Take Back Control Of Your Online Presence
When was the last time you Googled yourself? What appeared at the top of the results? Your LinkedIn profile? Your Facebook timeline? Perhaps it was the time you featured in a local news article when you played in a death metal band as a teenager? Or was it that NSFW snapshot of your spring break shenanigans in Cancun?
With a personal domain, you have a greater chance of controlling what people see first when they Google your name.
What does that mean, exactly? Imagine an HR manager, a new boss, or a potential customer types your name into a search engine. What are the chances they land on these snippets of your alter ego, misspent youth, or that one problem customer sounding off?
A unique domain with your name on it is going to work in your favor. Theyll see what you want them to see in the search results.
Configure Your Domain Settings
Next, you will need to log in to the account where your domain name is kept and configure some settings to point it to your Create website.
The specific settings you need will be displayed in your Create account in the ‘Manage Domain Names & Email’ area where you added the domain name. You will see the CNAME and A records you need to update to beneath your added domain name.
NOTE: Every domain registrar will have a different settings area, so it’s worth finding your registrar’s guide on updating a domains DNS settings or speaking with their support team if you’re not sure how to make these changes.
Allow around 30 minutes for the settings to be updated . Then click the button ‘Check Domain Settings’ and our system will check the settings you have created. If correct the setup settings for the domain name will disappear.
Get A Free Email Domain With Mailcom
If you want a 100% free email domain without needing to purchase your own web hosting and/or domain name, this is your best option.
This method wont enable you to create a custom email domain, so it may not be the best solution for established businesses. However, if youre a freelancer or just starting out and dont mind using a generic domain name, it could be optimal for you.
Mail.com enables you to set up an industry-specific email account thats completely free. You can pick from a variety of domain names such as example@graphic-designer.com or example@programmer.net. Simply sign up for an account to get started:
Once youve filled in your details and chosen your password, click on I agree. Create an email account now. Then, click on Activate your account now, and youre done:
Note that, unfortunately, this option wont allow you to send and receive emails via Outlook or Gmail. Youll have to log in to Mail.com each time you want to use it.
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How Much Does A Domain Name Cost
The exact cost of your new domain name will vary based on the registrar, the specific top-level domain you’ve chosen, and the quality of the domain name. Domain.com is proud to offer more than 300 unique TLDs to help your new website stand out. Some domains may be pricier due to their intrinsic benefits, like being short and memorable, or the use of very competitive keywords such as cars.com. Browse our premium domains to jumpstart your website performance.
The Best Domain Names For A Personal Blog
If you want to create a blog with your own domain name, you may be thinking what should my personal blog domain be? The first option to consider is of course your name, for example, isobelweston.com, or just your initial and surname, like iweston.com.
Ideally, youll land a yourname.com domain name, but if your name is common then unsurprisingly, a personalized URL based on your name can be tricky to get hold of. If this is the case, it might be worth taking a look at alternative top-level domains.
Top domain extensions for a personal blog
When it comes to coming up with top-level domain ideas, take a look at our name checker and see what comes up when you search your name. Some great domain extensions for a personal blog are .me, .site, .website, and .work.
Ultimately the choice is yours, a TLD thats perfect for one person, may not suit another. You might find the .net TLD is available and that you work on computer networks, or the .icu TLD is free and you run a portrait photography business.
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Make It Brandable Not Generic
Creative, memorable domain names are always better than generic ones. After all, your domain name is how people will find, remember, and spread the word about your business on the internet. Its much better to have something that aligns with your brand instead of a domain name thats made up of a bunch of general keywords.
For example, can you tell the difference between cheapcarinsurance.com and affordableautoinsurance.com? Which one would you trust when it comes to buying insurance? Probably neither. Both sound a little spammy, and theyre terribly generic.
On the other hand, youll probably know where the domain names progressive.com or geico.com are going to point you to. Those companies have invested in their brands, and theyve used them in their domain names. You can trust that these sites are legitimate.
Even if you havent built up trust and loyalty yet, you can start by choosing a strong domain name that fits your brand.
To Make It Even Easier Why Not Buy A Done For You Template
To demonstrate just how easy it is, I have created a one-page website with canva for my own business, on a new domain check it out here Virtual Marketing Assistant.
If you would like this same design, purchase the one-page website canva template. Its easy to use and will enable you to get your own website up and running in no time. I have also provided instructions on how to get the site working on your own domain, with your own website hosting, just like mine.
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Hosting Your Own Domain Name Without Third Party Involvement
Maybe this comes from my lack of understanding of how DNS fully works, but i want to host a domain on my own set of DNS servers.
That being said, i cannot seem to find a clear way to do this. From what i understand ICANN owns the TLD’s and licenses other companies to create subdomains. These companies sell these subdomains to the public and usually host them as well. In a nutshell anyways.
I simply want to register a domain and host it on my own servers. I am going to assume ICANN has a set of DNS servers that manage the TLD’s, but how do i go about linking my DNS servers into theirs? Essentially i would have to create NS records on ICANN’s root servers correct? This is were i am lost, as i don’t really know how to do that. Unless i can go into the system of the party i purchased my domain from and set the NS records to my own servers. In that event won’t i still be using the third parties DNS servers as a type of relay?
