Tuesday, March 26, 2024

How To Register A Domain Without A Registrar

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Protect Your Online Privacy When You Register A Domain

Best Place to Buy a Domain Name? (2022) | 7 Domain Registrars Compared!

Now that you have a better understanding of private domain registration, you can protect the personal information attached to your websites. Adding this layer of privacy can help prevent identity theft, hacking attempts, and spam.

To add privacy to your domain, you can either:

  • Choose private domain registration when purchasing your domain
  • Add domain privacy protection using your host dashboard or by contacting your registrar

DreamHost is one of the most popular hosting and domain services on the web. All of our plans include free private domain registration. Plus, you can easily add it to existing domains too!

Purchase Your Chosen Domain

After finding the best domain name for your project, its time to proceed with the checkout.

During this step, youll also need to choose the domain registration period. Registrars offer a variety of durations from one to ten years. Before the initial registration period ends, the registrar will alert you to renew it.

Also, domain registration companies typically require users to pay for a minimum period of one year. However, other registrars might have a longer minimum registration period, like two years.

To purchase a domain at Hostinger, continue the process from the domain checker page and press the Add to cart button next to the domain. Then, click Continue to cart.

From the shopping cart window, select the Period drop-down list and choose the registration period. Click the Checkout Now button to finish the order.

The next step is to log in or create an account to complete the payment process.

With that taken care of, continue the checkout process and choose a payment processor.

Provide your billing information and review the order. Then, finish the website domain purchase.

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Whether you’re starting a new business, or looking to upgrade your domain name, you’re in luck. Registering a domain name involves just a few short steps. Despite it being a straightforward process, you don’t want to rush it.

Switching domain names after you launch is something you want to avoid when possible. Doing so can negatively impact your search engine rankings and make it harder for users to find your website.

Whether youre starting a blog, showcasing your portfolio online, or opening an online store, your domain acts as the primary reference point for users looking to find your website, making it inseparable from your brand.

Thats why its crucial to consider your domain name carefully, pick one with long-term potential, and make sure that youve registered it correctly. We walk you through the exact process on how to register a domain name in 5 simple steps.

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How To Backorder A Domain

The process outlined above is the easiest way to buy a domain name that is taken, but sometimes that isnt possible. If you still cant get the domain you want, your other option is to backorder it.

Backordering means that you wait for a domains ownership to expire and purchase it the moment it becomes available.

However, keeping track of a domains expiration date manually can be tricky, so youll want to use a backordering service.

Some of the popular options:

However, even if you use a backordering service, theres no guarantee that youll get the domain you want. The current owner still has to let their ownership of the domain expire, and many hosting services give owners an extra grace period where they can renew after the official expiration date. Typically, thats 75 extra days.

Why A Domain Name Matters

Free Domain Name Registration Only Without Hosting

A good domain name will represent your brand online and act as your companys home on the web. A good domain name affects your business in three main areas:

  • It ensures a good first impression. Your website will often be a potential customers first exposure to your business. A personalized domain name will help your audience perceive you as credible, reliable, and authoritative in your professional field.

  • Its a solid foundation for brand building. Your domain name can help enhance your company’s name recognition if it stands out, is memorable and in tune with the rest of your branding assets. It helps users add value to your brand or business, by creating associations to your name and website.

  • Itll improve your brands SEO potential. While Google doesnt determine website ranking based on a domain name alone, a good one can positively affect your sites SEO . Visitors unaware of your brand could click on your website from a search engine results page if it matches their intent. For example, someone searching for backpacks will likely click on qualitypacks.com over an unfamiliar brand name.

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Protect Your Personal Information From Becoming Public Knowledge

When you register a domain name, your owner information is added to the public registry. This means anyone will be able to see your name, address, phone number, and email address. This can be a problem for your privacy at best youll be targeted with spam, and at worse you could be a victim of identity theft.

To hide this information, youll need some form of domain ID protection. These add-ons essentially mask your information to the outside world and use placeholders instead. While mail is still forwarded to your inbox, theres a protective layer between you and the sender.

If you use Namecheap, youll get free access to WhoisGuard included with your purchase. WhoisGuard will mask your personal information to ensure its not publicly available.

Purchase The Domain Name

When you have settled on the domain name and a suffix, you will pay to register the domain name with the domain registrar. This is not a one-time purchase, however. Typically, you will pay to own the domain name for one year, after which you can renew your registration for a fee. You can expect a registration fee of about $10 to $15.

