How To Get A Free Domain On Wix

What Are The Best Domain Name Registrars

There are a number of great ways to register a domain, including web hosting providers, such as DreamHost or GoDaddy and all-in-one website builders, such as Squarespace or Wix. However, if youre looking to solely register a new domain, the best domain name registrars include Namecheap, Domain.com and Google Domains. Learn more about the best domain name registrars.

Why You Should Not Get Your Domain Names Through Wix

There are three main reasons to avoid using Wix as your domain name registrar. First is the cost. While again Wix gives you a domain for free for the first year, it will cost you $14.95 upon renewal depending on your registration period. Not an unreasonable price, but you can get a lower rate using Namecheap.

The second reason to not register through Wix is that they do not provide WHOIS protection for free and in fact, they have WHOIS protection as a nearly $10 upsell, resulting in your domain name cost being roughly $25 per year for a .com compared to $8.88 a year with Namecheap.

You will want and need WHOIS protection because it keeps your personal information private. As per ICANN rules, you need to provide accurate contact information including your address, email and phone number. WHOIS protection simply keeps this private from companies and spammers.

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Add The Domain To Your Cart And Complete The Registration Process

If your chosen domain is available, congrats! All you have to do now is add it to your cart and complete the registration process. If you dont yet have an account with the registrar, youll be prompted to sign up.

Be sure to follow the steps we outlined in the How to Register Your Domain Name section to ensure youve successfully registered your domain name.

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How To Get A Free Domain Name: 4 Legit Ways In 2022

REVIEWED BY:Elizabeth Kraus

Elizabeth Kraus has more than a decade of first-hand experience building and growing a boutique digital marketing agency and double that in small and mid-size business marketing management. She provides expert answers to questions related to branding, content marketing, web development, email, social media, and SEO.

Roberta is a staff writer for Fit Small Business. With more than 5 years of experience in the writing industry, she now focuses on creating content about business websites for the Sales and group.

Purchasing a domain name is a must if you want a website or business email, and its affordable, at only around $10$15 per year. However, there are ways to get a domain name for free. For example, a free domain is often included with other products small businesses need, like web hosting, all-in-one website builders, and email hosting. Well show you four options for how to get a free domain name for your business and help you decide which is best for you.

How To Buy A Domain Name

While you can buy a domain name for your website, here are a couple of ways to get it for free:

• Register a free subdomain. A subdomain is a prefix on a domain name that connects independently functioning sites. Certain hosting platforms and site builders offer users a fully-functioning website for free with a customized subdomain. For example, when youcreate a Wix website you can publish it for free under the following URL structure: username.wixsite.com/siteaddress.

• Take advantage offree web hosting. Several hosting sites offer a free customized domain registration with purchase, enabling you to professional online presence without the domain name costs.

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Important: Dont Forget To Renew Your Domain Name

Pay attention to how long the term is for your initial domain purchase. I cannot stress this enough.

Setting up a website or blog is hard work. You put in a lot of effort to find the perfect URL, design a website, and publish relevant content on it.

So, just imagine the horror when you get up and realize some random stranger has bought your domain out from under you.

The reason? You forgot to renew your domain.

Tragic.

Many people have made this mistake in the past, and it cost them dearly.

Heres just one example of the shenanigans that can occur when domains expire: In July 2021, Vidme, a video embedding platform, failed to renew and caused expired embeds. That means that videos embedded in content on sites ranging from the Washington Post to New York Magazine were naked.

An adult website scooped up the Vidme expired domain, an action that eventually led to adult video content showing up as the embedded videos on older news stories and on other web pages. It was a huge fail for Vidme, but also a major issue for the brands and trustworthiness of all sites with those embedded videos.

Free Domain Name With Wixcom

Last but not least on my list is Wix.com, which currently provides a free .com domain name when signing up for any of their website builder plans.

While this is still a great method to acquire a domain name for free when making a website.

I did decide to rank it lower as the price is quite expensive, especially when compared to the web hosting alternatives.

Currently, the Wix personal plan will run you $10/mo which includes a domain name, 2GB bandwidth, 3GB storage, and 30 minutes of video storage.

So while this is a more pricey option, for those that want a truly effortless way to make a website while also getting a free domain name, Wix is still a worthy contender.

Is It Possible To Get a 100% Free Domain Name?

Yes, but you will have to make some sacrifices. As an example, .tk domain names are 100% free. However, if they are not used on a website, the ownership can be taken from you.

Also, .tk domains have been known to be abused by spammers and hosters of malware. Which in turn has caused these free domain names to be banned by some webmasters and in many cases are not trusted by consumers.

However, if you are looking to create an internal website project to increase your skills. Then these 100% free domain names are ok to use.

Can I Get a Free Domain Name With Web Hosting?

So before deciding on a web hosting provider, be sure to check their domain renewal prices, as some companies will drastically increase the prices to recoup the free price tag.

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How To Get A Domain Name For Your Website For Free

Now that you are aware of two most popular options to create a website with your own domain name for free, it makes sense to provide more detailed guidelines on their application. This will help you figure out the major steps needed to start and manage a website with Wix and Bluehost as well as focus on the ways to get free domains from each of these systems.

If you decide to give preference to using the website builder and choose Wix for this purpose, mind the following list of steps youll be expected to undergo to launch a website from scratch:

Upgrading Your Wix Site To Premium

To add a domain to your WIX site you first need to upgrade your subscription plan to premium. Without a premium site you wont be able to add a personal domain.

Upgrading your site is very easy. All you need to do is exit whichever editor you are within and head back to the dashboard of the site. Here in the dashboard you will see the likes of site actions, plans and other features and elements of your site.

You will also see a pink banner saying Upgrade to Premium with an Upgrade Now button.

Once you have clicked on the Upgrade Now button you will be brought to a new window. In this window, you will need to choose a premium upgrade plan for your site. Every plan can be paid monthly and you can choose between a range of plans.

The cheapest plan is £3 a month. All it allows you to add a domain to your site. If your site has an online shop, the cheapest plan you can use costs £13 a month. This plan gives access to 100% commission-free online payments.

Select the right plan for you and enter your details. You can choose a monthly plan, an annual plan or a two-year plan. The longer the plan, the cheaper the actual cost will be. Once you have entered the right details, select Purchase.

Depending on your plan, you may get a free option to add a domain to your WIX site for a year. WIX allows you to search for a domain or connect your very own domain.

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Option A: How To Get A Free Domain Name With A Website Builder

Building a professional website no longer requires web developer skills and coding. All-in-one site builders like Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace allow you to build your own site quickly, easily, and code-free.

Chances are, if youre looking for a free domain for your website, you also need a website builder. Since plans are all-inclusive, youll get a domain for free with your site builder of choice in addition to everything else you need to build and maintain your small business website.

Linking A Domain To Your Squarespace Website At A Glance

Connect your domain to your Squarespace website by going to > Settings > Domains.

Once in Domains you can get a domain through Squarespace by clicking the button Get a Domain. You can connect a domain from a third party provider by clicking the button Use a domain I own, this will prompt you to enter your domain name. Once your domain name is entered Squarespace may recognise where your domain was purchased, for example GoDaddy, so it will open a pop-up window for your to login to your GoDaddy account and connect your domain automatically.

If you have a domain with a different provider that doesnt include a simple link-up system to Squarespace you will then need to proceed to your DNS settings in order to integrate these with your domain provider to take your site online.

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Domain Names Purchased Elsewhere

Now lets say you already own your custom domain name. Then, what are your options?

Note: If your domain name is currently hosted with GoDaddy, Namecheap, or IONOS, we have a domain name tool that will provide more detailed information.

Basically you have two choices: either transfer or connect your domain name to your Wix site. There are fundamental differences between the two options so lets break them down in detail.

What Is Editor X

Editor X was originally called Corvid until Wix wisely did a brand pivot during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Its a completely separate tool from the Wix website builder. Its more of a front-end design tool, similar to Webflow. It has a steeper learning curve but allows for much more design flexibility.

