How Much Does It Cost To Buy An Internet Domain

Why Do I Need A Domain

Your domain name is your unique identity. Domain names are used by businesses and individuals who plan on having an online presence. If you want to have a website or even a business email address, you need to have a domain name. This offers you the perfect stepping stone to start promoting yourself online and also protects you if you have a registered business and want to avoid anyone buying your matching domain.

How Much Does A Domain Cost

The price of your precious name will depend greatly on a number of different factors, such as:

The domain extension: .com or .org are often more expensive than .co.uk or .fr for the same domain.

Where you purchase your domain from: Not all registrars have the same prices, not to mention the variations on the aftermarket service.

The terms you select: Securing your name for one or multiple years might impact the price of your deal.

The popularity of your keywords: Not all words are worth the same – for example, CarInsurance.com was sold for a whopping $49.7 million, making it the most expensive domain ever paid for.

Privacy protection: All domain owners are required to share their name and contact to the ICANN, where they are publicly listed. Dont want to be found? Domain privacy replaces your private information with the one of your registrar.

Considering these elements, certain users will be requested to pay higher fees to acquire their domain – because its a competitive market, or because the domain is very sought-after.

But for the majority of domain names, you should not expect to pay more than $20 per year. If the price is higher, it becomes a business decision that you need to weigh out the pros and cons. A useful question to ask yourself is: how much would it cost me not to have the right domain?. Not getting the immediate recognition, reputability, organic traffic and sales resulting from owning the right domain could outweigh the higher price.

Check For Trademark Infringement

Both major and minor brands alike take issue with others using their trademarked names. Even if youve just made an innocent mistake, the legal hassle involved in a lawsuit and having to rearrange your web presence could be costly.

You can avoid these situations by using a trademark lookup tool before you finalize your choice.

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How Do You Buy A Domain Name

Buying a domain name online is relatively straight forward.

The easiest way to do this is through domain registrar services or web hosting sites. They will let you search for possible domains and tell you what is available.

Then you simply purchase it. You can choose to pay on an annual basis or as a monthly subscription.

Different services will also offer you different options for cancellation. Its worth checking these out before you buy so you know what youre tied into.

A web hosting service is usually a good option if youre just setting your website up as well. This is because they also offer website creation services. So, it is easy to connect your domain name to your website through these sites.

You can also buy premium domain names for a lump sum. This is usually much greater than the cost of a monthly subscription. This is because the demand for these domain names is already high.

Another place to buy your domain names is at domain auction sites. These work like other online auction sites just with domain names. Sellers put up their domain names for set prices and buyers bid on them.

These sites only work for registered domain names. If youre looking to create a domain name then you wont be able to do it at an auction site.

If youre buying from an auction site make sure they offer buyer protection. This could save you from losing out on thousands of euros!

How Should I Choose My Domain Name

At first, you might think its annoying that the most relevant domain names for your site are probably taken. But now that the obvious names are out of the equation, were forced to think outside the box which can lead to some memorably creative results.

The most important point to keep in mind while you brainstorm is the radio test: in other words, could potential site visitors spell your domain name just by hearing it? By asking yourself this question, youll avoid common pitfalls like including numbers and words with multiple spellings .

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What Is Shared Server Hosting

Lets take for example when a host tells you that your shared account will be on a server with an twin 8-core Intel Xeon processors, 128GB of RAM and RAID Storage with unlimited SSD storage. Sounds great doesnt it?

Unfortunately, since you are on a shared account, you will be sharing those resources with as many other people as your host decided to put on that same server. It could be anything from between tens to even hundred of shared accounts on a single server.

Because all resources on the server are split between the different accounts, in many cases performance is a little bit spotty. If you happen to share a server with lots of other dormant accounts that dont take up much resources, you will be fine. If you are on a server with many active high-activity accounts, performance may be more limited as you must wait for your share of time for resources.

Typically, shared hosting companies manage this by placing restrictions on resource usage on shared servers. If you end up taking up too much server resource time, you may be forced to upgrade to a more expensive plan.

Support Levels

This includes possibly lower or no guarantees on uptime and more limited customer support channels.

The web hosting business is incredibly competitive, and many hosting providers often fight for market share in new customers. Price is one of the features they may opt to fight with.

What If Someone Has A Domain Name I Want

If someone has beaten you to the punch and the domain you want is already taken, your best bet is to think of a new name or change the domain . If you arent able to find a domain you like but you dont want to compromise, there are still options.

You can use the WHOIS directory to get the domain owners contact information and negotiate a price. Keep in mind, however, that aftermarket domain names can be quite pricey, especially if they are overly broad. They might not be millions of dollars but theyll likely cost you way more than simply thinking of another domain name.

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Why A Domain Name Is A Must

A website must have a domain name and a web hosting server. You can find more about the difference between domain and hosting plan on our blog.

Without a domain name, visitors will only be able to access a site using its IP address, which consists of a series of numbers, making it difficult to remember. Therefore, by using a domain name, visitors will be able to remember how to access your website much more easily.

