What Is A Domain Name And Why Is It Important
A domain name is the physical name of a website, and its arguably the most important part of your website. Much like your physical address or a phone number, there cannot be two identical domain names.
The backend of domain names can only be accessed and used by the domain name owner known as the domain name registrant . Domain names can also be bought and sold like assets in domain name auctions.
A domain name is the combination of letters, number and symbols someone types in their browser to access a specific web address directly.
For example, if you wanted to visit GoDaddys website, you couldnt access it by typing GoDaddy in your browser that would simply provide you search results for GoDaddy and would not render the actual website. Instead, you need to type the domain name GoDaddy.com in the browser to navigate to GoDaddys website.
A domain name is an easier way to browse the internet and access a specific website instead of using an IP address, which is the convoluted strings of numbers and letters computers use to recognize a website.
Because a domain name is meant to make it easier for people to visit your website, its important to keep it simple and memorable.
Picking the perfect domain name can have a critical role in how well your website performs.
Build Your Business By Registering Your Domain
After weighing the benefits and drawbacks of free or paid domains, you should get started on your search for the perfect domain name. Domain names can go quickly and there’s a little more competition than Symbolics had in 1985 so it is important to register the one you want before it is too late.
Registering a domain name is quick and easy, but it does take some time to brainstorm the right name, select the optimal suffix, and find the right domain registrar for you. As such, there’s no better time than now to get started on registering your domain name.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in February 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
How To Register Your Website’s Domain Name
When you register a domain name for your site, you make it a lot easier for people to find you, ensuring that you reap the branding and marketing benefits of having an online presence.
A domain name is the address that visitors type into their browser address bar to arrive at your website. It replaces an IP address: a random, unique string of numbers that specifies where your sites files are located. While a website domain can be an investment, you can also find one for free, especially if you purchase it with hosting.
In this post, youll learn everything you need to know about registering your websites domain name either for free or for a low cost.
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Are There Any Risks With A New Tld
One small, almost irrelevant risk is that some websites or older software wont be able to recognize your URL is valid. For example, when you create a social media post that links to your companys website, Facebook or Twitter recognizes its a URL and is able to convert it into a clickable link. Some software struggles to do this with newer TLDs.
This scenario is pretty rare as most major websites quickly add support for new TLDs, but you might want to register a .com domain that redirects to your website just in case. You also might want to avoid being an ultra-early adopter of future TLDs.
A study by Conductor using 310 million website visits found that only 12-29% of web traffic was actually direct traffic, and a much smaller percentage of that traffic is people typing your domain name into their browser.
As detailed by Moz, direct traffic sometimes includes a variety of scenarios like misattributed search traffic, dark social traffic, non-web documents, and improper redirects. It also probably includes some bot traffic. A more realistic estimate of actual direct traffic is probably anywhere from 0-5%.
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If You Are A Blogger You Can Monetize Easier And Earn Money From Ads
When you use a free subdomain like blogger.com or wordpress.com you are missing a big chance of getting good money from ads. The premium ad brokers and even the medium or big companies that spend a lot of money on advertising, they will not put ads on websites built on free subdomains.
The minimum requirement would be to have owned your domain and have good web traffic.
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Understanding Domains And Trademarks
As you might imagine, many brands target their organization name as their domain name. For instance, GoDaddy uses GoDaddy.com, Pepsi uses Pepsi.com and McDonalds uses McDonalds.com.
The value of a branded domain cannot be overstated, but are brands awarded these domains under trademark laws? Are domain owners awarded any protection over their domain names?
The relationship between domain names and trademarks is important to understand before you purchase a domain and start building a website and business. There are risks to purchasing a domain name without researching trademarks first.
Domain availability doesnt protect from trademarks
Just because a domain name is available, doesnt mean there isnt a trademark protecting that brand name.
For instance, if you found a variation of GoDaddy that was available for registration, you could not purchase and operate a business on that domain because it would still be protected under trademark law.
Choosing a domain name requires more research than just availability you need to make sure that you are not walking into any legal conflict by picking a domain name that is protected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office .
When it comes to domains and trademarks, remember these basic considerations.
Protecting domain names with trademarks
Domain name and trademark case study: Nissan.com
Protecting yourself from trademark infringement
What Is Web Hosting
Web hosting services allow you to publish the website on the internet. In other words, hosting providers will rent a portion of their web server to store your websites files and data.
