Buying A Domain Name
When you buy a domain name, it is pretty much just like buying everything else on the Internet. First you see what domain names are available and then enter one in that you like. You have to create an account with the domain name registrar just like you would if you were buying something from another web site. Once you have a domain account you can register a domain and pay for it with a credit card. With a cost of about $10 a year a domain name is truely a great value. It will allow you to host a web site on your domain if you have a hosting account, and you can set up your own email address and never worry about it changing or being taken away as long as you own your own domain name and pay the annual domain name renewal fee.

Domains for Email or Web Sites
You can buy a domain to host a web site, but most people don't realize you can register a domain and just use it for email. This means you could have a domain for a web site, and then use a different domain for email. This may  not make sense for most people, but if you have an email address that people do not know about and that spammers cannot find by seeing a web site, it should reduce or eliminate the amount of spam that you would expect to get.