It has its own pricing plans that are divided into Website Plans and Business & Ecommerce plans.

Editor X pricing.

Does Wix have student pricing?

Wix offers a 50% discount on annual plans for students. See Wix for Students. Also read: The best website builder student discounts

Is Wix more expensive than WordPress?

Itâs hard to say because they are priced much differently. Wix is an all-in-one package. WordPress is free but you pay for hosting, themes and plugins so each WordPress website costs differently.

Is Wixâs ecommerce plans more expensive than Shopify?

On a monthly term, Wixâs Business Basic plan is just slightly cheaper than Shopifyâs Basic Shopify plan . Learn more: Wix vs Shopify pricing

How to cancel a Wix account?

This support doc explains it but I can confirm I bought and cancelled a Wix account with my own credit card and cancellation was easy and transparent!

Do freelancers use Wix?

Many freelancers use Wix for website building. These partners can get 20% off of their websites.

Does Wix charge transaction fees?

Can you pay with a credit card?

Yes. You can pay for Wix with a credit card.

Can you pay with Paypal?

Can you pay with debit?

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How To Get Started With Wix

To get started with Wix, visit our homepage and choose one of the templates we offer. Once you have chosen a template, follow the instructions included with that template to create your first website.

If you need help creating your site, our team of experts are available 24/7 to answer any questions you may have about building a successful online presence with Wix.

Is Wix Completely Free To Use

You are trying to start a website or an online store and someone suggested to use Wix websites because they are free?

But it is great to ask before you start: is Wix completely free to use?

Or are there hidden costs that are associated with it?

If so, then what should you do? And on which platform should you build your site?

These questions and more I will be answering in this short article, so, bear with me till the end.

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Use A Free Domain Name Registrar

Freenom claims to be the worlds first free domain provider. Free domains work exactly like any other domain name with URL forwarding, free Freenom DNS Service or your own domain name service or name servers. Domain extensions currently available for free registration are .TK/.ML/.GA/.CF/.GQ. Unlike paid sites, owners of Freenoms free domains do not have transfer rights.

GetFreeDomain.Name and Dot TK also provide free domains with DNS support, so you can host them wherever you prefer. The free domain registrars are not recommended for anything other than personal use. The lack of security and email addresses as well as the websites unprofessional look does not make free domains a suitable option for business sites.

Set Up A Temporary Domain

After selecting a web hosting plan, youll be asked to either purchase or connect a domain. Since your Wix site is still live at this point, you can set up a temporary domain for your WordPress site.

For the sake of this tutorial, lets say you selected one of the above hosting plans with SiteGround. You can see that SiteGround offers it as an option in its sign up process below.

Well discuss how you can transfer the custom one you purchased from Wix later.

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The Benefits Of Using Wix For Your Domain Name

When you use Wix for your domain name, you not only get all of the benefits associated with using a platform like this such as price savings and easy access to expert support but also receive discounts on web hosting services and other online services that might be necessary for running a successful online business with a web site built using Wix .

In addition, by using our platform to build your site from scratch, you can customize it exactly how you want it making it perfect for any type of business or organization!

To Point Your Domain To Wix

Wix require you to configure the blank host name, and the www host name as A records. They also recommend creating m.yourdomain.com as an A record to make use of their mobile site function. All 3 records must be directed to 216.139.213.144. Dependent on your domains current DNS configuration, your screen may look slightly different to the screenshot below, but you must create/update the 3 records circled.

Once you have added the 3 records, select Save at the bottom of the screen. Please allow 24-48 hours for these changes to take effect.

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Option C: How To Get Free Domains With WordPress Hosting

Hosting is a required cost for building a website. All-in-one site builders already have hosting included, but if youre building a WordPress website, youll need to purchase web hosting separately.

There are many great hosting providers, but you can get more out of your web hosting plan by choosing one that includes a domain name for free along with business email accounts and a WordPress site builder. Hosting companies usually include automatic or one-click WordPress installation, but the best have no-code site builders to simplify the process of building a WordPress site.