How To Buy A Domain Name: Domain Registration Guide
What you need to know about domain names, how to choose the right one, and the steps to take to check if a domain name is available and to register your domain.
If you want to start a blog or a new online business, youll need to register a domain name, the name for your website. Getting the right domain for your needs might sound technical at first, but the process is pretty simple.
This domain registration guide will tell you what you need to know about domain name extensions, how to choose the right one for your needs, and the steps youll need to take to check if a domain name is available and to register your domain.
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How To Grab An Expiring Domain Name
Michael CygerJune 19, 2011 | Updated: May 4, 2017297
Years ago, when domain names expired they would drop, or become available for hand registration by anyone. Whoever was the quickest to register a dropped domain would be the new registrant. That is how many of the largest domainers, like Frank Schilling, built their enormous portfolios.
Today, the story is different. Domain name registrars realized that they could auction expired domain names to the highest bidder and generate additional revenue. If no one wanted the domain names in an auction, the domains would then drop and become available for anyone to register. Much of the time, however, domain names are successfully auctioned.
Because auctioning domain names is not the core competency of most domain name registrars, they partner with an auction house.
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Choose The Right Domain Extension
When picking the extension or TLD for your domain name, .com is still the best choice unless you have a reason to choose something else. Roughly 43% of all domains have a .com extension, making it what people expect to see the most.
While Google confirms that your choice of TLD will not impact rankings, it does affect consumer perception. Many people view other TLDs as less trustworthy.
That said, .net or .org extensions are not uncommon, so they can be good secondary options if you find the perfect name and the coveted .com isnt available.
But if you do decide to go with an extension other than a .com, make sure you take a look at what type of website is currently on the .com extension. Someone is bound to go there accidentally while looking for your brand. If the site holds fishy or offensive content, you might want to steer clear of that name altogether.
Finally, avoid those niche domain name extensions like .space, .club, .pizza, unless you really think theyll enhance your brand.
How Do I Buy A Domain Name
Its easy to get a new domain. Here are the steps:1. Decide on a domain name extension. The extension is the part at the end of the domain name .net, .biz, .org or .com, for example.2. Think about what you’d like on the other side of the dot. It could be your business name or your specialty.3. Type the domain you want into the box at the top of this page. We’ll tell you if that particular domain is available and show other you may like better.4. Pick a domain, add it to your cart and check out. You are now the proud owner of your very own domain. As long as it’s registered to you, no one else may use it.
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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.
Frequently Asked Questions About Auction House Partners
Questiondrop catching services, like Pool.com and others
Answer: No. While this was the best process years ago, today most major domain name registrars are exclusively partnered with one auction house. As a result, the domain name will either sell at the partner auction house or be dropped.
If a domain name is dropped, then a drop catching service like Pool.com will work fine. At Pool.com, you only pay if they are successful at catching your domain name. But if you are going to pay $60 for Pool.com to catch it, why not just go to the auction and bid on the domain name you will have a better chance of obtaining it.
Question
Answer: Many auction sites will allow you to backorder the domain name for free. Follow the process above to find the domain name registrar and auction partner site. Then sign up for an account at the auction partner site and enter a backorder. But remember, the domain name may transfer to another registrar at some point so refer to Step 1 above periodically.
Alternatively, you can monitor a domain name for free at a number of locations. DomainTools.com offers a free domain name monitor tool, as does DomainHole.com . Once you receive an email notification that a domain has changed status from active to expired, you can follow the process listed above to enter a bid at the auction partner site.
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Purchase Your Domain Name
If you’ve done the hard work of finding a good domain name that is available then the hard part is over.
You’ll simply purchase your domain name with the domain registrar of your choice and complete the transaction.
Keep in mind most domain name registrars will try to upsell you a lot of additional services that may or my not be necessary for you or your business. Also remember that you don’t have to host your website at the same place you purchase your domain name.
One additional service you may want to opt-in for if you have privacy concerns is “WHOIS privacy” which prevents making your contact information public record.
How To Register Your Own Domain Name
One of the many reasons the internet is so powerful is because it gives nearly anyone the ability to share their voice and knowledge with the rest of the world. A particularly popular way to make yourself known is to set up a website.
These days many services, such as WordPress or Blogger, offer websites on commercial domains, but in a lot of cases it makes more sense to have your website on your own domaina personal place on the internet where you are in complete control of whats published and how it looks. Heres how to register your own domain name.
