So far, the following have been discussed: Which leaves two easy bits to think about: The web site domain name is the online identity for your organisation, business, etc. A good domain name will score well with a search engine, convey a trust factor and adds value to the organisation. A long complex domain name will cause problems, mostly with peoples fingers. Too short a domain name, the organisation's initials perhaps, is possibly ambiguous and the best ones are probably already taken. A .com domain is desirable for a company trading internationally, but not for a local not-for-profit organisation for which a .org or .org.uk domain name would be more appropriate, and cheaper. To check whether your chosen domain name is available, use one of the several on-line domain checkers, some of which also permit domain registration. Don't sign up just yet.

And, finally, where is the web site going to be hosted? You could host the web site on your own PC, and connect it to the Internet, but that makes you responsible for ensuring it is always available, is secure and, if heavily used, would hog the Internet connection. A web hosting service is a service that offloads the responsibility of individuals and organizations for making their website accessible to the Internet. Choosing a web hosting service can seem a bit daunting - there are so many to choose from, each offering many options, and it makes sense to enquire locally for advice, to browse the Internet to evaluate the options and create some sort of evaluation criteria. The evaluation criteria could include the availabilities of features such as: Once a decision has been made, the company chosen will probably be able to also administer the domain name registration.
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