Neil Dundas
Registering A Domain

I started off in a firm that specialised in intellectual property law. Part of that sphere of new emerging intellectual property rights was domain names and I was tasked with becoming more familiar with them so that we could provide services and advice on it.

An easy way to explain the domain name system is that it is the telephone directory of the internet. So just like you would consult the yellow pages and find someone whose name you remember by looking up the name and finding the corresponding telephone number - that is how the domain name system works.

We have a registry which administers the namespace like co.za, and then you have a multitude of registrars that interface with that registry and provide services to end-users. If you wanted to register a domain name, you would not go to the registry directly, you would go to your local registrar who would offer you a variety of internet services, and one of them would be domain names.

People that are quite conservative in their approach, still think that one domain name is what they are allowed to have and they must invest everything in that. And that's not the reality.

People will be surprised that domain names are relatively cost-effective and inexpensive. Depending on the extension you choose - that sets the base price.

Before you consider what name you want to register, you should look at the extensions. If you're going to be based in South Africa, you definitely need to be playing in the .co.za namespace - so you need to have a .co.za domain name.

Once you've selected the name, you've done the checks and you've seen that they're available to you, you would use the functionality that the registrar provides you. It will be a simple process of adding the domains to a cart, like a checkout process, and supplying a registrar contact.

Make sure that when you register a domain name, you're entitled to those services directly, and that you are listed as the registrant of those names. This becomes very important further down the line as your business evolves and you start making money. 

You might actually want to start your branding or conceptualisation of your brand and the domain name availability component in unison. Basically, sitting around the table when you're thinking of a brand to check and see what's available and what you can get away with.

The most catchy names are probably going to be registered already, so be prepared to get into that after-sells realm if you're really dead set on the name and see if the guys are prepared to sell to you.