The Great American Novelalmost
Do you love to write but are still intimidated to start a blog? Consider publishing an eBook. eBook publishing is easy because most places accept .pdf submissions. It is very easy these days to get your book listed in Amazon, even if youre self-published. If you create a free eBook that also contains your affiliate link, youll be surprised at how quickly you can start earning. People love eBooks, especially when looking for in depth expertise on a subject. So rather than trying to navigate the technicalities of running a website or a blog and also having the benefit of being able to offer long-form content, considering marketing with an eBook.
My Advice On Domain Privacy Protection
If youre working on a very tight budget, I would recommend not signing up for privacy protection until you start generating more income when you can later afford it. You could end up getting spammed by unethical marketing companies but just keep in mind that you dont have to respond to any offer that you dont want to answer. Instead, you can block their telephone number or email address. Additionally, you can provide them with an email account that you dont check that much therefore you dont see all the spam.
However, if you have the money I would recommend signing up for privacy protection. As I mentioned above, its usually going to cost $2.99 to $7.99 a year depending on what registrar you use. A lot of companies will give you domain privacy protection for free for the first year, but make sure you cancel it the next year if you dont want to pay for it. Will typically be a small business expense that will save you lots of time dealing with unsolicited spam.
For me, its worth it to use privacy protection otherwise my cell phone would ring all day long with sales calls. If you are not using domain privacy right now and are getting spammed, I would highly recommend purchasing it. I didnt use it for three years, but finally got sick and tired of the spam I received. Also, your email spam will be greatly reduced if you have privacy protection.
What Is A Domain Name
A domain name is an online address that offers a user-friendly way to access a websites true online locator: its Internet Protocol . The IP address is a unique string of numbers and other characters that are used across the Internet to access websites from any device or location. But the IP address is hard to remember and type correctly, so the domain name represents it with a word-based format that is much easier for users to handle. When a user types a domain name into a browser search bar, the browser uses the IP address it represents to access the site.
Domain names consist of a unique name chosen by the user and an extension, such as .com, .net, or .org, that designates the sites Top Level Domain. If you have a name in mind, you can check the domain name availability through one of the many domain name checkers available through domain registrars and web hosting providers. Because each domain name must be unique, you cant use a name thats already taken, but with many new TLDs currently available, you can choose from a number of combinations to get the right domain name for your new site. Its even possible to buy an existing domain name from its current owner, or from a marketplace or domain auction site that brokers unwanted or unused names at varying prices.
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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:
- .com
- .us
- .club
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:
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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Do I Really Need A Com Domain
Insight | by Hover on August 7, 2014
Theres no question about it: .com is by far the most popular top-level domain on the Internet. Itll probably be a long, long while before it moves from its #1 spot on our weekly TLD rankingsif it ever happens at all.
That being said, the question remains: Do I really need a .com domain? This is no doubt a hot-button issue, with some that would argue you dont and others that would say youre crazy for even considering not having one.
Rather than giving you a definitive Yes or No , lets take a look at the issue before arriving at any conclusions.
You Control Your Domain
Posting content to pages on a third party platform can be risky. A hosting site can close down and take your content and online identity with it. Some sites claim ownership of anything thats posted, too, so that your content cant be moved to another platform. When you own your own domain name, you can set up your site with any hosting company you like, anywhere in the world. The content you place there remains yours to move to any web hosting provider you prefera concept called self hosting.
Buying rights to a domain name reserves the name exclusively for your use, as long as you continue to renew the fees. Some internet experts recommend that everyone should register their own name as a domain name, along with any variant spellings. Likewise, it can be a good idea to register not only your ideal domain name, but also other variations that searchers might type into a browsers search bar. That way, you can make sure that your online identity is exclusively yours and that your site can be located in multiple ways.
A domain name isnt strictly necessary in order to create a presence on the web. However, having your own domain name gives you control over your online identity and the content you post and a domain of your own is a must-have for building confidence in your brand or business.
