Your Domain
Choosing a domain name can be one of the most frustrating parts to this journey, and what's worse, it happens right in the beginning! Let's get to it then.
You need a name that describes your site, one that is catchy and easily remembered - yet one that is available. We need to compromise here. Try using keywords in the name and separate with hypens such as: website-design.com or treasures-and-gifts.com. Search engines react more favorably to such a structure rather than a word that is made up of two keywords (like websitedesign.com or treasuresandgifts.com).
Use GoDaddy (my recommendation and the registrar that has all of my 18 domains). You can get ideas by using Smart Search under More Options at their site when hunting for a name. [again, I can help you with that]
The most common top level domains are:
* .com - intended for commercial use (most people automatically type this in) * .net - intended for Internet Service Providers * .org - intended for non commercial websites * .edu - intended for educational institutes
There are also country specific top level domains. You need to reside in the country whose country domain you apply for. For example:
* .us is for the United States * .ca is for Canada * .de is for Germany * .fr is for France * .uk is for the United Kingdom * .au is for Australia * .nz is for New Zealand
Your domain name can be up to 60 to 61 characters long, but must only contain letters, numbers, and dashes within it. You will need to play with this for a while until you come up with a name that you like and meets your needs as well.
Now to those types of domains...
The Addon Domain.com
An addon domain allows you to reach a subdomain when entering the name of the addon domain into a browser. This means that you can host additional domains from your account, if allowed by your hosting provider.
It establishes your new domain as a subdomain since it is "added" onto your one main account, but to reach it on the Web, one types in the new domain name.
For example, your main account may be http://apples.com. You buy a new domain, oranges.com and request that it be added to your apples.com account in cPanel.
Now you have two separate domains, http://oranges.com and http://apples com and each is an entity by itself and each is reached by typing the corresponding name into a browser.
The Sub Domain.Yoursite.com
Subdomains will have a period in the URL like: http://oranges.apples.com. It is not its own dot com, merely a folder on your main account; here it is the sub folder "oranges" within the apples account. A sub domain is not an additional domain name, it is merely a sub section of your existing domain name.
It is recommend to buy another domain as they are so inexpensive (about $10 at GoDaddy)
To Recap...
Addon: You own apples.com. You buy oranges.com and add it onto your apples.com account. Each one is a separate domain on one account and they are reached by typing http://apples.com - and/or - http://oranges.com.
Subdomain: you add an oranges folder on your apples account, which is then reached by typing: http://oranges.apples.com.
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