- I may not be correct but I think first you need a top level IP with a server running on it. Then you need to buy a domain and point its DNS A record to that IP you have.
You can use DNS tracing tools to figure out the name resolution process for a domain name and get a feel of how it ends up on your server, but DNS being a hierarchical system you can’t really host your domain yourself – you need agreement from a higher level DNS server.
Here’s a simple web-based tracing tool:
We find NTChosting.
Enable Gmail To Send From Your Custom Email Addresses
Now that we have emails coming into Gmail, this step will allow you to send emails as you@yourdomain.org for free with Gmails SMTP servers.
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Set Up An Email Account That Uses Your Domain Name
Here, Im going to show you how to create a new email address, like , and integrate it with your Gmail account. This way, you can easily send and receive emails through the Gmail interface, but your customer will see the emails as coming from your domain email address.
The steps have been broken in two parts. First well see how to create the domain email address. Second, well integrate that domain email with your Gmail account.
Useful Tips For Creating A Website
- Think about what your customers want to know, not just what you want to tell them.
- Use professionals to help you. An unprofessional website can potentially put customers off.
- Update your website regularly, especially if you include information about your prices.
- Make sure your contact details are correct and easy for your customers to find.
- Promote your website in your marketing material and include it on your business cards.
- Find out how you can make your website easy for search engines, such as Google, to find. This is called search engine optimisation . A web developer can help you with SEO for your website.
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It’s More Expensive To Be Your Own Registrar
If your aim is to save money, this solution will end up costing you more. Much more. A cursory lookat the requirements of being a registrar shows the following costs:
You have to pay an annual accreditation fee of something like USD $4,000 to ICANN, the organisation in chargeof running the domain name system.
You need to have a commercial insurance policy with a policy limit of at least USD $500,000.
You have to pay ICANN a small yearly fee per domain name registered. I think it’s 18 cents at the time I write this.
Every domain name suffix has a registry operator. These operators maintain computers which contain the necessary datafor domain names carrying those suffixes to work on the Internet. They also set the policies which determine who canget what domain. For each domain you register, you have to pay the relevant operator acertain annual fee. For example, for “.com” names, you have to pay the operator USD $7.85 per name per year.Other suffixes have different fees.
Contrast this with an annual fee of about USD $10 if you simply use anexisting domain name registrar.And I am sure my list above is actually incomplete, since it overlooks any technical requirements that you have to fulfillbefore you can be accredited.
How To Get A Domain Name From Domaincom
Domain.com is a reputable domain registrar, launched in 1998. Over 1.2 million websites are registered with them.
Domain.com features the most popular top level domains such as .com, .net, .org, .co, along with over 25 county-specific domain extensions .
They are mostly selling affordable domain names with most names priced in the $9.99-$12.99/year range. If you are lucky, you can also steal a deal and buy your domain name for as low as $2.99/year.
For that price you get:
- 1-year domain ownership.
- Free SSL certificate for extra security.
- Automatic email forwarding to your domain.
- DNS registration and management tools.
Also, you can purchase extra Domain Privacy+Protection for your domain . In this case, your personal details will not be displayed publicly in the WHOIS/ICANN directories. Plus, the registrar will also run extra security checks.
Sounds sweet? Heres how to register a domain name on Domain.com.
Step 1: Run a quick search to verify that the domain name you are eying is available.
Step 2: Pick your domain extension. Go for .com since its the most familiar option among users and thus, people, tend to type .com before trying anything else.
Your choice gets automatically added to your cart with a 2-year privacy protection subscription. This ones optional, so you can remove it during the next step. Also, you can change your domain renewal period from one year to five years.
Moreover, you can pick some add-on services such as:
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Keep It Short And Simple
Keep your domain name as short as possible. Theres less chance of making a typo in a short name thats under fifteen characters. If people routinely misspell your domain name because its hard to spell, think about the potential traffic lost.
If you have to spell it over the phone, youve lost. According to Jason Calacanis .
It just makes sense that your domain is readable so avoid quirky spellings if possible. For personal domains, it will only increase ambiguity and confusion, and misspellings because its hard to figure out.
Going with a short domain will make it easier for people to remember, but, anything too short can have the opposite effect. Despite having fewer characters, some abbreviations wont work in your favor.
Compare rogercam.com to rogercameraman.com. Strike a balance. Dont be tempted to hack off parts of words for the sake of a shorter domain. Many people use an acronym for their domain name instead.
Using Outlookcom With Your Own Domain Or Current Email Address
This allows you to both send and receive emails with an address which you already own, even if it is from another provider such as Gmail.
Using an Outlook.com account is a great alternative for your current POP3 or IMAP account if you want to sync your emails, contacts and calendar items with multiple devices such as your desktop, laptop, netbook, tablet or smartphone. It behaves a lot like a personal Exchange or Office 365 for Business account but for free.
Setting this up is relatively quick and easy but there are some pitfalls to notice. This guide walks you through the entire process of setting up an Outlook.com account with your own current email address and how to transfer all your current data.
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