Our Top Recommendations For Getting A Free Domain
If youre looking for an all-in-one website builder, a Wix paid plan is the best way to get a free domain name. However, if you want to go the self-hosted route, Hostinger and DreamHost are excellent choices for most users.
Equipped with your free domain and affordable web hosting, you have everything you need to get your new website up and running in no time.
Two Options Explained: Website Builder Vs Hosting
The range of web development tools is really extensive and versatile, but there are still two trusted web development options. You can either use a website builder or pick reliable hosting that provides free domain connection feature.
Lets have a look at two platforms, which are the most popular and credible representatives of both types of systems. These are Wix and Bluehost.
A Domain Name Is A Must
The main issue with this setup will be that traffic going to Joe will not belong to him. If people visit his page, these visitors and sessions will be tallied for Mcdonalds. If, at any point, Mcdonalds decides that they do not want the competition, they can delete his page since they own the main website. Joe will also have difficulty trying to check statistics and analytics. Who are the people that are visiting his website? What are the demographics? When you own the domain name outright, it is straightforward to use Google Tag Manager to put in code snippets to see where the visitors are coming from and what they are doing on the website. When you try to piggyback off a larger site for free, it becomes much harder to check the analytics and see exactly how you can improve your traffic.
Read Also: How To Transfer My Domain From Wix To Shopify
Why A Good Domain Name Is Important
A domain name is your unique identifier among billions of other websites on the web. Thats why having a memorable and easy-to-type name is essential for having an online presence.
Your domain name serves as an extension of your personal or business name. In that sense it:
- Improves recognition and awareness.
- Adds extra credibility to your venture.
- Eventually boosts visitors recall.
Also, choosing a good domain name is important for SEO. Several years ago exact match domains were all the rage, but today most people choose brandable domain names.
Memorable domain names get typed to Google more frequently. Algorithms keep track of that and assign more authority to your website. As the branded search volume grows, your domain name earns extra authority points, so that it gets easier to rank for related keywords.
With that being said, lets move on to the how-to part.
How To Register A Domain Name: 4 Options
To get a domain name, youll need to call dibs with ICANN. ICANN is a global non-profit authority that maintains records on which domain and IP address belongs to whom and manages access to them.
But ICANN doesnt provide registration services, it only maintains records. Thats where domain name registrars come into play.
The primary role of a register is to:
- Coordinate claims on different domain names.
- Match specific domain names with Domain Name System nameservers.
- Ensure that there are no duplicate domain names.
Technically speaking, you are not buying a domain name from a registrar company, but reserve its usage for a specified time. You can pay to reserve a domain for 1-10 years at a time, depending on the registrar. After your initial subscription expires, youll need to renew it and pay a fee again. You can re-purchase your domain name over and over again.
When registering a domain name, you sign a long-term lease of your domain . You can read more about the domain costs here.
In practice, all of the above is much simpler than you think as we will show below.
Read Also: How Do You Find The Domain On A Graph
Free Domains With Namecheap
If you are looking to register a domain name, why not check out Namecheap? They will let you choose your domain name as long as it is not already taken, and they are a leading domain registrar with low prices and excellent service. There is a wide variety of domains that you can choose from, and they also offer a tool that lets you quickly type in a possible name for a website to see if another person or company has already taken it.
Maybe you already have to host through another company such as Bluehost or GoDaddy? That is not an issue. You can quickly move your hosting and your new domain name over from other hosts and get set up with Namecheap easily and promptly.
Totally Free Domain Name With Website Builder
Best for A complete beginner who would like to get a website up and running quickly
One of the best website builders on the market today is Wix. Even a child could create a beautiful site on Wix in a matter of minutes. No joke! Their website builder is easy. Plus they offer a completely FREE domain name. The only downside is that they offer the free web builder and whats known as a subdomain. This basically means that youd get a domain name something like mywebsite.wix.com.
If youd like a more professional domain name like a .com, then you can sign up for one of Wixs website builder plans and get yourself a free .com domain name for a whole year. All of their websites are mobile-friendly, so they can be viewed easily on a smartphone. Both options are great if you have little website design experience as you get templates that are super easy to work with, along with a free domain name so that people can find you on the web.
You May Like: Can You Change A Domain Name After Purchasing It
How To Get A Domain For Free
If you already have hosting services, you wont be able to use this method unless youre ready to upgrade to a better plan or switch to a new host. As such, timing is an important consideration if youre set on getting a domain name for free for the next year.
But if youre starting a website from scratch, you need web hosting services in addition to a domain name.
So, it makes sense to bundle them together. Its an easy and affordable way to get everything you need in one transaction while saving a bit of money.
The biggest consideration is choosing the right host for your website. So, lets talk about how to do that.
Adding Your Domain To Digitalocean
If you don’t have a DigitalOcean account already make sure to create one via this link here:
- First go to your DigitalOcean Control Panel
- Then click on Networking on the left
- After that click on Domains
- And there add your new domain name button and then add the domain name that you just registered:
Then you would see your new DNS zone where you would need to add an A record for your domain name and point it your Laravel server! For more information on how to manage your DNS make sure to read this guide!
You May Like: Why Buy Multiple Domain Names
How To Get A Free Domain For A WordPress Website
We have scanned the internet for hosting companies that are giving away free domains for WordPress websites. You can see them all below!
