Why do you need one? Because we're now in the internet age, it is cool to have one; just like a car or a house :)
If you're new to websites, I suggest reading this article first which gives a brief intro on domain names and web hosts. You'll need either a credit card or Paypal to pay for the registration and a domain name costs around $10 US per year.
I use Namecheap for all my domain registration needs because it has a good reputation and it's cheap. There are other domain name registrars such as GoDaddy.com but I find the interface to be misleading at times. I gave up the first time trying to register a domain at GoDaddy because I was bombarded with information and services which I don't actually need.
1) First go to Namecheap and check if your .com/.net domain name hasn't been registered by someone else.
2) If your domain name is available, click on the checkbox and then 'Add to Cart'.
3) Namecheap changes their coupon codes every month. Normally retailmenot has the latest coupon code, but if that fails, just google 'namecheap coupon codes'. Alternatively you may subscribe for the Namecheap newsletter to receive updates on various discounts.
Type in the coupon code in this page to get discounted price of $8.81 (Normally $9.69). Click 'Standard Checkout'.
4) Register for a free account and login.
5) Fill in all the details to proceed. It will ask you whether to enable the Free WhoisGuard that comes with the purchase. WhoisGuard basically hides your information that you entered in the last page from going public. If you don't have WhoisGuard on, anyone in the world will be able to see your real address through websites like this one. So it is recommended to enable it. It is also a plus for Namecheap because not every domain registrars provide free WhoisGuard.
6) Next is the Name Server Settings. This is where you enter the DNS server name provided by your web host (so that your domain name points to your web host - see this post if you haven't already) If you're not sure, just select 'Use Our Free Name Servers' and proceed. Don't worry because you may change the settings here anytime in the future.
7) Review your order in the next page and proceed to payment. Follow the instructions after this step should get your domain name registered in no time.
You're officially an owner of the domain name! Congratulations!
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Godaddy domains
This is a good article, but I would encourage you to reconsider obtaining domains at GoDaddy.com. I fully agree that they do bombard you with services that you don't need (you will have to make sure all unecessary serives are not checked during the registration process). However, with the GoDaddy coupons codes posted all over the internet, they seem to be the most inexpensive domain provider that I have encountered.
Thanks to their coupons, in the 5 years that I have been using GoDaddy, I have never paid more than $6.50 per domain per year for any new purchase or renewal of any .com/.net/.org domain. Compared to $8.81, the savings over the years can be amazing.
Thanks for feedback
Does GoDaddy's subscription comes with free whois domain guard? If so really can consider.. but since my article is 'the simplest' not 'the cheapest', I'll still support namecheap in terms of simplicity for the time being, unless someone changes my mind :)
Thanks for the feedback!