A domain name is probably one of the most important decisions you can make for your business. It will be where people look for, and find you, on the internet. And it will be included in all your email addresses. It's a powerful marketing tool. Don't come up with a tongue-twister that no one can say or remember.

So if you have a business called Ghana Textiles, your website could be called www.ghanatextiles.com, and your emails would be kwami@ghanatextiles.com. The word "ghanatextiles" is what is called your "domain name". All domain names on the internet must be different. That's why sometimes it's hard to find one that hasn't already been taken.

It's easy to get a domain name through BusyWorks or any other online registration services.

Just follow these easy steps:

1. first think carefully what name you want. Most names on .com or .net are already taken. Think of something that will be easy to tell someone over the telephone. Usually, the simpler and more obvious a name, the better.
   
   
2. check to see if your name is available by searching on another registration site like www.register.com. They have some cool tools to help you think up other names if your name is already taken.
   
   
3. when you have the name, and you know it hasn't been registered, contact BusyWorks and make payment. The name will then be registered. No registrations will be made before payment is made.
   
   
4. with a request to BusyWorks for registration, you must include the following:
         - your full name
         - your current email address
         - your address and phone number
         - the nameservers of where you will host
           (if you don't host your domain with busyworks)
   
   
5. wait three days! It will take this long to get your name listed on all the machines across the internet -- they call this "propagating" your domain to all the directories on the internet. Sometimes it can be just 24 hours, but to be safe, expect three days.
   
   
6. start using your new domain! If you're hosting with BusyWorks, you can upload your webpages, and you can start customizing email addresses. Now you're really doing business on a global scale.

"I never realized how important choosing the right domain name was. I spent days researching what was available before I settled on the right one and registered it with BusyWorks..."