- Server Speed
Namecheap prides itself on outstanding customer experiences and working with the client. Namecheap has excellent service and support that sets them apart from the competition. Perhaps you are not the most technically savvy individual, and the idea of trying to shift your hosting over from another company is intimidating. Dont worry! We can help you with a free domain for a WordPress website.
Namecheap currently has a campaign where you can get a free .website domain. All you have to do is purchase hosting from then. You can get that for less than $2 a month, so its as close as it gets to be a free website.
Use our link & visit Namecheap to get a free domain name for your WordPress Website!
Whats The Best Way To Get A Free Domain Name
The best way to register a free business domain is to use a domain registrar that offers free domains as a part of their web hosting plans. For example, Bluehost offers a free domain when you sign up for its $2.95 per month hosting plan. To begin, select a hosting plan, then follow the prompts to search for a domain, select an available one, and buy web hosting. Get step-by-step instructions on the process of domain name registration.
You May Like: How Important Is A Domain Name
How To Create A Free Website With Your Own Domain
Apart from buying a new domain name from the website builder or hosting provider, there is a possibility to connect the one you have previously owned. It doesnt matter where you have got it you can attach or transfer it to your new account, following the guidelines the system generates.
Standard plan of actions looks similar to that listed in the previous part of the article. However, there are also a few nuances you need to consider to make the domain name connection process a success.
- Firstly, there is no need to buy a new domain from the system you work with. This eventually saves your effort, time and money.
- Secondly, you shouldnt forget to modify the DNS settings to make the domain eligible for transfer, if needed.
Typically, youll have to log into your domain name control panel and modify the NS records for your domain according to the instructions provided by the chosen website builder or hosting provider. The entire procedure doesnt take it long and can be completed even by a newbie.
Sign Up For Free Hosting
Buying a domain is only part of the website development process. When you buy a domain name, you need somewhere to host it. Even if you manage to snag yourself a free domain, you pay for it to be online. Unless you use a free hosting service that also offers a free domain name. Bonanza!
Unlike the free website building services, the free hosting domain offers require a more hands-on approach. That said, many offer a WordPress installation that in turn enables you to install custom and professional website templates.
The best free services have caveats such as site downtime every day, advertising on site, design limitations, and others. Here are a few options available to you:
- 000webhost: Free website builder, SSL security, no adverts, one-hour downtime every day, support preference given to premium clients
- X10Hosting: Free website builder, no adverts, unlimited storage, and bandwidth, plus three free email accounts
- AwardSpace: WordPress and Joomla installers included, 1GB storage, advertising-free, one email account, but doesn’t allow eCommerce sites
Recommended Reading: How To Find Domain Name For Email Account
Hostgator Best For Budget
HostGator is a web hosting company that guarantees uptime 99.9% of the time. It also offers 24/7 support an impressive 365 days a year via phone and live chat.
HostGator is also affordable. There are three hosting plans to choose from: the Hatchling Plan, the Baby Plan, and the Business Plan. If you go with the most affordable plan, youll pay just $2.75 a month for web hosting.
Keep in mind, however, that youll need to sign up for three years of web hosting to receive the lowest monthly price and your domain name is only free for the first year. After that, it renews at $17.99 per year.
But HostGators plans are incredibly affordable, to the point where they make it easy on your wallet if you dont want to settle for the most basic of hosting plans.
If you need shared hosting for more than one site, the Baby Plan allows you to host as many as you need for just 75 cents more per month.
What makes HostGator particularly scalable is their unmetered bandwidth and site storage on all shared hosting plans. That means you can accomodate as many site visits and use as much storage space as you need, within reason.
Most sites wont have to worry about using up too much of their servers resources. And youll never again have to count monthly visits to make sure you dont exceed your limit.
If you prefer a one-year term, the monthly fee increases to $3.95 for the Hatchling Plan and $5 for the Baby Plan, with a free domain for the entire one-year duration.
Important: Dont Forget To Renew Your Domain
Keep in mind that each domain has an expiration date.
You should keep track of your expiration date. If you miss the deadline, you risk losing your domain forever. It is not just a loss of the site name but also a loss of all your efforts to promote the site on the network.
You will lose all the money you invested in advertising, all the visitors, and all the traffic. It will be very unpleasant if, by some chance, you lose your results of work, and your domain will buy someone else.
So we recommend that you take the issue of domain expiration very seriously. Set a reminder or set the auto-renewal of the domain not to risk losing the results of your work.
Read Also: How To Transfer Squarespace Domain To Godaddy
Bandwidth And Storage Space
Two different websites can have extremely different needs in terms of bandwidth and storage space. The inexperienced are not likely to have a good estimation of what they will actually need. Even experienced webmasters may under or overestimate the needs of their website.
Generally speaking, a minimum bandwidth package should be fine for a majority of websites. The more people that visit and greater amount of interaction will require higher amounts of bandwidth. Additionally, businesses are getting savvy to the importance of using video to help build audience and generate traffic. You can post a video and share it through the website but after a while it will become a bandwidth hog. Websites that host video will likely need to upgrade their bandwidth sooner or later.
Storage space is similar. The amount needed will really depend on what is included on the site. If you have high volume files, such as video or audio, then more storage space will do the trick.
Be sure to double check with the provider to see how they handle upgrades before committing. Nobody wants to find themself strapped for space without any flexibility six months down the road. A majority of providers do operate in yearly increments.