Wikipedia defines a domain name as:

A domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are hostnames that identify Internet Protocol (IP) resources such as web sites. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System (DNS).

I’ll try to make this a bit simpler. For our purposes, a domain name is the address of a website. Typing www.flockfreenation.com into the address bar of your browser window will bring you to this blog. The flockfreenation.com is a domain name. You’ll notice that the address up there is different right now but that’s because we forward the flockfreenation domains (.ca and .com) to this address on our company’s site.

In order for you to have a website for your business, you’ll have to register your domain name. Good domain names are hard to find because many of the obvious choices have been taken. They might either have sites built on them or someone might be sitting on them, waiting for the right price. Domain names can be like virtual real estate that someone is holding until he or she can sell it to a website developer at a profit.

For this reason, finding a good domain name should be an integral part of the process of naming your business. Finding a name that is available with the government’s business or corporate registry and as a good domain name can be a bit of a chore. If you can find a name that satisfies these conditions, the odds are good that you have a name that is distinct from your competitors as well.

There are many places on the internet where domains can be registered. My current favourite is Hover.com. There are probably cheaper places to get a domain name but Hover doesn’t try to sell you a bunch of other services along the way, which makes the process simpler. Use Hover’s domain name availability search tool at the top of its home page to see if your choice of domain name is available.