Try For A Different Top Level Domain
If your domain name is not available in the .com extension, try to get a different TLD instead. As long as the current .com domain isnt trademarked or in a similar niche, you could register using .co, .shop, .biz, or other trustworthy TLDs.
To check for trending TLDs, head to NameStat. You can check the biggest selling and fastest growing TLDs to help decide your domain extension.
To see which TLDs to avoid, check Spamhaus, a tool that analyzes the TLDs with the worst reputations, so you can create a trustworthy domain.
Once you find some great ideas, youll want to take the final step in choosing a domain.
Pick A Trustworthy Domain Registrar
The domain registrar is a company that registers a domain name on your behalf, and then gives you full access to that domain name.
The key with registrars is to only use respectable and trustworthy companies. You really dont want to run into any domain problems further down the line when your websites brand is already established and losing the domain would mean trouble.
The registrars we always recommend are:
- SiteGround our top recommended hosting company that also sells domain names.
How To Register Your Domain Name
With over 370 million domain registrations, and a 3% year-over-year growth rate, you want to lock in your domain fast.
If youre starting an ecommerce business, you can buy a domain name when registering your Shopify store rather than searching another domain registrar like GoDaddy or Namecheap.
By using the Domain Name Generator, you can find and register a domain name in just a few clicks. This will save you time getting your store live, so you can start selling faster.
If youre not ready to register your domain name yet, thats OK. You can use an auto-generated free domain name: yourstore.myshopify.com. That way, you can design your Shopify store and buy the best domain name for you when youre ready.
If youre not ready to register your domain name yet, thats OK. You can use an auto-generated free domain name: yourstore.myshopify.com. That way, you can design your Shopify store and buy the best domain name for you when youre ready.
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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.
How To Choose A Domain Name For Your Blog
Like finding a domain name for a business, choosing a domain name for your blog has many similar steps. But because businesses can start offline, you might not even have a name chosen for your blog yet!
Luckily, this means you have a better chance of finding a blog name and domain name that are a perfect match, but you’ll need to put in some elbow grease to find something unique. According to Blogging.org, there are more than 500 million blogs on the internet. But don’t be discouraged! Here are some steps to help you find the right domain name for you.
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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:
Check The Domain History Via Whois
Right after Wayback Machine, who.is is your other go-to tool for getting to know the history of a given domain name. This one is very useful for at least two reasons:
- First, you can see the current domain info stuff like who the owner is who the registrar is, and so on. Theres no point in me listing everything here just go to who.is, input your favorite website and see whats up.
- Second, who.is gives you access to a whois history report. This is a paid service $10 but the price tag is rather small in relation to what you get in return, which is all the whois data associated with a given domain name from the very beginning. This means that you can see what the domains history is, when it was registered, and how many times it potentially changed hands.
In the end, if youre considering getting an existing domain, which can be quite pricey, spending an additional $10 doesnt seem that brutal. Plus, it can save you headaches later on.
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Type #: Country Code Top
Moving to the next one, ccTLDs are fitted in specific countries. So, every country has its country code, of course, that doesnt mean you must use one just because you are located there. For example, the ccTLD for the UK is .uk, for Canada .ca, for the USA .us, and so on. Bear in mind that if youre aiming at an international, rather than national, audience this type of domain name can be limiting. But, if you want to create a website name in a specific country and approach a more local audience base, this is the domain type for you.
Businesses Dont Own Domain Names
The first thing to keep in mind is that you are registering a domain name, not buying it.
Nobody really owns a domain name in the same way that they own an automobile or a house.
There is often a false sense of ownership with domains.
This is just something to keep in mind when approaching the registration of a domain name.
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A Strategic Approach To Choosing The Perfect Domain Name
Your URL offers a chance to leave a good first impression. Thats why a strong domain name is essential for the success of your website. So, if youre ready to land that perfect domain name, remember these handy tips and click below to start your search today.
About the Author: Stefanus Hadi, Ph.D.
Stefanus Hadi, Ph.D., is Product Research Manager at DreamHost. He is responsible for directing and managing the companys partnerships with various domain registries, including those that control TLDs like .com, .online, .shop, .xyz, .club, .art, .io, .co, .me, and many others. In his free time, Stefanus enjoys outdoor activities, visits national parks regularly, and serves as a member of a Los Angeles high school support group. Connect with Stefanus on LinkedIn:
Select The Right Extension
The great top level .com is still the king for domain extensions, for both SEO and memorability.
But there are a lot more domain extensions than there used to be, and if used strategically you shouldnt have any problems.
Theyve got pretty explosive growth, actually. New, non-traditional extensions grew by 145% from 2016 to 2017.
So while .com claims the crown, for now, trends are changing in the extension world. And thats good news for a new website.
Because the new domain suffixes the .xyz, .tech, .nyc, etc. are by far more affordable than the traditional top-level domains.
And affordability is a factor that, unless youre a monster conglomeration, has to be balanced against the other elements.
If you can snag a .com for a decent price its possible you should go for it, as long as it meets all of the other requirements outlined here.
If not, youre better off going with a new domain extension. Given the trend, the acceptability of it will only increase with time, similar to domestic wines.
Wondering where to register your new domain name? Check out places like Name.com, , NameCheap, and eNom.
