Tip #: Start By Searching On Namecheap
Is the domain available for purchase?Namecheap partners with domain name marketplaces to show domain names that are currently for sale when you search for the domain.Sometimes these domain names are available for immediate purchase at fixed prices above our standard prices. The benefit is that you get the domain name immediately and dont have to worry about haggling. Heres what a domain name looks like when it is available at a premium price:Note that you only pay the premium price once. The domain will renew at our standard prices.Sometimes a name thats for sale at a partner wont have a price. In this case youll see this:There will be a link for you to submit an offer that will be forwarded to the domain name owner.
Sell Your Domain Name
Stuff happens. Maybe inspiration struck at 3 a.m., when an amazing new domain name woke you from a dead sleep. And that other domain you already registered? It can still help you out.
You can get it in front of interested buyers via domain aftermarket sites that only take a small percentage of the sale.
One such aftermarket option is GoDaddy Auctions.
For an annual fee and a percentage of the sale, you can list your domain name for auction or set a buy now price and GoDaddy will handle all the details.
Related: 5 tried-and-true tips for selling domain names for profit
How To Register A Domain On Godaddycom
GoDaddy is also known as a web hosting provider, but you can also buy a domain name from them.
Step 1: Look up a new domain name first. If you havent come up with a good name yet or are assessing different options, GoDaddy has a nice set of extra features to help you out.
You can use the Bulk Domain search to check a bunch of domain ideas for eligibility in a click. Or you can play around with their free domain name generator to get some alternative suggestions if your primary choice is already taken:
Also, if you are feeling very determined to get your desired domain for branding purposes, GoDaddy can try to broker a deal for you with the owner. But remember, the original owner may name any price they deem appropriate so in that case, youll be paying:
- Domain purchase fee to the seller.
- GoDaddy Domain Brokerage commission.
- The regular yearly subscription price for the selected domain and add-ons.
If you are running a small business, going into a heated negotiation with some cyber squatters may not be the best investment of your time and budgets.
Wait out and see if the other person forgets to renew their domain or abandons it so that you could snatch it then. GoDaddy has a Domain Backordering service where you can reserve your place in line for a specific domain. If theres more than one buyer, the domain goes on auction. If its just you only, you get it immediately.
Again, youd be pitched several upsells in case you change your mind.
Recommended Reading: Vistaprint Domain Transfer
Godaddy: Domains And Hosting Higher Prices
GoDaddy is a great option if you want web hosting along with your domain, or want it all to be managed under the same umbrella. Generally, its ideal to keep your domain separate from your hosting provider in case youd like to switch to a different provider at some point. But GoDaddy is a domain registrar first and a web hosting company second, so you can always transfer the domain to a different registrar or change the DNS to point to a new host.
GoDaddy offers great hosting services, a custom website builder, and managed WordPress hosting, along with many templates to help you get started. Theyre a little pricey, and their web host can be a bit clunky for anything complex, but if youre building a simple website itll do the job.
GoDaddys prices seem low at first, but they go up after the first year. At full price, their .com domains are $15 per year, but its the price you pay for being on the largest domain registrar.
What Is Domain Privacy And Do I Need It
Domain privacy and security is as important to us as it is to you. Without domain privacy, your private and sensitive information may be collected and displayed in ICANN’s WHOIS database when you register your domain. Domain privacy ensures that these details are hidden from the public view. Our Domain Privacy + Protection package will make ICANN display our contact information in lieu of yours.
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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.
Originally published Dec 13, 2020 7:00:00 AM, updated July 20 2021
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Why Whois Privacy Is Important
Without going too in-depth to what ICANN and WHOIS are, suffice to say its the nonprofit corporation that is responsible for keeping the internet secure and the naming structure of websites as it is. It requires anyone who registers a domain to provide accurate identifiable contact information, including name, address, email and phone number. Not everyone is comfortable with that information being public.
Domain registrars have found a way to keep your info safe and still provide ICANN with the info they need. These domain privacy features replace your information with the registrars info, at least publicly. Anyone can look up who registered a domain name, so having domain privacy can reduce spam for you, and keep you safe.
Read Also: What Is The .io Domain
Where To Buy A Domain Thats Taken
From a branding and marketing perspective, its especially important to choose the right domain name for your website. For many people, its a truly personal decision. The domain just has to feel right and you dont want to settle for an alternative.
If this is the case in your search for the perfect domain, take heart. You might be able to buy your ideal domain name in the domain aftermarket. You can find most of the domain names from the aftermarket listed directly on auctions.godaddy.com.
If your dream domain isnt listed on the aftermarket, you can attempt to buy it directly from its current owner. However, youll want to keep a few things in mind before you take the plunge and contact the domains owner, namely budget and timing.
Set your budget
Its important to think about the budget you have for acquiring the domain. Put yourself in the other domain owners shoes for a minute. They spent time and money to get the domain, and they might be actively using it. Offering them $10 or even $100 probably wont even get you a response.
Think about what the domain name is worth, and be prepared to make a fair offer.
Editors note: Need help determining the value of the domain? As the largest reseller of aftermarket domain names, GoDaddy has access to extensive data that we use to analyze millions of historical domain sales. Try GoDaddy Domain Appraisals to determine the value of the domain so you can make an educated offer.
