You want a domain name you can centralize your business around. This is very important and should not be overlooked. This is not your business name – if you register a business, the formal name of the business can be something else.

You could also think of it as a stand-in name and website. Mine is power-trust. I’m not using “power” in its domineering sense but more linked to the “power” gained through trust and honesty. If you go there, there may not be much development at all. I use the name as a reference point for my emails, such as, admin at that central domain, and for support needs. It’s used in my privacy policies and so on.

You can use the website flexibly, changing it as you wish to fit changing circumstances and as your business develops. So, you could leave it almost empty, put a few ads on or develop it as a central point referring to your products and services.

However, its main purpose is a marker for your developing business and a name which people will recognise as representing your business, the more you use it. You could have sub-folders with your main services in them, such as main tools or resources.

Without a central site, with a clearly identifiable domain name, your business may have no clear focus, even though you may brand it in other ways.

Where do you get domains?

There are register sites where you can choose and register a domain. Many domain names are already taken, so you may have to be creative in getting yours. Usually, they’re about $9 a year.

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The Dot Tel domain, which can also be written as.tel, Dottel, Dot-tel, differs from other Top Level Domains (TLDs) on the internet. This domain extension (.tel) has its own control panel which is called ‘Telhosting’. A domain is purchased just like any other domain name. They will obviously already have a username and password for their domain registrar’s web site.

When they log in they will see an option for managing their Dot Tel(s). It might be called something like ‘Domain Control Panel’. This will have the link to the Telhosting page.

Many registrars, but not all, will require a new username and password to access the owner’s Telhosting panel. If so, they will need to set a new username and password. They can then begin to manage their domain. The tasks involved in managing Dot Tels include entering contact records, information, Google Map locations, descriptive text, and the general configuration of folders and sub-domains.

Usually, all of the domains that a person owns at the same registrar will use the same Telhosting panel and username and password. In this case, the owner will need only one Telhosting username and password. An exception would include an owner paying a third party to enter data to a Dot Tel. The owner would generally not want a third party to access all domains in their account. A separate Telhosting account can be created which has a new Telhosting username and password which can be made available to the third party.

It is possible to make the Telhosting username and password the same as the web site registrar username and password at some registrars. Some registrars require that the two sets of usernames and passwords be different. The reader can check with their registrar of their web site’s policy.

There is also a feature called ‘Telfriends’. Telfriends enables the owner of a Dot Tel to make any of the contact information on their domain private. The owner signs up on the Telfriend’s web site. This requires a third set of usernames and passwords. They can then receive friending requests from end users which they can either approve or decline.

An end user of a Dot Tel web site can also sign up to Telfriend’s web site. They require an email address, a username and a password. They can then send friending requests to the owner of any Dot Tel on which they wish to see private data or ‘friend’. Once approved they can access the private information of that particular web site.

To summarize, these are the basics of Dot Tel web site management. This information should enable anyone to begin managing their own domains or friend other peoples domains.

Bill Rutherfurd is an early Dot Tel adopter. He thinks it is great at providing a cheap web presence. He values the fast access to contact data and information which is especially optimized for mobile phones. He operates a Taupo, New Zealand Directory at http://www.squidoo.com/Taupodottel. He also has a blog at http://www.dottel.blogspot.com.