Why would I want my own domain?

You get to have a cool email address

Have an email like sally@blueberrycustard.co.uk rather than sally@blueberrycustard.someisp.co.uk or sallysmith82@webmailcompany.com

You don't neeed to change your email address every time you change isp

Maybe you want to change your broadband provider - why should you change your email address?

You won't get all the spam emails that are sent to most of the big webmail providers

A lot of spam is sent to email addresses that are just guessed by a computer - so if you have a hotmail address you are much more likely to get spam than if you have your own domain

You can have a professional looking email address

Your company email looks much more professional if it has your company name in it - not the name of your isp

You can have a professional looking web address

Your company website address looks much more professional - and people will guess your web address from your email address

You can check your email on the web, or using an email program like Outlook

Most webmail providers don't let you check your email using a program like Microsoft Outlook - edshosting.co.uk will enable you to check using webmail, POP3 or IMAP

So what do I need to do to get my own domain name?

Find the right domain name for you

When choosing your name, use the form on the Domain Names page to find out which names are available. Think about what it will look like, sound like, and if it will be difficult to spell. Think about what the email address will look like - john@smith.me.uk is better than john@johnsmith.me.uk. But sometimes you don't get the choice if what you want isn't available. Domain names also look better if there are no numbers, so if smith.me.uk is gone, smith27.me.uk might be available, but it really doesn't look as good, especially if it is to be used for professional purposes. Try different combinations of the words instead, or add the word family or something.

Purchase the name

You can purchase the domain name from any registered agent. From the Domain Names page, you can go direct to the Nameroute page to make the purchase. Or you are free to use any other registrar. If you want to use Nameroute, follow the link and and choose your method of payment, then you can see how much they are charging for that name. This will depend on the ending you have chosen.

Purchase the hosting

Once you have bought the domain name, come back to edshosting.co.uk and order a hosting plan! To place the order, go to the Contact Us page. You can choose the size of account, but the 200MB should be enough to get started (just £2 per month).
 

You can then use the rest of the hosting space to put together a website. If your email address is for your company, then put a page together telling people what you do and how to contact you. If your email is for personal use, then you can use the space to show friends and family your photos, or put a map and directions for your next party!