Ultimately, the litmus test for an extension will depend on how closely your domain name adheres to the other factors outlined here like brandable, memorable, and typable.
Lets run through a few now.
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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.
Keep It Simple To Speak
It is essential to keep your domain name easy to verbally speak. Word-of-mouth is a great way to get free exposure. If someone likes your website, they might tell their friends about it. You can make a lot of sales from these referrals. But if it is hard to say your domain name, you will get a lot less word-of-mouth traffic. This is not as hard as it sounds. Say your domain name out loud. Does it roll off your tongue? If not, consider changing it.
Another key to keeping your domain name easy to speak is to avoid the use of hyphens. Some people dont know what they are called, which will make it much harder for them to tell others how to get to your website verbally. Some people like to use complex words and phrases. This might make you sound fancy, but it wont get your sales. Simple is always better.
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Make Your Domain Name Radio Test Friendly
One way to make sure youre keeping your domain short, simple, and easy to communicate is to use the radio test. The radio test is an assessment of how easy or difficult it is to understand your domain name when said outloud. This works great for determining the complexity of a domain name, especially in the era of voice search. It also helps you gauge how well people might understand your domain name when they first come across it.Imagine a situation where youre at a networking event and happen to mention your websites domain. If people dont understand it when they hear it, they will probably forget it and you could potentially lose valuable partnerships.
Take for instance www.thecooking.sitea domain name that is easy to remember and one that will definitely pass the radio test.
How To Choose The Right Domain Name
Which is harder: Naming your kid or choosing a domain?
Sure, your bambino is stuck with the moniker you choose until they can get a judge to change it, but you wont need to reinvent the wheel to come up with something to call them. You can look to historical figures, literary characters, or even your favorite TV show for inspiration.
However, when it comes to a domain, youve got to make sure your digital baby is truly unique. No repeats allowed.
So what makes a good domain name?
Generally speaking, youll want something memorable, brandable, and easy for people to type and pronounce. Its also smart to avoid anything too long or overly specific. By following a few simple guidelines, you can pick out a name that helps to drive more traffic your way.
In this guide, Ill explain why your domain name matters and share 11 factors to consider when making this decision. Ill also discuss the best places to register a domain and how you can get a free one along with your web hosting. Lets get started!
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Register Your Corresponding Social Media Handles
Social media is key these days whether we like it or not.
The average web-connected human , and, in total, a month. Thats BILLION.
What Im trying to say is: People are much more likely to check whats going on with your brand on Facebook than by actually visiting your website. This is just one of the reasons why you absolutely have to have your professional profiles set up on the most popular social media sites.
Whenever possible, get the same handles as your domain name. If these are taken, be creative and use some suffixes or prefixes. Some options: now, daily, hq, get, app. For example, my fictional Lotterio.com brand could go by LotterioHQ on Twitter.
Country Code Top Level Domain
Country code top-level domains are domains that are specific to a country.
Domains in the .ca, and the .uk registry are ccTLDs.
Site visitors tend to prefer ccTLDs that are specific to their country.
So if your clients are in Australia, it might make sense to use the .au version of the domain.
Traditionally, ccTLD domains tended to convert a higher rate within their respective countries.
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Protect And Build Your Brand
To protect your brand, consider purchasing various domain extensions, as well as misspelled versions of your domain name. This prevents competitors from registering other versions and ensures your customers are directed to your website, even if they mistype it.
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Keep Your Domain Name Length Short And Simple
It goes without saying that using a word like antidisestablishmentarianism in your domain name is a ticket to having a lonely website.
If you can shorten up your domain name while still maintaining your brandability, youre golden. Noah Kagan of SumoMe reportedly spent 1.5 million dollars on shortening his domain by two characters.
What was the big transformation?
His site transformed from Sumome.com to Sumo.com.
Thats $750,000 per character.
Dave Asprey of Bulletproof Coffee fame took a similar approach, axing coffee from his domain name BulletproofCoffee.com, instead going to Bulletproof.com.
Why did they do this?
Because generally speaking, when it comes to choosing your domain name, shorter is better. Shorter domain names are simply easier to remember, type, and share.
And rather than spending a million bucks later to shorten things up, why not keep it short to begin with?
Think of your favorite sites. Amazon. Google. Facebook. Twitter. Theyre all short domain names that are easy to remember and type.
When choosing your domain name, keep it short and sweet.
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How To Choose A Domain Name: Summary
Domain names are your digital street address. They can significantly shape a visitors perception of your brand.
Unfortunately, most of the one-hit names like Dogs.com were taken up in the early days of the internet. But that doesnt mean you cant find a great domain name for your new website.
Just use these eight tips when youre creating a new domain:
- Make it memorable.
- Keep it mobile-typing friendly.
- Add keywords but only if it makes sense.
- Go for a brandable domain name theyre valuable and easier to land than broad terms.
- Make sure you dont step on anyones registered trademark in the process.
- Choose the appropriate extension. While .com is still at the forefront, the newer and far cheaper extensions are becoming more popular by the day, so they may be worth considering, too.
- Use a domain name tool generator if youre stuck racking your brain for a name.
- Think about jump-starting the process by acquiring an expired or existing domain.
Finding the perfect domain name is a lot like finding the perfect song. What works best for your business and resonates most with users will inevitably change. But following these eight tips, youre sure to have a domain name that stands the test of time.
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