OK, so I've done a little research and it appears that this process is redonculously easy. Despite this I have a couple of questions. 1. Does it matter who I go through to make the purchase? 2. Are there any hidden traps or things to watch out for?
I have owned several in my days. 1) It doesn't really matter who you go through. I purchase mine through Name Cheap. Not necessarily because they are the cheapest, but because they have great customer service. Go Daddy is another popular domain registrar, but their online interface is a little confusing. 2) Be sure to purchase Who Is Guard for your domain. It will protect you from people being able to look up your personal information through your domain registrar. I have always thought this feature should be automatically included when you purchase the domain, but apparently it's a way for them to make a little more money off of you. 3) Before you purchase your domain, do an internet search for "namecheap coupon code" (or just substitute the name of the other company you are using). You can usually find a coupon code to reduce the cost a little.
I'm not sure what "personal information" could be revealed but it's probably nothing more than the stuff you get from a WHOIS search, right? That's ok with me as I would plan on being transparent in this deal anyway. I would want people to know it's me.
Without Who Is Guard your name, address, and phone number are open to anyone. It's a common way for spammers to get your info and start spamming you. WhoisGuard: Protect your privacy using WhoisGuard (Whois protection)
I use justhost.com - very affordable, uses cPanel for administration and has ton of features and unlimited everything. I've been using them for about 5 years now and they have been reliable; I had an issue with an SSL cert and they fixed it within a few minutes after contacting them, so no hesitation in recommending their service.
Here is a deal: -removed - upon further research, the site I had in here is rather slow and I couldn't recommend it.