Make Sure Your Domain Is Easy To Pronounce And Spell
You probably want your domain name to be memorable. However, if youre thinking of going the Elon Musk baby-naming route, dont. No matter how cool it looks spelled out, there will come a time when youll have to give someone your website or email address verbally.
Word-of-mouth is still powerful advertising. Whats more, it only works when people can actually pronounce your domain. This also makes the name easier to remember, increasing the odds that people will visit and pass the site along to their networks.
How Do I Choose The Best Domain Name
Great question! Here’s a few core things to consider when choosing your new domain name:
How To Register A Domain Name In 4 Steps
Whether youre starting a blog, showcasing your portfolio online, or opening an online store, your domain acts as the primary reference point for users looking to find your website, making it inseparable from your brand.
Registering a domain name doesnt take very long, but that doesnt mean you should rush through it. Domain names are hard to change once youve launched. Doing so can negatively impact your search engine rankings and make it harder for users to find your website.
Thats why its crucial to consider your domain name carefully, pick one with long-term potential, and make sure that youve registered it correctly.
If youre looking to register a domain name for your website, heres how to get started.
How to Register a Domain Name in 4 Steps
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Add Domain Id Protection
When you register a domain name with ICANN, you must provide your contact information including your name, phone number, physical address, and email address.
As soon as your domain name is registered, this contact information becomes available to the public unless you pay for domain privacy through your domain registrar. This domain privacy will shield your information from view keeping your personal information safe from spammers or worse, identity thieves.
Once you’ve got the domain name in hand, you’re ready to find hosting and build your website. Consider a free CMS, like HubSpot, to design your website, strategize for SEO, and create a blog.
Set Up The Blank / Naked Version Of Your Domain
When we think of the web, we tend to assume all websites start with the www prefix. However, the chances are you probably visit websites on a regular basis without using www at all.
For example, you can visit LCN by either using www.lcn.com or simply lcn.com the latter address without the www is often called a naked domain.
What is actually happening here is lcn.com is merely redirecting to our proper www.lcn.com address. However, without setting this up, users will just get an error page when visiting your sites naked domain variant and this isnt a good experience for anyone.
lcn.com naked domain redirecting to www.lcn.com
You should be able to do this easily enough at most domain providers. Naturally, here at LCN its super straight-forward.
Simply find your domain name from the Domains section of your account, look for DNS settings, and from here selectAdd an A record.
When adding your new A record, ensure you leave the hostname field blank, and add the IP address for your server .
As with everything at LCN, if you get stuck, just give us a call or get us on LiveChat and well have the problem fixed in minutes.
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How To Buy A Domain Name: A Simple Guide To Get You Started
A domain name is essentially a digital address its what people will type into their browsers to access your website. You can buy a domain name from a domain name registrar or hosting provider by visiting a domain registrar, finding the domain you want to purchase, and following the instructions to buy it.
Keep in mind that buying a domain name is one of the most critical steps of starting a blog, personal site, or online business. Without one, users would not be able to easily access your website on the internet.
Luckily, the process to register a domain name is quite straightforward even beginners can complete it in a few minutes.
This article will explain each of the simple steps to register a domain name and present some tips and tricks to ease the process.
Check out this video on how to register a domain name:
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.
Read Also: How Much Does It Cost To Register A Domain Name
How To Register A Domain Name With Namecheap
As the name suggests, this Namecheap offers great value for money. Its .com domains start from $8.88/year, which is a low price compared to the rest of the market.
To buy a domain name on Namecheap, head over to the homepage and insert a name on the search field. Alternatively, head to the Bulk Domain Name Search tool and enter up to 5,000 keywords and find multiple domains at once.
The site will redirect you to the search results page. Feel free to sort the available domains by cost, extension, or alphabetical order. Click Add to Cart on the name you want to register and the Checkout button on the bottom-right corner to continue with the payment process.
The page will preview the order and suggest several add-ons to add to the cart, including PremiumDNS for a performance and security boost. This domain registrar also provides a free privacy and protection feature.
Confirm the order to move on to the next step creating a Namecheap account. Insert your contact information, including your name, phone number, email, and physical address. Enter a company name and tick the Im registering on behalf of a company box if applicable.
Press Continue to go to the Setup page. Here, specify the contact information for the domains registrant, administrator, technical support, and billings. If youre responsible for all these things, select User default account contact. Otherwise, choose to Add new contact where appropriate.
How To Pick A Domain Name: First Check If The Domain Name Is Available
Once you have settled on a specific domain name, you should check to see if it is available or if someone has already registered it.