Desiree Johnson|Content Specialist
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How To Transfer A Domain Name
Domain transfer is the process of changing a domains registrar. As domain registrars offer different support and maintenance, some users transfer their domain for a better service. All transfers go through WHOIS.
Before transferring a domain name, make sure that:
With Hostinger, users can perform a domain transfer from any domain registrar. If you meet all of the requirements, move forward with the checkout process. The new server will request a domain transfer fee, costing afew dollars more than registering it.
Enter the EPP code from your current provider and confirm the transfer. The process can take from 4 to 7 days. If you face a problem while transferring a domain, contact the customer support team.
Note that some extensions are not transferable. However, there is also the option to point the nameservers to a particular hosting company if a registrar doesnt accept certain TLDs. You will need to access your DNS records to do this.
There are different ways to find nameserver information. With Hostinger, your nameservers are available on the left side of your Dashboard.
Pro Tip
But My Site Is Just For Fun I’ll Get A Domain When I’m Serious
“But my site is just for fun,” you say. “I’ll buy a domain when I’m serious about making a proper website.”
When I started my first website, it was just for fun. It was a place for me to post a few of the programs I’d writtenand dump my bookmarks which I had annotated with my own notes. Later, I also wrote short articles about my experienceswith creating websites to help visitors who kept emailing me for help. I never planned for that initial play site tobe anything other than a toy.
The beauty about websites you create for fun, as a hobby, is that they are genuine. They are not fake websites createdso that you can earn a quick buck. You pour your soul into it, and the love you lavish upon it can be seen inyour content. And people notice. And when they notice, they’ll come back for more.
What I’m trying to say is don’t underestimate this first website that you’re creating “for fun”.I never stopped working on that first site. It is still here today. You’re looking at it. It’s nowsplit into two,and known as thefreecountry.com and thesitewizard.com.
Your site may be a hobby site now. But who knows what will come of it in the years ahead?
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Protection Vs No Protection
Above is what it looks like if you have no protection. As you can clearly see, this shows all of your personal information. Can leave you wide open for spam, unsolicited marketing contacts, and even allow your domain name to get hijacked.
Above is what it looks like when you have protection. You can see that your domain name, address, email, phone number, etc. is all hidden behind a proxy. Typically, the words Domains by Proxy, Inc are the owner, which isnt your real information. Makes it a lot harder for people to reach out to you by looking through your information. You are paying to mask your identity.
Below are a couple of options that I have seen other webmasters use to get around using privacy protection.
Do It Yourself With A Simple
You dont need any design experience to build a lovely site via the affordable DIY solutions available, including GoDaddys Websites + Marketing. Choose your industry, customize it, and hit publish. Just like that, your website is live.
GoDaddys Websites + Marketing also has templates for a variety of industries. You can even give the templates a test run before you decide if GoDaddys website builder meets your needs.
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Bluehost Free Domain Name And Hosting For WordPress
Bluehost is a recognizable leader of the niche and the number one hosting provider officially recommended by WordPress. The platform comes with lots of advantages that distinguish it from the competitors. These include one-click WordPress installation, abundance of integrable scripts and plugins, strong uptime rates, fast page load speed, affordable pricing, eCommerce features, localized SEO and content marketing options, widgets and apps for business websites and many more.
Bluehost provides extensive free domain name connection options included into its subscriptions. The choice of the most suitable plan should depend upon your website type, complexity, structure and some other crucial aspects like storage space, bandwidth, extra SSL connection options, email accounts, security options etc. Whatever plan you decide to pick, you will get a domain name as a bonus without having to pay for it.
Its up to you to choose the most suitable solution that works best for your project and comes up to your individual web design needs. Whatever option you eventually pick, you will get a possibility to get a domain name absolutely for free.
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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Two Methods For Buying A Domain Name
Fortunately, it doesnt really matter where you buy your domain. At the end of the day, a domain is a domain, and you wont find any variations in quality based on where you buy one.
The biggest difference from one domain registrar to the next is the pricesome offer domains for just a few dollars a year and others can go as high as $20 per year or more. There are two ways to get a domain name, one of which is free for the first year and the other is not.