Other benefits of a domain name include:

• Branding. A domain name will be the first thing visitors will see. Therefore, its considered as a part of the websites identity and branding. A domain name can also add credibility to your site, ensuring others that you own a trustworthy business.
• SEO . If a domain name consists of a keyword in your industry, for example, hotels.com it can drive high organic traffic since its easy to remember and find.
• Investment. Its possible to buy a popular domain name and sell it once you have no more need of it. There is a large marketplace that is continuously growing for domain names.

Picking A Domain Name

Once you have decided which TLD to use, its time to determine the best domain name for your business. An important first consideration is the length of the domain name. Keep it as short as possible. The shorter the domain name, the easier it will be to remember and type correctly. Shorter domain names are also visually more appealing on marketing materials, both physical and digital. Thisisarray.com looks much cleaner than something like Wearethecompanyarraydigital.com and is much easier to remember and type. This is an obvious exaggeration but the more concise your web address, the better chance you have of gaining web traffic. Spelling is also important try not to get too creative with spelling, thatll just confuse users. Stick with common spellings in your domain name.

Whenever possible, domain names should also represent the brand or image that you or your company are trying to portray. Generally, companies will try to get their actual company name or at least a part of it as their domain name because it makes it much easier to remember or find through a search engine. For example, walmart.com, amazon.com, and google.com all use the company name as the domain name. Even if a user cant remember the specific website domain, they are likely to type in the company name into a search engine and find the site that way.

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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.

The Cost Of A Domain Depends On What You Need

Is it without a doubt that domain names are important to your businesss success on the internet . In todays digital landscape, unless you are looking for an aftermarket domain and have zero flexibility in your name choice, then there is no reason the cost of your domain should drain your wallet. For a select few customers, the price is going to be high. For most of us, we should not expect to pay more than $20 annually.

With that being said, remember to look for hidden fees, discount scams, and ensure that there is no sneaky language in the terms of the agreement.

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Why Is Having Your Own Domain Name So Important

• Your website is the first impression you make on the Internet. A customized domain name looks professional and alerts customers that your site is authoritative and credible.

• It makes your website easier to find, as a domain name can be more easily remembered than an IP address . And if you change your web host , you will still be able to keep the same domain, making your online presence stable over time.

• Acquiring your own domain is a necessary step if you plan on getting your own business email address .

• From an SEO point of view, your domain name gives Google an indication of what your website is all about. Thus, increasing your chances of ranking higher in search results.

Altogether, these factors contribute to your online visibility, which translates into more business opportunities, and ultimately – more sales. This is why registering your own domain is a crucial step to take when creating a website.

Web Hosting Cost Explained

Hosting server costs can vary in our 2H 2021 market research, hosting prices started as low as $0.83 and go all the way up to $400 a month .

The price depends mainly on the types of web hosting for which you sign up. Generally speaking shared hosting is the cheapest but with the lowest server capacity dedicated hosting is the most expensive and most powerful, while VPS hosting stands somewhere in between shared and dedicated hosting.

One area we have yet to look more closely at has been the meteoric rise of website builders like Zyro, which costs between $2.90/mo $14.90/mo. These companies offer a unique perspective on the web hosting market. Drag-and-drop functionality has expanded website building reach to a vast, new customer segment.

You need to find the right features and price and choose a reputable hosting provider with good customer support. The right combination can lead to a lifetime of bliss, but the wrong one can end up costing you much more money than you expected.

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Transfer Your Domain To A Different Domain Registrar

If your domain is managed by a provider that doesn’t support all the necessary DNS records, you can transfer it to a different registrar. When you transfer the domain, you change who you send payments to in order to renew and keep your domain name.

Request the transfer at the registrar that you want to move your domain to. Look on their website for an option such as Transfer DNS. Be aware that after they make the changes, it can take a few days update across the Internet.

The Hidden Costs Of Domain Names

Lets say youve found your perfect domain name, and its available. Whats more, its extremely affordable, so affordable that you become suspicious.

If thats the case, youre probably not that far off. Domain registrars have many tricks to lure you in with cheap domains and then pull the rug from under your feet. It is important to be aware of the tactics used by domain registrars and to recognize warning signs that come with domain registrations.

As we already mentioned, auto-renew options are often where some domain registrars like to play tricks and attach hidden fees. The same goes for when you want to transfer out to a different registrar you might be charged a hefty fee for transferring out. Make sure that the registrar you choose when buying a new domain is transparent about their fees and options.

Also, you may find that the cost of renewing a domain name is more expensive after a first-year discount. Some registrars may have contracts that lock you in for up to several years, with prices rising dramatically after the first or second year. You can save money with multi-year contracts and most registrars offer them, but make sure that you understand what youre signing up for before you commit.

Some registrars also charge high fees for domain privacy.

Thats why many domain registrars offer an add-on called Domain Privacy: to protect their clients from unwanted emails, phone calls, and other types of spam.

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