JohnFulton.org

First, what is a domain name?

For our purposes, a domain name will be some name that you choose (like "johnfulton") followed by one of a handful of extensions(like ".com" or ".org").

Can I pick any domain name that I want?

Sort of. You have to pick a name that's not already in use. I couldn't pick http://johnfulton.com because someone else already had that name. As long as the name that you pick is not being used with the extension that you pick, you can get that name.

How can I determine if the name I want is already used?

There are several sites that allow you to type in a name that you might want, to determine if it is available. They include http://www.networksolutions.com/ and http://www.whois.net/

The "name search" sites are good at providing aletrnatives and other forms of the name that you might not think of.

Domain names can contain letters (names are not case sensitive, JohnFulton.org is the same name as johnfulton.org is the same as JOHNfulton.org, etc.), digits, and the "dash" character. "4sale.com" is a valid name, as is "bruegge-fulton.org"

Once you have selected a domain name (like johnfulton.org) you need to register (much like leasing) the name from one of the official domain name registrars.

There used to only be a few registrars but now there are many of them. You should plan to pay $8 to $35 a year for the privilage of using the name.

You can register for one year or multiple years, but I recomment that you register for a single year to start out.

Everyone has deals - special prices, free hosting, free email, webmaster tools - but one important consideration is whether there is a fee to transfer the domain name. You will likely want to change (if not now at some point in the future) what physical computer that you website runs on and you don't want to be suprised by a large (greater than $10) fee to transfer the domain name.