Also Check: How To Transfer Domain From WordPress Com To WordPress Org

How To Set Up A Free Domain With Email Hosting

Get your free domain name with a very affordable email hosting plan.

Choose the IONOS email hosting plan you want to start with, and then follow the prompts to check the availability of your preferred domain name, add it to your cart, and checkout. Once your domain is ready for use you can set up email addresses on it right away.

Choose A Domain Name Registrar

How To Buy A Domain Name: Register A Domain Name On Namecheap

A registrar is a company that reserves and registers domain names on your behalf. When you purchase a domain name, either directly from a registrar or through a web-hosting service, its registered to the DNS for you.

Though there are more than a thousand accredited registrars, its best to stick with more well-known providers. Using a common provider will make it easier to find info on managing your domain and to troubleshoot issues you might have with syncing your domain to other services.

Domains can be purchased from a number of different types of businesses. You might choose to purchase one from a website-building platform , a web-hosting service , or directly from a domain registrar .

Many registrars offer hosting and vice-a-versa. This can be a great way to keep all your website tasks under one roof, but isn’t necessary. You can purchase a domain one place, and use a different company to host if you so choose.

How much does a domain name cost?

Domain names arent sold for a flat-rate. Instead, theyre paid for on a recurring basis . When considering the costs of your domain, be mindful of the difference between the starting price and the renewal price. Typically, basic .com domain names run in the ballpark of about 10-15 USD a year. Premium domains such as 4 letter domains or incredibly common terms can cost significantly higher.

  • WHOIS privacy protection: $14.95/year

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About the Author

Alexandra Leslies interest in website administration was sparked in her teens, priming her for a fast-paced career in managing, building, and contributing to online brands, including HostingAdvice, Forbes, and the blogs of prominent hosting providers. She brings firsthand experience reviewing web hosts, perfecting website design, optimizing content, and walking site owners through the steps that add up to a successful online presence. Today, she combines her extensive writing experience with technical understanding to unpack some of the most complex topics that daunt novice website owners, as well as the subjects that excite veteran technologists within the HostingAdvice readership.

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What Are The Benefits Of A Hosted Email For My Business

There are a number of benefits of using hosted email for your business.

First, hosted email gives you excellent performance and security. Since your business is the only organization using your email server, you can take advantage of all the available computing power to send and receive mail. Thats important for large businesses with many people sending and receiving emails, especially if those emails contain large attachments.

In addition, hosted email is flexible. If you need more storage space or more computing power in the future, your email host can simply connect another server to the one youre already using. More important, that connection can be temporaryso you can scale your email capacity up and down based on your businesss needs. While scaling up self-hosted email is possible, its expensive and theres no easy way to scale back down.

Another benefit of using hosted email for your business is that you can create an unlimited number of new email addresses at your custom domain. As a result, its easy to make an email for every employee at your organization, as well as to open email accounts for general purposes like customer support or sales.

Finally, using hosted email gives your business control over managing your email system. You can decide how big the maximum attachment size is for every new email address. You can also set up encryption or filters for organizing incoming mail.

Recommended Reading: How To Create A Domain Email In WordPress

Check The Availability Of Your Domain Name

Its now time to verify whether your top domain name choice is available for you to register. In order to do so, use a domain name search platform that enables you to try out an unlimited number of options for free. If your desired name is unavailable, it will come up with additional ideas so you can play around with alternatives until you find the perfect one.

Another good tip to consider if your domain name is already taken, is to try out your domain with different extensions likelihoods are youll find an available option that way. Additionally, you can add a keyword to your domain name or opt for an abbreviated version of your business name.

Can I Buy A Domain Name Without A Website

The 7 " Best"  Domain Name Registrars Compared (2022)

You can buy a domain name without a website, and there are a few reasons why you might want to do this. Maybe you want to reserve the domain name for a future project, or you want to use it for email or redirect it to another website. Whatever the reason, its easy to do and there are a few different ways to go about it.

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If The Domain Is Taken Input The Url In Your Browser And Access The Website

What do you do if the domain isnt available? We have good news. You still have a chance at buying it.

