Important preliminary points

Have you already signed up for Office Live Small Business? If not, now's the time.

You don't need to have a domain name to sign up and start creating your website. In fact, Office Live Small Business's sign-up process doesn't even ask you for one. It assigns a third-level domain alias to your website instead. After you build your site, and if you like it, you can register a domain name of your choice with a registrar of your choice and associate it with your website.

For example, when I opened an Office Live Small Business account for this book's companion website, I hadn't decided on a domain name. I just opened a new Office Live Small Business account and was assigned officeliveguide.web.officelive.com as the third-level domain name for my website. After I built the website, I registered the domain name officeliveguide.com and associated it with my website.

I recommend that you do the same. That way, you won't have to go through the hassle of changing registrars if you don't like your Office Live Small Business website.

Instructions for registering a new domain name for your website as well as instructions for pointing an existing domain name at your website are on the companion website at www.officeliveguide.com/domain.aspx.