and don’t want to take on the huge responsibility of owning a house. But someday, you probably want to buy your own place. Apartment living is cool – it’s cheap, easy, and you have a bunch of people living around you, which can be both good and bad. In a house, you have peace and quiet, privacy, and a nice big yard; however, it can cost a lot more, and you may even have to build it yourself. But in the end you own it, so you have complete control over what it looks like inside, and over time you’re building equity. You’re the master of your own domain.
So what’s the better option for you? Well, I would say each has benefits, and you actually want them both. If you could afford a condo on Miami Beach, a ski lodge in Aspen, and a penthouse in Manhattan, you’d be living pretty large, right? They each have their own allure, and if you have the means to afford them, why not have one of each? It’s kind of the same online, except in most cases the houses are free or relatively cheap.
OK, so it’s time to bring this analogy home. The apartment is a site that lets you set up an account page, like on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, LinkedIn, and many others. The house is a unique domain name that you purchase (for a limited amount of time – it’s really a lease) and then populate with pages as you see fit.
So what exactly is a domain or a domain name? The technical term for a domain is a URL, but you can think of it as the name you type into your browser to get where you want to go. In the house analogy, it’s your street address, and online it’s often called an address, too. It usually starts with a www-dot and ends with a dot-com, but neither of these rules always hold true. The domain name of this site is GetOnlineRight.com – technically, you don’t need the capitalization, I just type it that way to make it easier to read. The most popular domains are google.com and yahoo.com. I know this seems basic, but it’s an important concept.
- you maintain maximum control
- you improve your search results
- you appear much more professional
- you’re investing in yourself
I would advocate that while it’s great to have accounts on profile sites (apartment living), you also find and purchase a unique domain name of your own (your home). Then link back and forth between them all to expanding your online network.
Next I’ll address how you can choose and purchase a domain name, as well as where you go from there.