What Is A Domain Name
In the same way that no two people are alike, computers each have their own identity. The internet is essentially a giant network of computers linked together. Your computers identity in that network is encapsulated in its IP address.
When you register a website and make it available for public use, your IP address is tied to a domain name: your websites’ signifier as an individual in that network.
You typically get a domain name by buying it from a registrar. You can also use a web hosting service that will provide you with a domain name, along with a suite of tools to make your website usable and secure.
However, you cant just buy any domain name. It needs to be currently available – not taken or currently in use by anyone else.
Renewing A Domain Name
If you want to continue to enjoy exclusive rights to your domain name, its important to renew your domain before it expires.
This is also a good time to verify that your contact information is correct and up to date.
If having to remember to renew your domain, or be reminded to by your registrar, sounds like too much hassle to you, or otherwise seems too risky, you can activate automatic renewal.
Can I Own A Domain Name Forever
You may have seen ads promising to sell you a domain name for $10 for 10 years. But can you really own a domain name forever?
The answer is both yes and no. You can buy a domain name for an unlimited amount of time, but you will have to renew it periodically. The length of time you can renew it for depends on the registry, but it is typically between one and ten years.
When you buy a domain name, you are actually leasing it from the registry. The registry is the organization that controls the top-level domains , such as .com, .net, and .org. They are responsible for maintaining the DNS records for all of the domains under their control.
The registrar is the organization that you buy your domain name from. They are responsible for managing the registration of domains and handling the renewals. Many registrars will give you the option to renew your domain for multiple years at a time, up to 10 years.
So, while you can technically own a domain name forever, it will require periodic renewals and you will never actually own it outright.
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A Domain Name Has A Limited Lifespan
A domain name, once you register it, belongs to you for a limited period of time only. The lifetime of a domain name registration is between 1 and 10 years, depending on the top-level domain in question.
At the end of this period, the owner of the domain name may renew it.
The registrar notifies the owner of a domain name starting several months ahead of its expiration date, encouraging the owner renew their domain.
A domain name that isnt renewed is released, i.e. it becomes publicly available again and can be reserved by someone else.
Go To A Domain Provider
To register a domain name, you need to approach a domain service provider. This could be an Accredited Domain Registrar or one of their resellers. NiRA, the domain registry that manages .ng, accredits registrars who in turn handle the business of selling and managing domains. Web4Africa is an ICANN & NiRA Accredited Domain Name Registrar offering registrations to dozens of thousands globally.
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The Difference Between Buying An Original Domain Name And An Existing One
When buying an original domain name, you get the opportunity to create one that will originally belong to you and will have a unique name created by you. You will also have an online presence that is unique to you. There is also the option of buying a domain name that already exists, rather than creating one from scratch. This is also considered to be a better option, as buying a domain that already exists means that it will already have been known and spread on search engines. Existing domains may also already be accumulating money and have gained a following, which only makes things easier for a new buyer to benefit too.
It is therefore not possible to purchase a domain name forever in the sense that it is yours forever, but depends on the domain registrar lifespan.
Through A Domain Registrar
If youre buying more than one domain name or want to manage your domain and hosting services separately, you can use a domain registrar like domain.com or NameCheap.
This route makes sense if youre launching a business website and want to buy all the possible variations of your business name to prevent others from doing so. Many domain registrars offer bulk discounts but you wont be able to get your domain for free.
Check out our top domain registrar recommendations, here.
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How Long Can You Register A Domain For
You can register a domain name for as long as ten years. But, not all domain registries allow registrations this long.
For one, the cost of operating a domain registry increases overtime. If a domain registry cumulatively handles more domains as time goes by, this means their operational expenses also go up.
Domain registries have to account for higher operational costs with the expanding number of domains that they need to maintain under their service.
How Long Can You Buy A Domain Name For
How long do you have to buy a domain name before it expires? If you need the answer to that question, then this article is for you! We will cover why you need a domain name and discuss the length of time they are available for purchase.
A domain name is the address of your website or blog. Its kind of like the phone number for a home. A domain name tells people where they can find that particular site on the internet. And they help make brands look more professional online than just a social media page.