When setting up your personal domain name, you have a lot of options and many vendors to choose from. You can search around to see what works best for you and your needsor look over our suggestions belowbut the following steps outline the gist of what you need to do.
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How To Register A Domain Name For Free
Youve heard the rumor about free domain names. Is it true?
Yes! There are actually ways to get a free domain name for your website.
First, you can get a free domain name for a web hosting provider such as Bluehost.
They offer every new user a 1-year free domain with any of their hosting plans. You can either register a brand new domain name with them or transfer a domain name, registered with another company.
Some other hosting providers who also have a 1-year free domain policy:
- HostGator
- Dreamhost
- InMotion Hosting
Note: The downside of getting a domain name from a hosting provider is more expensive renewals. After a free year, most hosting providers will charge a higher renewal fee, compared to domain registrars.
How To Reserve A Domain Name
A website is a separate thing from a domain name. As I explained in my article onHow to Create a Website,a domain name is just a name. When you register a domain, you merely get the right to associate it with your website. Inthe brick and mortar world, a domain name is like the business name that you register with some government organisation, while a website is analogous to your shop or office premises. Just as you can registera business name without renting premises somewhere for your shop, so also can you register a domainwithout “renting” space on a web host for your website files.
Having said that, most domainname registrars, the companies through which you get your domain, will automatically associate a dummy website with your domain when you register it. This is calleddomain name parking, andthe end result is that when you type your domain name into your browser, you end up at the placeholder site set up by yourdomain name registrar. See my article onWhat Does It Mean to Parka Domain Name? Domain Name Parking Explained for more information if you want to know more about this.
In summary then, to reserve a domain name, you simply have to register it the normal way. The exact procedure canbe found in the article How toRegister a Domain Name, and I won’t repeat it here since you can just click through to read it. That’s all thereis to it. Since you are not going to start a website immediately, your job is done.
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Reserving A Business Name
You can usually reserve the business name when you receive confirmation from your state that it’s available for your use. Reserving the name establishes your intent to use it and prevents others from claiming it in the meantime.
Reserve a business name even if you don’t plan to use it right away because the process is usually part of registering it with your stateit’s a step you can get out of the way early on.
Business name reservations can be limited to a certain period of time. For example, you can reserve a business name in California for just 60 days, but it’s 120 days for domestic corporations in New Jersey.
Check with your state business division, usually in the Secretary of State’s office, to see how long a reservation lasts in your area.
It’s A Common Practice
Reserving domain names is actuallya more common practice than you may think. Many experienced webmasters do it automatically long before they start a website.Most even register multiple variations of a name for a single idea, since at that early stage in the planning process, it’shard to be sure which name they might finally settle on. And as everyone knows, domain names sell like hot cakes, so a namethey think of today might not be available tomorrow.
What I’m trying to say is that you’re not alone in reserving domain names that you might want to use. Like many otherwebmasters, I too believe that it’s a good idea to do it. It’s just too easy for someone to beat you to adomain name, even if that name is some weird made-up word that doesn’t occur in the dictionary. If you want tobe sure that a name is available for you to use in the future, the only way is to get it while you can.And as you can see, it’s actually quite aneasy process, since you don’t really need to do anything else, other than getting the name from the registrar.
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What To Do When You Are Finally Ready To Start Your Website
What happens when you are finally ready to associate a website with your domain name? At that point in time,you will need to carry out the rest of the steps in my article onHow to Create Your Own Website.
Briefly, this means that you’ll need to get a webhost, go back to your registrar’s website, log into your account , and pointthat domain name to your website. Then you’ll of course have to design the website itself, perhaps byusinga web editor like Expression Web or someother thing. Please see my mainwebsite design guidefor details.
Names And Ip Addresses
The first step in acquiring a host is to register a name. These are regulated and maintained by name registrars, which ensure that there is no repetition. The actual registration can be done directly through the registrar but most likely will be done by a third party like a hosting service. They are easily readable by people, but for computers to understand them, domain names have to be linked to binary IP addresses through special servers called domain name servers . This system allows for a them to be transferred to another server should the webmaster decide to use a different platform.
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The Domain Registration Failed
If we weren’t able to complete your domain registration, the Domains panel will show a Registration Failed note with a red label. You’ll also receive an email from no-reply@squarespace.com explaining what went wrong. In most cases, domain registrations fail because of a billing error or if the domain doesn’t meet our naming requirements.
To try to fix the issue and register your domain again: