How Important Is A Custom Domain Email
Vital. Its vital. Think of it as your companys address. You wouldnt choose just any street corner in the real world, would you? Youd choose an address thats close to your target audience, professional, and always buzzing. Its the same with your online address.
Harvesting a credible online presence is a critical step toward building a brand and it all starts with a domain name.
Forbes
See: important magazines agree! Your professional email address should be customized using a domain because it shows people that youre just that: professional. By using a custom domain email, you get to pick that online street corner and set up shop in a way that best reflects your brand, instantly making it more recognizable.
Aside from that, email is one of the top forms of communication between businesses and customers. Its one of the first steps to building and nurturing a long-lasting online relationship. Thats why its so important to invest in a custom domain email it shows youre serious about your business, makes you seem more real, and will help direct customers to contact you.
If you use a confusing or generic email like lily@gmail.com, how will customers even know that youre associated with your business? Anybody in the world can create a Gmail account and pretend. Give your business a professional feel with an email address that backs your business up and reflects what you do.
Choose Your Billing Terms
After you select the appropriate plan, Hostinger asks you to choose a period for your plan: monthly, 12-month, 24-month, or 48-month.
If you want the free domain, do not select the month-to-month payment option. Hostinger only includes the free domain with terms of one year or more.
The longer your commitment, the greater the discount. You also stretch out that discount for as long as possible, because renewal pricing is never as good. This is not a Hostinger thing, this is just the way every host does it.
And if you sign up for longer, Hostinger will actually lower the renewal rate. This is not common. As you can see in the image above, the renewal price for a single month of service is $10.29/month, whereas the renewal price for a 48-month term drops to $5.99/month.
The downside to signing up for a longer period is that you have to pay upfront. Again, this is typical of every host, and the reason I like signing up for Hostinger is that it is a really great deal.
Do the math out: Hostinger Premium Shared Hosting costs $95.52 for four years of hosting. Pay a hundred dollars today and dont worry about your website until current high school freshmen have graduated.
When you factor in the savings of a free domain name, the price only looks better.
Components Of A Web Server
There are several major components to setting up a web server: This is often referred to as the LAMP Stack.
Linux: The operating system behind the LAMP stack is Linux. Its a lightweight and secure OS, making it one of the most popular choices for the best web servers.
Apache: This is the software used to power the HTTP protocol which delivers web content from the server to the web browser.
MySQL: A popular database engine used for database driven websites.
PHP: A popular language of many websites, PHP is required for popular website scripts like WordPress.
Recommended Reading: How To Create Your Own Domain For Free
Does The Country I Live In Effect My Domain Name
While there are country domain names you can use to tell people where your business is based, your location has no real effect on your domain name. When youre buying a domain name, you can choose country-specific domain names such as .it for Italy and .ir for Iran. However, you dont need to know your countrys domain extension or use it to create a website. No matter which country youre from, you can create a website using one of the standard domain extensions, including .com, .net, and .org.
One thing to remember is that certain country-specific domain extensions are only available to residents of that country. For example, you can only register a .it domain if youre a natural or legal citizen of the European Union, so you cant have an Italian domain for an American business. When it comes to .us domains, things are a bit different. Any company or individual thats licensed in or a citizen of the United States can register a .us domain, but these domains can also be registered by certain foreign organizations that have an interest in the United States.
In addition to country-specific domain extensions, there are also domain extensions that are designed for specific types of websites. Schools and other educational organizations often use .edu domains, while official government organizations use .gov domains. While these domains arent all restricted from being used by other organizations, its best to stick to a simple .com domain, so you dont confuse your audience.
Does A Domain Name Registration Expire And What Happens If It Does Before I Renew It
When you register a domain name, youll see the registration date as well as the expiration date. Every domain name expires at some point, whether thats in a year, a couple of years, or a decade. You can save time by buying a domain with a longer expiration date. In any case, youll need to manually renew your domain when that expiration date is approaching.
The good news is that you can renew your domain name registration before it expires, which allows you to keep your domain name. This is especially important if you have a very simple domain name thats highly sought after. Typically, youll receive your first reminder to renew your domain about a month before it expires. If you still dont renew your domain name after receiving this message, youll get another reminder about a week before your domain expires.
So, what happens if you forget to renew your domain name before it expires? As long as the domain name hasnt been registered by somebody else, you can reactivate your domain name after the expiration date. Keep in mind that some domains are in much higher demand than others, and there are even some bots out there that automatically register high-profile domains when they become available.
Bring your brand to life with your own website. Design from scratch, connect a domain, analyze traffic, and optimize for SEO.
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Top Rated Domain Registrars To Get A Free Domain Name
If you want to get a free domain name, youll need a domain registrar. Here are the top options Ive identified:
- Hostinger Best for creating your first website
- Domain.com Best for keeping domain costs low
- Porkbun Best deals on unique domain extensions
- Network Solutions Best for locking down domains for decades
- GoDaddy Best domain registrar for protecting your personal data
- Namecheap Best domain registrar for tight budgets
- NameSilo Most affordable domain deals with bulk purchasing
You can read our full reviews of each domain registrar here.
But today Im going to show you how easy it is to claim your free domain name with Hostinger. Why? Because hands down, Hostinger is one of the easiest ways for someone new to domain names to get one for free.
There are a few other ways to get a free domain name with free hosting, and Ill cover those later. But going with Hostinger means you wont run into the limitations that come with those other options.
Pointing Your Domain Name At Your Website
Now that you have your own domain name, the final stage is to point it at your website. This allows people to type your domain name into their browsers address bar to visit your site.
