There are services for cheap domain name registration and sometimes you can even put your web site up using free hosting services, but they will be awash in ads that you do not control, but the biggest disadvantage is that sometimes these web sites disappear overnight. So if you have $5 to $10 bucks to invest, consider using a budget domain name registrar, and securing your name yourself. There are a number of different types of domain extensions, and which one you use has a great deal to do with the business or service associated with the domain name. The most common is .com, and in the retail and commercial sectors, these have the highest value. The next is .net for this sector, and then there are the .org and .edu types of domain extensions, which should be used for non profits or educational institutions. The .edu domain can only be used by certified educational agencies in the US, making it an exclusive top level domain name at the disposal of the educational community in the US. If you are investing in absolutely free domain names, try getting the .com or .net extensions before you look at the others, because these are the most easily recognized and remembered.