First up, access the URL on your browser. Its possible its a parked domain, which means that someone bought it for the purpose of reselling it. Usually, in these cases, you can easily submit a request for purchase. Heres one example of a parked domain at greatstore.com:

When you click on the top banner, youll be taken to a form where you can reach out to a sales team to buy the domain.

Once there, it may or may not be easy to tell who the domain parking authority is. In this case, its GoDaddy. If you head to the GoDaddy website and search for the domain, you can easily find pricing information and then immediately add it to your cart if its within your budget.

Complete the domain buying process just as you would for any other domain.

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.

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Can A Domain Be Obtained And Used Without A Domain Registrar

I guess the greater question should be Why is a domain registrar necessary, but does one for ease of the average man. I understand that the purpose of a registrar is so that way all people have to do is type into their browsers http://www.example.com/most_trafficked_domain_ever and they are taken to your physical server location, regardless of if you move.

That being said, is it not possible for them to connect directly to your domain without a registrar?

*I assume it is, that is how “some parts” of the internet work.

  • Well, I suppose you could just give out your IP Address. You would just be limited to one website per server without virtual hosting.

You can run a website on an IP address like http://192.0.2.4/. Doing so does not require a domain name. However, IP addresses are typically tied to a specific hosting company or internet service provider. If you want to move your website to a new host or ISP, your IP address will change.

Obtaining a domain name allows you to map that domain name to the current IP address of your website and to update that IP address when you change hosting. To get a domain name, you need to register one at a domain registrar. There is no way to get a domain name without going through a registrar.

  • Query NS records from the root name servers for .com
  • Query NS records from .com’s name servers for example.com
  • Query example.com’s name servers for the IP address of example.com

See also:

Why Does Cloudflare Offer Domain Names At No Cost

Domain Registration: Everything You Need to Know

Domain registrars sometimes try to take advantage of customers by luring them in with low initial registration fees, then marking up the prices for renewal hugely because customers often have no choice but to renew. However, registrars are essentially acting as middlemen, and the prices they charge are commonly disproportionate to the value they actually provide.

Cloudflare is on a mission to build a better Internet, and offering domain names without marked-up prices is one way to ensure that anyone with an idea can take advantage of the power of the Internet. Anyone should be able to start a business, promote an organization, or build a web application without worrying they will be charged unnecessarily for keeping their domain name. For this reason, Cloudflare passes along the prices charged by top-level domains and ICANN without any additional fees.

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How To Get A Domain Name For Free

Of course, the previous steps have all assumed youre willing to pay to purchase and maintain your domain name. However, you can also legitimately register a domain for free if you look in the right places.

One of the easiest ways is to sign up for a hosting plan that offers a free domain name, like Bluehost. If you want to make a website, youll need to pay for hosting anyway, so why not get a free domain name as part of the process?

Some registrars also offer some domain extensions for free for a set period to entice people to buy them. Common free domain extensions are:

Freenom is a good place to start for free domain names using those extensions.

While youre unlikely to get a free domain longer than a year, this could be enough for small projects. You can always purchase your domain name once your website grows.

Another way to get a free domain name is to choose a hosted platform to build your website, such as Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress.com. These companies offer full-featured packages for building a website even .com domain names in some cases but with less overall control. For instance, you may need to agree to host ads on your site.

Register Your Domain Name To Give Your Website The Uniqueness It Deserves

While registering your domain name may be a short-term task, its a long-term commitment. Whatever youre building a website for, your domain will act as the anchor of your online presence and stick with you for years to come.

It can help your SEO, act as a pathway for users to learn more about your brand, and make it easier for customers to spread the word about your products.

Recommended Reading: Are There Any Free Domains

How To Register A Domain Name For Your Website

If you want to build a website, you need to buy a domain name. Registering one can be a daunting task for newcomers, but our helpful guide walks you through the process.

Since 2004, I’ve penned gadget- and video game-related nerd-copy for a variety of publications, including the late, great 1UP Laptop Parenting Sync Wise Bread and WWE. I now apply that knowledge and skillset as the Managing Editor of PCMag’s Apps & Gaming team.

My career has taken me through an eclectic assortment of fields, and connected me with people from all walks of life. This experience includes construction, professional cooking, podcasting, and, of course, writing. Ive been typing up geeky takes since 2009, ultimately landing a freelancing position at PCMag. This blossomed into a full-time tech analyst position in 2021, where I lend my personal insight on the matters of web hosting, streaming music, mobile apps, and video games.

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