Establish whether there are any trademarks registered to the term that you would use in your domain name.
Your brand name should ideally be the same on your website domain and your social media channels, to build brand recognition and familiarity with your visitors and consumers. However, to avoid any legal issues, steer clear from names that have trademarks.
Whenever you get a good domain name idea, before registering it, Google the name and look through all of the first and second-page results for businesses that already use this name and operate in a similar industry.
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Purchase Your Domain Name And Complete Its Registration
Once you settle on a domain name, its time to purchase it. When you buy through Mailchimp, well let you know the annual cost of the domain name as well as any available discounts.
During the checkout process, youll be required to enter your contact information, including an email address, to register the domain.
Find A Credible Domain Registrar
A domain registrar is a company that is responsible for registering and managing domain names. Its accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers , a non-profit organization that controls the rules and regulations of domain name registration.
Choosing a reliable domain registrar is crucial because it can impact a project or business for years. Pick the wrong one and you might end up paying hidden fees or even get scammed. For example, there have been cases where a domain registrar pressures users into purchasing domain names similar to the ones they hold under false pretenses.
It can be challenging to pick from hundreds of domain registrars out there as they all offer similar services. Therefore, consider the following when choosing a registrar:
As we mentioned earlier, people can also purchase a custom domain from a hosting company that offers domain registration services, like Hostinger.
Since having a web hosting plan and domain name is essential to make a website, it may be more convenient to purchase and maintain them together at the same place.
Here at Hostinger, we offer low upfront and renewal costs for the most popular domain names and a dedicated 24/7 support team ready to assist you.
If you buy a domain name at Hostinger, its also possible to activate domain privacy protection. This feature can help hide specific details from being discovered through a WHOIS lookup.
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Best Tips Before Buying A Domain Name
Having a good domain name is essential since it can add extra credibility to a website, spread brand awareness, and ensure that users can find you on the internet. Thats why its crucial to dedicate some time to research before choosing the right domain name for your site.
Here are 15 tips to review before deciding on a domain name:
Two Ways To Get A Free Top Level Domain Name
We also understand that beginners are always short of budget, so they are looking for the free or cheapest domain names. Now everyone has different prescriptions about free domain name registration and its consequences. Some say that having a free domain name will cause the most considerable credibility effect. While others say the domain name is just the website address, it doesn’t affect your credibility. The only thing that affects your online credibility is your website content or business quality.
However, according to experts, you can get the free domain name for your website and register it. So here we will share the top 2 ways to get a free top-level domain name and start your online business.
You can choose your required or suitable method as we all know everything also has some pros and cons. So go through each process and choose a convenient way to get the free domain name for your website.
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Consider Experimenting With Non
As mentioned in No. 1, these days you can get yourself a multitude of different TLDs that werent available just a couple of years ago.
For example, you can get domain extensions such as: .shop, .club, .store, .blog, .design, .xyz, and so on. Also, you can experiment with some of the TLDs that were originally intended to be local TLDs, but, because of their unique appearance, can be used for various other purposes as well. These are domain extensions such as .is, .io, .fm, .it, .ly, .cc and others.
Just to give you an example of the latter, if it makes sense for your brand and intended name, you can try making it seem as though the whole domain, including the TLD, is one complete expression. You can achieve that by choosing your TLD creatively. For example, Microsoft Translator is available under translate.it thats the whole domain name and quite a creative use of the Italian TLD, .it.
However, the thing with these TLDs is that not every domain registrar offers them. Currently, GoDaddy gives you access to the largest catalogue.
Nevertheless, if youre after some specific TLD, its still smart to shop around with other registrars, too. Heres our other resource, where we talk about the top registrars in the market, plus some of the TLDs they offer.
Choose A Domain Name You Can Actually Legally Own
Infringing on a trademark can mean a really bad day. And, while I realize hardly anyone registers a domain name with the intent to infringe on anything, those things do happen every once in a while.
Therefore, as a rule of thumb, whenever you have a nice domain name idea and youre just about to register it, simply google the name and look through all of the first and second-page results. What youre looking for are businesses that already use this name and operate in a similar market or niche.
If you find anything, you likely need to pick another domain name.
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How To Keep A Domain Name Secure
Once a domain name has been registered with a registrar, that registrar is in charge of notifying the registrant when their domain is about to expire and giving them the chance to renew, ensuring they dont lose their domain name. In some cases registrars will prey on their users by buying those domains the second they expire and then selling them back to the original registrant at an exorbitant price. Its important to choose an honest and trustworthy registrar to avoid these kinds of predatory practices.
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