Whenever someone types in your websites domain name, your web hosting provider will be responsible for sending its content to the visitor.
Web hosts also provide beginner-friendly tools for all users so that you can manage the website with little to no technical skills. Besides, a hosting provider usually offers customer support, server maintenance, and website builders to help users create and maintain their site.
In addition to storing website files, a web host protects the server and your website files from malicious attacks.
Some web hosting companies, such as Hostinger, also provide domain registration to help you create a website even quicker and more efficiently.
That said, it is essential to do thorough research before choosing a hosting company. There are a few factors you need to consider, including:
Hostinger utilizes LiteSpeed Web Servers to optimize users site performance. Moreover, we offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee and global customer support working around the clock to guide you if you come across any technical difficulties.
Signing up for web hosting on Hostinger is quite easy. Just sign up using your email and pick one of the web hosting plans available. Additionally, we offer a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you are not satisfied with the service.
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Claim Your Free Domain
Once your payment goes through, youll have the option to claim your free domain name.
Select this option unless you want to buy additional domains or connect other domains you own.
From there, Hostinger will walk you through the process of selecting a domain name thats available. You can search right on their site.
Hostinger offers domains with different extensions, including:
In most instances, a .com domain will be the only one I recommend. But there are two reasons why you might get an alternative domain extension: price and availability.
Getting a .site or .tech domain is cheaper than a .com extension. But in this case, youre getting a year for free anyways.
Price aside, .com domains will be better for the long-term success of your website.
I recommend getting your domain name set up right away. If you skip this step now or click out of the window for any reason, dont worry, you can always claim your free domain by on your Hostinger dashboard:
Verify Your Site With Google Search Console / Webmaster Tools
Google, as you may know, isnt actually the internet, nor does Google actually search the entire World Wide Web.
What Google actually does is search their index of the internet. This index is created by relentlessly scanning the web for new sites, pages and content. This is how Google can provide search results so quickly.
This makes Search Console an absolute necessity for any website looking to get found online via search.
Not only does it help Google find your site in the first place , but it also helps them keep track of changes and updates to your site, such as new pages and content.
Since Search Console spots any errors Googlebot may find with your web pages, you can easily identify and fix common problems including
- Penalty notices
You dont need to use Search Console in order to be included in Google search results, but you get a heck of a lot more control over how Google processes and views your site and its content so why wouldnt you use it?
Setting up Search Console is pretty straight-forward, and it wont take you long to get to grips with the basics either.
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Have An Authoritative Email Address
Buying a domain isn’t just about websitesyou can also use them for email addresses. This means, instead of an address that ends with gmail.com or outlook.com, email addresses can end with a domain owned by your company.
You can read about , but it boils down to a few key points.
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Branding. Emails look like they’re coming from your company, not from a free email service. This looks more professional.
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Control. You can give employees an address ending with @companyname.com, which you can take control of should they leave the company.
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Flexibility. You can point your domain to any email service, meaning you can switch email providers without having to inform all of your customers about a new email address.
Need an email host? Check out our list of .
Free Domain With A Web Hosting Plan
If you want to launch a website, youre going to need a domain name which is your websites address like isitwp.com
Youll also need a web hosting plan. This will give you access to a web server where you can store your websites files and database.
Domain names usually cost between $8 and $14 per year. A decent web hosting plan will cost between $8.99 per month. But you can get a good plan for much lesser using web hosting discounts.
Quite a few web hosts also give you a free domain when you sign up with their plan.
We recommend Bluehost. They are the best and most popular web hosting service in the market. We love them because theyre reliable and have great customer support.
With Bluehost, you wont have to worry about choosing a long domain name with a random extension.
You can pick an available domain for free from top extensions including .com and .net. The free registration is valid for a whole year.
Here are the highlights of Bluehost:
- Robust infrastructure with secure servers
- Easy to use dashboard
- Free SSL certificate for data encryption
- Free CDN for faster website speed
- Domain privacy and WHOIS protection
When youre signing up for a hosting plan, you can choose from different kinds: Shared hosting, VPS hosting, Managed WordPress hosting, and Dedicated hosting plans.
If youre a beginner, then shared hosting is the most affordable and best option.
You can get started at just $2.75 per month.
These hosts also give you a free domain for the 1st year.