Domain names are great for businesses because they help them attract more visitors and contribute to the websites SEO rankings. They are also helpful for bloggers since its difficult to remember a long URL or email address when you want to share something with your social followers.
To buy a domain name, you need an account with one of the many domain registrars. These companies make it easy for anyone who wants to purchase or sell domains and register them to be found online. You might have heard of some popular ones like GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Register.com, Host Gator or Namecheap.
A registrar will manage the admin of your domain for you and even take care of DNS settings which is the technology that translates domain names into IP addresses so that you can browse the internet.
DNS stands for Domain Name Server, and its essentially a network of servers that keep track of all your requests when youre on the web.
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How To Activate Or Deactivate Automatic Renewal
You can activate automatic renewal on your domain name when you order your domain or at any other moment by selecting this option in your customer portal.
Automatic renewal is based on the previous period for which you manually renewed your domain name: if last time you renewed your domain for two years, your domain will be automatically renewed for two more years when you activate the service.
Automatic renewal cannot be activated on a domain thats already expired.
If you have any questions or run into any problems, please feel free to contact us.
Here Are Some Of The Tips To Help You Avoid Missing Domain Renewals
Unless your aim is to run a temporary website for promos or advertisements, its only prudent that you register or renew your domain for several years, preferably five or more years.
This might cost you a little more but its worth it especially if it involves a domain you no longer use but would like to retain its ownership.
This helps you remember to check all your domains from a single place thereby making it easier to monitor those nearing expiration.
Setting up a group email alias that sends messages to several people in your organization can ease the process of monitoring domain expiry dates.
You can enter your domain renewals in your calendar to help you easily monitor their expiry dates. Try to renew any domain at least 30 days before its expiration. If you fail to do it, your calendar sends you an alert regarding any upcoming renewals.
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How To Buy A Domain Name Forever
Category:Tutorials
In a world of more than 1.7 billion websites, domain names are what help us to find a specific one. Domain names are like the phonebook of the internet.
As the internet has become an integral part of our life, domain names have become highly important from the branding perspective of businesses as well. Thus, rather than buying a domain name for 1-2 years and renewing, you might want to know how to purchase a domain name permanently.
But before that, lets get to know an interesting story.
In October 2015, a man was able to purchase Google.com for $12. Albeit for just 1 minute.
How was that possible? And why did not Google just buy the domain name forever? Well talk about it all in this article.
Continue reading this article to know how to buy a domain name forever, if that is even possible! For starters, lets get to know how a domain actually works.
Can I Transfer My Domain Name To Another Registry Even When Expired
Domain registries cannot stop you from transferring your domain name to another registry unless you have unpaid balances or penalties that need to be settled.
Even if expired, as the last person to register that name, you have every right to claim it for transfer. In the event the domain name has been deleted, the registry needs to recover it before you can transfer it.
There may be appropriate charges that the registry may impose on this.
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Top Rated Domain Registrars To Get A Free Domain Name
If you want to get a free domain name, youll need a domain registrar. Here are the top options Ive identified:
- Hostinger Best for creating your first website
- Domain.com Best for keeping domain costs low
- Porkbun Best deals on unique domain extensions
- Network Solutions Best for locking down domains for decades
- GoDaddy Best domain registrar for protecting your personal data
- Namecheap Best domain registrar for tight budgets
- NameSilo Most affordable domain deals with bulk purchasing
You can read our full reviews of each domain registrar here.
But today Im going to show you how easy it is to claim your free domain name with Hostinger. Why? Because hands down, Hostinger is one of the easiest ways for someone new to domain names to get one for free.
There are a few other ways to get a free domain name with free hosting, and Ill cover those later. But going with Hostinger means you wont run into the limitations that come with those other options.
A Few Words Before You Go
While you cant really permanently own a domain name, you can take solace in the fact that no one really owns a domain name, anyway. But theres something wonderful about the vibrancy and flexibility of the internet, the way it shapeshifts and evolves to suit the needs of the users.
In other words, this design actually makes sense when you think about the fact that the growing demands of the internet require a system thats also manageably scalable. So, taxes are paid to the ICANN, domain extension fees are paid to registry operators, and domain lease is paid to domain companies just so that everything can keep functioning properly.
