Choose And Purchase A Domain Name

Before you can build a web site, you will have to choose and purchase a domain name. There are many domain registrars from which you may purchase the domain from. Their prices range from around $8.95 to $29.95. There really is no reason to pay more than $8.95 for a domain name.
Most hosts have a search box which can be used to find available domain names. I suggest a .com name with no dashes for your main site. It should be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and as short as possible. It is best if a keyword is part of your domain name, but this is not necessary. For example, a good domain name for a site about dogs might be "dogstuff". Don't force a keyword into the name if it will sound awkward. Short, easy to spell domains are the ideal - with or without a keyword.
Once a good name is found, do a search for that name in Google. You need to make sure, if the name had a past owner, it won't bring you grief. In other words, if the site had connections with a spam or porn site, choose another. Your chosen domain name may have been registered before by a bad site or one that used black hat tactics. If the search shows the domain name in pages which don't look quite right to you, don't use it. Ideally, you don't want to have any links show up with the name in it so you can start with a clean slate.
If the name still looks like a good choice, sign up for an account with a domain registrar and purchase it. You may purchase it for any number of years. I suggest paying for at least two years. There have been some discussions as to whether or not new sites registered for just one year might raise a caution flag with Google since most spam sites are only registered for one year.