To point your domain at your site you need to use name servers . Every active domain name on the Internet needs at least two name servers to handle it. A name server acts like a phone book for the domains that it handles. The process works something like this:
Usually, your Web hosting company has name servers that you can use for your domain. Youll often find these listed on the companys technical support site. Theyll look something like this:
- ns1.example.com
- ns2.example.com
When you register your domain, your registrar may ask you for the name server hostnames . Enter the hostnames given by your hosting company. The registrar then updates your domain record to point your domain to these name servers.
You can usually change your name servers at any time by logging into your registrars website and editing your domain details. If youre not sure how to do this, ask your registrar or look at their help pages.
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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:
How To Create Your Own Top
Knowing how to create your own top-level domain is very important because your Web3 websites top-level domain is an important part of its identity. You are already aware of the importance of following a set of guidelines when selecting a domain name, the set of characters that will serve as your online identity. However, the TLD you choose represents a piece of who you are as a person.
A difference can be made by paying attention to the important details. Read on as we discuss.
Also Check: How To Check To See If A Domain Is Available
How Long Before Domain Changes Take Effect
It will take some time for changes to take effect once youve set up or tweaked your domain. It will also be dependent on the kind of domain you used, whether thats TXT records, CNAME, or name servers.
Usually, it takes anywhere between 24-48 hours for your sites content to appear at your domain. This is because all the changes and tweaks youve made will have to travel through root servers, web servers, and name servers, and these are dispersed across the internet.
Why Do I Have To Pay Yearly For A Domain Name
Domain names are owned by registrars, not by individuals, and these registrars offer you the option of owning a domain name for a limited time only. Its like a rental service in the most basic sense of the way. However, thanks to high competition on certain keywords and such, some domain names can be rented for really cheap.
Read Also: What Is Your Own Domain
Get A Domain Name And Url
It’s important to choose a good domain name. It affects:
- how easily customers can find your site
- how much customers will trust your website and brand
- your intellectual property and trademark protection.
Your domain name is part of your URL . A URL is a website’s address on the internet. It makes it possible for customers to get to your website.
A URL is made up of the following parts:
- HTTP or HTTPS: if a website has a security certificate , the first part of the URL will be HTTPS. If theres no security certificate, it will be HTTP
- www: shows that this is a website displayed on the World Wide Web
- domain name: the name of your website, for example, mydomainname
- domain name extension: the part of the URL following the domain name, for example, .com or .au.
When building your online presence, it’s very important to maintain brand consistency. Your domain name should ideally be identical to, or as close as possible to, your business name.
Referring to your business in the same way online:
- creates a professional online presence
- helps your customers find you online
- helps your business maintain a strong brand image
- prevents confusion between your brand and other brands
- limits development costs for logos, packaging, and printed materials.
Use your business name across all digital platforms, including your:
- website domain name
- customers won’t be able to find you
- your business will be vulnerable to cyber crime
- your domain name may be relisted for sale
- you may lose your domain name.
How To Buy A Website Domain For Ever
As we explained, domain names are not for complete sale. Essentially, you are reserving domain name usage for a set period . But you can keep renewing your domain name as many times as you want to.
While you cannot buy it out for good from a registrar, you can hold on to your domain name for as long as you are paying your renewal fee.
Recommended Reading: How To Purchase A Domain Name For A Website
How To Register A Domain Name For Free
Looking for a free domain name? There are several domain registrars, website hosting providers, and website builders offering free domain names, typically with the purchase of another service or with no cost but some customization limitations.
Wix is a popular drag-and-drop website builder that allows you to register a free domain name with the stipulation that it includes Wix’s name as well. This means that although you get your domain name for free, it will read yourdomainname.wix.com. This is a trade-off to consider when registering a domain name for free.
Best For
Wix is a great choice for first-time website owners who are looking to start a small personal brand under the Wix subdomain. You can eventually upgrade to a custom domain if you end up enjoying Wixs platform. We dont recommend it if youre planning to blog regularly, as there are better choices out there, such as WordPress.com.
Like Wix, Weebly offers a simple website builder with a free domain name that will appear as yourwebsite.weebly.com. You will have limited access to the site-building features, but you will save annual fees for domain names. This is a great option for temporary or basic websites.
Best For
Best For
Bluehost is an excellent option for small-to-medium business owners who want to choose a custom domain and choose their own CMS. With Bluehost, you can opt for any CMS platform, including CMS Hub, WordPress , or even Joomla.
Best For
Uploading In A Browser
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Create A Website With A Website Builder
A website builder is a tool that lets you create and design a website without having to deal with code. It uses a drag-and-drop editor to alter the sites appearance and offers plenty of pre-made template options to get you started.
To access the platform, youll have to pay a subscription fee. However, one of the advantages is that it includes hosting, simplifying the process of website creation. Some website builder platforms even let users register custom domain names.
The only limitation is that you will be bound to the features that come with the subscription plan, making it tricky if you want to build a more complex site.
Therefore, we recommend using a website builder if youre looking for the simplicity of the process and aiming to create a simple site with few pages, such as an online portfolio and a personal blog.
There are plenty of website builders in the market, but we will demonstrate the process using Hostinger Website Builder.
1. Set Up a Hostinger Account
First of all, get a Hostinger account by purchasing a web hosting plan. You can create a new account with your email or using a Google or account.
Once youve signed up for a plan, you can either register a new domain name or use a custom one if you bought a domain name elsewhere. That said, make sure it points to Hostingers server.
2. Choose a Template
The next step is picking a website template that matches your sites needs.
3. Customize Your Site