We are living in a time where everyone every day is busy establishing their presence online, whether it’s a business, idea, shop, hobby, lifestyle, etc.
As the number of Internet users keeps growing at a very rapid rate, everyone that has a presence online stands a greater opportunity of being found by those who are surfing the Internet for a like interest.
Establishing your presence online begins with registering your domain name which is that unique address that people type into their browsers and find their way to your website.
Before I show you how to register a domain name in Nigeria let us first look at the meaning of a domain name as well as why you need to register a domain name?
What is a domain name?
A domain name is basically a unique name you have on the internet that people can type into a browser and easily access your files which are stored as a database on your hosting account.
The best way to choose a domain name is to make it correspond with your type of business or niche.
For example, if you are opening a website for a hotel, you should include hotels to make it specific to not only your visitors but also the search engine robot.
Having a domain that corresponds with your business will help you to gain authority for your specific niche and in so doing rank higher on search engines.
Why do you register a domain name?
The main reason for registering a domain name is to become visible online either for personal or business purposes.
How to register a domain name in Nigeria.
To register a domain name in Nigeria, you have to first and foremost run a search to check if the name already exists, and afterwards visit a domain name provider or hosting company that will enable you to purchase and register the domain name.
How to check if a domain already exists.
There are basically 2 ways of checking if a domain name exists and they are:
- Simply type the domain name into a browser and if it does not open it means the domain name is free.
- Visit a domain provider or hosting company and use their domain search integration to check if the domain name you have chosen already exists.
Please note that when using a domain provider or web hosting company to look up a domain you are going to get 2 responses which are: Available and not available.
Available simply means that there is no one using the domain name and as such it is free.
Not available means that there is already a website or blog on the internet using your chosen domain name. And so you can either choose a new domain name or modify the one you have already chosen.
Also, there are domain names that have been bought by someone and put out for sale.
In this case, you will simply see an advert that the domain is for sale and if you are interested in buying it you can look up the price and buy.