Choosing your Name Registrar
There are literally hundreds of legitimate online companies who are licensed to sell domain names and you will find that their prices and services can vary.  Some name registrars have hidden costs, they may seem cheap but charge extra for services another registrar would include in their upfront price.  Things to look out for include:

• Online control panel where you can alter your DNS and WhoIs details without incurring an additional charge.

• Free name transfer - if you want to let another Name Registrar look after your name and DNS some Registrars will charge you to make the transfer.

• Name registration completely free of any obligation to host with the same company (although some may offer a tiny amount of free web space)

Free domain names don't exist!
Let’s be honest there is no such thing as FREE in this world. There are companies around who advertise free domain names, only to make you pay exorbitant money for something else. Please be aware of following scam plans:

• Free domain name with hosting plan: A lot of companies actually mean you will get a domain name with web hosting space they offer. The price of web hosting space is sufficiently bumped up to compensate for domain name price.

• The companies make you pay for something you don’t even know about. In such cases the price is hidden in fine-prints and terms or condition pages. You only find out after you have made a purchase.

• They spam you as soon as you sign up for your 'free' domain name. Just pray they won't share your details with 3rd parties.

In the Whois?
Double check if the domain name registration is going to bear your name and that you will have complete control of your domain name for the life. Do not purchase your domain name from a provider unless you are positive they will be putting your information in the whois.

If your information isn't in the whois they could blackmail you into staying with them. For all technical purposes whoever has their information in the whois is the owner. A domain owner doesn't go by who paid for it; it goes by whose information is on the whois.