As weve covered, though, this doesnt mean that you cant enjoy the security of being in charge of your domain for as long as you wish. All you have to do is register and pay for your domain for the next 10 years, and then turn on auto-renew. Your domain company will charge your pre-funded account and make sure the domain remains under your name before it expires and someone else gets a hold of it.
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How Do I Transfer Domains To Godaddy
Transferring domains to GoDaddy is simple.
You can transfer up to 500 of your domains to GoDaddy at once in our bulk domain transfer tool. If the extension youd like to transfer isnt listed, you cant transfer that domain name to us.
The Problem With Registration Terms:
The problem with these terms is that they tend to be riddled with many legal technicalities, which can be disadvantageous to businesses.
Having a long-term lease isnt helpful in the long run.
For example, if you still have 12 years in your contract, and youre only halfway into the contract, you wont be able to change the registry and hosting without violating the contract.
Again, if the domain name shuts down in the middle of a long lease, you still lose the money you paid for in advance.
However, if you have only two years for your registry, this would mean easier losses if you decide to change services.
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How To Transfer Your Domain Registration
If you do decide to transfer your domain registration, the process is relatively simple.
First, youll need to unlock the domain at your current registrar.
Then, youll initiate the transfer with the new registrar.
Once the transfer is complete, youll need to change the DNS settings for your domain name.
And thats it!
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How Much Does It Cost To Keep A Domain Name
We will discuss and share tables here with the cost of the popular domain name extension in each of the big domain registrars. You can see here what is the yearly cost for each of the registrar.
These are the renewal prices since many companies offer cheaper prices for 1st year. We will mention those in the second table.
| Registrar |
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Web Hosts That Offer Free Domains
Launching a new website can be a costly endeavor, so we want to help you save as much money as possible.
Many web hosts offer free domain names and affordable web hosting services for beginners to help you get set up and running as fast as possible. Our top recommendations for this include:
If youre on the hunt for affordable hosting that doesnt feel cheap, Hostinger is the way to go.
You can snag a free domain on many Hostinger plans. If you dont need the high-octane power of VPS or cloud hosting, look to Hostingers shared or WordPress hosting for a great deal that includes a custom domain.
Hostingers mid-tier plans for eachPremium Shared Hosting and WordPress Starterstart at just under $4 per month for a 48-month term. Youll need to commit to at least one year up front on those plans to snag your free domain.
For most people, their Premium Shared Hosting plan will do the trick nicely. You get solid speed and uptime , that free domain, and more for $3.49 per month.
The best rate is usually that four-year term, which means youd pay $167.52 at checkout to take care of your web hosting for a good while.
Whats nice is that, if the four-year commitment is a bit too much in terms of either time or money, you can get the same deal on a single-year term. Just be advised, youll be looking at a higher renewal rate after that term lapses .
All three options allow you to snag that free domain, though.
It includes:
Dreamhost Best WordPress Hosting
DreamHost is another web hosting service provider that offers a free domain name. Like some other web hosting companies, DreamHost also offers both regular shared web hosting and WordPress-specific hosting.
Regardless of which option you go for, youll receive a 97-day money back guarantee, along with unlimited storage and bandwidth.
The shared web hosting offerings are straightforward and easy to understand. You can pick from two packages: the shared starter and the shared unlimited.
Both packages come with a free domain as long as you sign up for a minimum of one year.
The starter package is $2.59 per month with a three-year web hosting plan and $3.95 per month with a one-year plan. If you need email, however, its an additional charge at $1.67 per month.
The unlimited package, which includes email, costs $4.95 per month for both the three-year and one-year plans.
If you prefer dedicated WordPress web hosting, there are three plans to choose from. The WordPress Basic plan is $2.59 per month with a three-year hosting sign up.
The DreamPress plan is $16.95 per month for a three-year term. The VPS for WordPress plan is $27.50 per month if you sign up for three years.
VPS stands for virtual private server. This means your site will be hosted on its own server rather than grouped with other sites. Because the site is managed on a single, dedicated server, it tends to be faster and more responsive.
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