What exactly is a “Domain of One’s Own?” #

Yes, we know the name might seem unusual, but simply stated:

Domain of One’s Own provides everyone in the UMW community with a free domain (a web address that you choose, like “www.yourname.com”) and web hosting (a place to store the files and data for your domain).

Once you claim a domain through Domain of One’s Own, it is yours. You can do whatever you want with it, and even take it with you when you leave UMW.

At other schools, you might find locked-down e-portfolio systems or other publishing platforms that limit your control. Here at UMW, we love giving people agency over their digital identities. A Domain of One’s Own is one way we do that.

If you aren’t familiar with how domains and web hosting work, we recommend reading “Getting to Know Your Webspace” to learn a little bit more about how it all works.

What can I do on Domain of One’s Own? #

Whether you are starting this account for a class or for your own project here are some examples of what you can do:

• Build a website using WordPress
  • This is far and away the most used application on DoOO. It allows you to easily write, share media, and with a few plugins layout your site just how you like it. Whether you are documenting your research, putting together your resume, or writing the next great American novel, WordPress is a great place to start. In fact, the majority of websites on the Internet are built using WordPress.
• Start a collection with Omeka
  • Omeka is another publishing tool that is especially geared toward building robust online digital collections.
• Run that open source project you found or write code yourself!
  • The way our server is set up gives you a lot of power to run your own code or hand code it (like it is 1995). If you are running your own code you’ll want to read our guide on the technical details of our servers to find out if it is compatible with our setup.

We also have another publishing platform, Sites@UMW, that might be a good fit for your project. If you want to quickly get into using WordPress and don’t need your own domain name or web hosting, then Sites@UMW might be a good fit for you. Learn more about the difference between the DoOO and Sites@UMW in our guide.

Reviewed by Haley Gosman 10/3/24