Give yourself enough time
How To Get A Domain Name From Namecheapcom
Namecheap is another popular website for buying domain names and getting website hosting. As their domain name prompts, they often have a lot of good deals and somewhat lower annular prices than GoDaddy, for example.
So if you love a good bargain, heres how to buy a domain name via Namecheap.
Step 1: Run your desired domain name search first and review available options. Namecheap has a really huge collection of new TLDs such as .art .digital, .luxury among 400+ other options.
Also, if your name isnt available or youd like to get some more ideas, switch to their advanced search view aka the Beast Mode:
As you can see from above, you have a lot more features to play with such as price range, suffix/prefix, and so on. This can help you drill down to that perfect domain name that is short, memorable, available, and yet cheap!
Step 2: After youve chosen the best contenders, proceed to your cart to start the checkout process. At this point, you can also add some extras and customize your order:
With Namecheap, you get a lifetime free WHOIS protection for every domain name, plus they recently added a bonus premium DNS offer . When you enable it, your domain gets yearly protection against DNS/DDoS attacks , plus ultra-fast global DNS response. This gives you some extra leverage in terms of your website speed.
On top of that, you can select some affordable up-sells such as:
Also, you can play around with your renewal. Namecheap provides a small discount for 2+ years.
Read Also: How Much Do Domains Cost Per Year
Can I Use My Custom Domain Name For My Email
Absolutely. In order to convey an air of professionalism with your online business, or even just make a good first impression, it is important to use an email address that matches your domain name. MyDomain makes this very easy to set up once you complete your domain name registration.
- More Domain Resources:
Where Is The Best Place To Register A Domain Long Term
Since we are not able to buy a domain name forever, the next best thing we can do is to register a domain name for a long period of time.
Personally, for long term domain name registrations, I find Namecheap to be one of the best options as you can lock down a domain name for a maximum of 10 years.
As for their pricing, the .com registration fee is only $9.60/year. So when applying this to a 10-year period, it comes to a total of only $90.60!
As an added bonus, Namecheap also includes free domain privacy forever which many other domain registrars charge $10-$25/yr for!
For more information, you can also see my post on how to get a free domain name!
So if you are willing to pay more upfront, you can actually save yourself quite a bit of money!
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What Is Whois Domain Privacy
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is the organization that governs the rules and regulations for domain name registrations. ICANN requires, for various reasons including to determine ownership of a domain should a dispute transpire, that a publicly accessible database be maintained that contains the contact information of all domain registrants. In layman’s terms this means your domain name will be searchable by anyone and those search results will include your full name, physical address and other contact information. In order to protect your privacy in this regard, MyDomain offers WHOIS Domain Privacy which then masks your information using our own and implements a procedure for you to control who is able to then gain access to your contact information via a WHOIS search. Whenever you buy a domain name, no matter what domain name registration service you use, you are subject to the same ICANN rules, for this reason it is important to use a reputable service who cares about your privacy. MyDomain always recommends enabling WHOIS Domain Privacy.
What If Your Domain Name Expired And Someone Else Bought It
This can happen.
You can do a Whois search and try to find out who the new owner of your domain is and try to contact them.
Now, a lot of registrars will swoop in and buy expired domain names and hold them for ransom. Youll see your domain name being sold for thousands of dollars
Ive heard that, with some legal help, you can muscle people into giving you your domain name back, especially if you were doing business with the name, and the new person is just holding the name for ransom . But this isnt legal advice just something I heard years ago. You can always contact an intellectual property lawyer for more information.
Recommended Reading: How To Find Out Who Owns Domain
Hover: Great Search Tools And Suggestions
Hover is a simple registrar, offering average prices and good service. Where Hover shines are their suggestions, showing similar domains with different styles and synonyms to help you narrow down the domain you want. Their search page has a useful sidebar with different categories and filters for different extensions.
Here, we searched for the domain cookiesbygrandma.com, which was taken. Hover automatically suggested a list of domains similar enough to our search term that we might be alright with those instead. If youre not sure exactly what domain you want, you should try searching around on Hover.
Their .com domains start at $12.99 per year, and they offer email forwarding at $5 per year, plus free WhoIs privacy on top of it.
Ready To Buy A Domain
As with anything else in business, getting started is often the hardest part. But now that you know how, I encourage you to jump into buying the domain you always wanted. Even a no from the current owner doesnt mean you have to give up situations change, so its always a good idea to check back in from time to time to let your dream domains owner know youre still interested.
Want an expert to handle it for you? If all this domain aftermarket stuff sounds too complex or if you just dont have the time to deal with it, consider turning to a professional service like GoDaddys Domain Broker Service. A broker will contact the domains current owner and negotiate for the domain on your behalf. Done and done.
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How Much Does It Cost To Buy A Domain
You receive a one year free domain voucher with the initial purchase of select Yearly Premium Plans. When you purchase a domain name without a voucher, the cost varies based on the TLD, or Top Level Domains If you want to buy your domain now, you can search above for the domain name you want and purchase it right away. Try it now!