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How To Register A Domain Name For Free
Looking for a free domain name? There are several domain registrars, website hosting providers, and website builders offering free domain names, typically with the purchase of another service or with no cost but some customization limitations.
Wix is a popular drag-and-drop website builder that allows you to register a free domain name with the stipulation that it includes Wix’s name as well. This means that although you get your domain name for free, it will read yourdomainname.wix.com. This is a trade-off to consider when registering a domain name for free.
Best For
Wix is a great choice for first-time website owners who are looking to start a small personal brand under the Wix subdomain. You can eventually upgrade to a custom domain if you end up enjoying Wixs platform. We dont recommend it if youre planning to blog regularly, as there are better choices out there, such as WordPress.com.
Like Wix, Weebly offers a simple website builder with a free domain name that will appear as yourwebsite.weebly.com. You will have limited access to the site-building features, but you will save annual fees for domain names. This is a great option for temporary or basic websites.
Best For
Best For
Bluehost is an excellent option for small-to-medium business owners who want to choose a custom domain and choose their own CMS. With Bluehost, you can opt for any CMS platform, including CMS Hub, WordPress , or even Joomla.
Best For
Limitations Of Using Wix And Other Website Builders
While Wix makes launching a new site relatively easy, the platform does have some limitations when it comes to customization.
- Cant Add Forms to Blog Posts: Wix currently doesnt have the option for forms on blog posts an inconvenience if youre looking to gather visitor information or get signups. Instead, they offer a workaround where you can create a new page, create a form on that, and then link to it from your blog post. Having to navigate to another page just to fill out a form creates unnecessary friction for users, making it a less effective way to gather information.
- Cant switch templates once site is live: Choose your Wix template wisely as you wont be able to change it once your site is live.
- You can only use Wixs tools: Since Wix is a closed platform, youre stuck with using their proprietary tools, which can be limiting if your site outgrows their selection of offered features.
- You cant access or change theHTMLof your site: Currently Wix users cannot access the HTML code on their site. However, using Velo by Wix, you can add a few more features like database collection to the Wix editor if you choose.
For users who dont have the time to use or manage a robust number of out-of-the-box features, add-ons, and custom code, Wix is ideal for creating a basic site with lots of visual content.
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Purchase Your Domain Name And Complete Its Registration
Once you settle on a domain name, its time to purchase it. When you buy through Mailchimp, well let you know the annual cost of the domain name as well as any available discounts.
During the checkout process, youll be required to enter your contact information, including an email address, to register the domain.
I Getting A Domain Name
The domain name is the name and the identity of your website. You can get the domain name for your site by registering with domain registrars. Many different domain name registrars provide domain names at different pricing with different offers.
Its important to get a domain name that reflects your company so that it is unique and easily recognizable.
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Components Of A Website Domain
Website domains consist of two primary components: The name and the extension. We can look at this by returning to the example of walmart.com. In that example, walmart is the name, while .com is the extension.
The name component of a domain can be almost anything, provided it hasnt already been taken. Essentially any combination of letters and numbers would work. Preferably, though, the name is that of your company.
The extension, meanwhile, has a more limited selection of options. The most common one, by far, is .com. Other possibilities are .gov,.org, and .net, among plenty of other options. In all likelihood, your site is best off using .com.
How To Get A Website Domain
We started by asking, What does domain mean? Having answered that, as well as having seen the purpose of a website domain, we can now look at how to get your own website domain and use to it create a website.
Domain name registrars
To buy your domain, you have to go to a domain name registrar, such as Domain.com or Bluehost. These registrars are authorized to sell domains that havent yet been taken. Start your search with an idea of the domain name you want.
Ideally, you want to keep it simple. If your business is called Gareth Plumbing, try garethplumbing.com, or maybe even gareth.com. Your choice of name will have marketing ramifications for you, as an overly long or hard-to-remember domain name will make it harder for people to find your site.
Dont get too attached to any specific name, though, as it may not turn out to be available. The registrar should be able to tell you whether the domain you want is available. If it is, you can register it for your company.
If not, youll have to come up with something else to use or offer to purchase the domain before making a purchase, use a domain valuation tool to get an accurate estimate.
Site-building
Once you have a domain, you can go about building your website. This is the fun part! Its like creating your physical store after signing the deed on the land.
Whether you go it alone or get help from a web development agency like WebFX, design a site that will engage users.
Website hosting
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