How to check if your domain name is available

Question: I have an idea for a new website, but how do I get the web site name, and how much will it cost?

Answer: The website name is called a domain name and it can end with .com, .net, .org, .info, .us, .biz, .tv and a few others.

You’ll first need to check with a web hosting provider to see if the domain name is available.

Once you find one that’s available, then you’ll need to reserve it.

Reserving a domain name gives you the rights to create web pages that people can view on the internet when they enter your domain name, but you’ll also need to purchase web hosting service to actually make those pages visible on the internet.

Checking if your domain name is available is completely free, and doesn’t obligate you to actually buy it. I use Bluehost (formerly HostMonster) for this site, and have for over 20 years across numerous websites and you can check if your domain name is available by visiting their site and clicking “Domain Check”:

Check if your domain name is available

You can enter any domain name and it will check if it’s not already being used by someone else. If your domain name is available, then you can purchase it from Bluehost, which reserves it for a year or however long you choose.

Bluehost also gives you the domain name for free when you sign up for a year of web hosting, which you’ll want to do anyway because you’ll get the lowest monthly rate that way. This will give you plenty of data storage, bandwidth, email addresses, and even databases for installing things like WordPress for your own blog.

You can view a list of web hosting providers and the types of options they give you by viewing this article: Web Hosting Provider Comparison