WordPress For Dummies
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Before you can even think about building themes and designing with WordPress, the first step is registering a domain name for your new site. Setting up WordPress correctly the first time is important and you have to lay the foundation for a successful website or blog.

Domain registrars (companies that sell and administer domain names) are certified and approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Although hundreds of domain registrars exist, the ones in the following list are popular because of their longevity in the industry, competitive pricing, and variety of services they offer in addition to domain name registration (such as web hosting and website traffic builders):

GoDaddy.com is probably the easiest and most cost-efficient way to register a domain name. At the time of this writing, GoDaddy.com currently has domain name registration starting at $11.44 per year.

No matter where you choose to register your domain name, here are the general steps to do so:

  1. Decide on a domain name.

    Doing a little planning here is necessary. Many people think of a domain name as a brand—a way to identify their websites or blogs. Think of potential names for your site; then you can proceed with your plan.

  2. Verify the domain name’s availability.

    In your web browser, enter the URL of the domain registrar of your choice. Look for the section on the registrar's website that lets you enter the domain name (typically, a short text field) to see whether it's available. If the domain name isn't available as a .com, try .net or .info.

  3. Purchase the domain name.

    Follow the domain registrar’s steps to purchase the name using your credit card. After you complete the checkout process, you receive an e-mail confirming your purchase, so be sure to use a valid e-mail address during the registration process.

After completing these steps, you need to obtain a hosting account.

Some of the domain registrars have hosting services that you can sign up for, but you don’t have to use those services. Often, you can find hosting services for a lower cost than most domain registrars offer; it just takes a little research.

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