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Get Your Own Domain Name

Registering your own Web address doesn't work the way it used to. We walk you through the process.

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Every 5 seconds a new Net domain is registered. Some domain names lead to fame, fortune, and backslappings at country clubs. Other domain names sit idle like undeveloped real estate that never appreciates in value.

I can't tell you how to attain fame and fortune, but I can tell you how to get started and obtain your own domain name. Since summer 1999, when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) broke Network Solutions' monopoly on domain name registration, the entire business of registering a domain has changed. Now you can choose from almost 20 registrars in the U.S., change registrars at will, and really take control of your domain. Registrars are competing for customers with easier applications and domain management, better service, and in some cases, lower prices.

Sure, if the whole business of registering domains intimidates you, you can pick a hosting service that will take care of it for you. But I recommend you do it for yourself: If you decide to change hosts later on, switching is much easier if you're the one who registered the domain.

And when you come down to it, registering a domain nowadays is a simple task indeed. All you need is a credit card and a game plan--and within two or three days, your new domain can be up and ready to receive e-mail and Web visitors. Got the plastic? Here's the plan....

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