What Happens When I Buy A Domain Name

Keep Your Services Separate

Its never a good idea to have all your services with one company. With Shopify you would end up using them for every aspect of your online store. From your domain name, hosting, CMS and the online store website builder. All with one company.

While the upside of this is ease of use, what happens if you ever want to move your store away from Shopify? Then it becomes a bit complicated and even more so if your domain name is registered through them. You can move a domain name from Shopify domain to a domain registrar, which is called a domain name transfer, but that process is costly in terms of time and price.

So why not save money and keep your portfolio of domains at a domain name registrar? On top of that, Shopify is registering your domain name on your behalf through a domain name registrar anyways and adding a small fee to make a profit. Instead, why not cut out Shopify from the equation and just register directly yourself?

How To Grab An Expiring Domain Name

Michael CygerJune 19, 2011 | Updated: May 4, 2017296

Years ago, when domain names expired they would drop, or become available for hand registration by anyone. Whoever was the quickest to register a dropped domain would be the new registrant. That is how many of the largest domainers, like Frank Schilling, built their enormous portfolios.

Today, the story is different. Domain name registrars realized that they could auction expired domain names to the highest bidder and generate additional revenue. If no one wanted the domain names in an auction, the domains would then drop and become available for anyone to register. Much of the time, however, domain names are successfully auctioned.

Because auctioning domain names is not the core competency of most domain name registrars, they partner with an auction house.

Youve Bought A Domain Name Now Do This

So, these were the 10 fun ways for everyone wondering what to do with their purchased domain names.

The possibilities are endless, you just have to decide what you have your passion in and what can be profitable for you on the long run.

The best option to use your purchased domain is to make a website/blog around it. Eventually, this can become your own online business and you could add more elements to it in the future.

So, what have you thought about using your domain?

Are you still worried about what to do with your domain? Got any idea that I didnt cover?

P.S.If you liked this article, you would also like the article 10 mistakes to avoid when building a successful blog from scratch.

Read Also: How To Transfer A Domain To Squarespace

More Naming Tools To Come Up With Concepts

Stuck? Dont worry. This is a tricky process.

My recommendation: Listen to this podcast episode with Anthony Shore from Operative Word, a company that specializes in naming things.

Hes named the on-demand fitness system Tonal and Virgin Voyages . He uses a variety of tools, too, which Ill list here:

OneLook.com This is like a thesaurus juiced up with killer capabilities and wildcarding options. Say you want a name that starts with Bl and ends with rd, and its seven letters long you can literally search for that.

RhymeZone Pretty self explanatory. Bet you didnt know that Quick Sprout rhymes with six out, big trout, this crowd, clear out, and sixth round. In addition to rhymes, you can also find synonyms and adjectives.

Sketch Engine This is very intense corpus linguistics database it uses a large body of real world language that it runs through a computer to organize and tag that language. Anthony sets his to all the news articles from 20142017. You can look up words that are used near or in relationship with other words. Basically, youre finding words that are already natural together. This makes your name more relatable, credible, and adoptable. He talks about it more on the How Brands Are Built podcast.

MRC Psycholinguistic Database He talks about this more in the podcast its a pretty advanced way to search for words with certain criteria. You can use it to find words that start or end a certain way for example.

How To Register A Domain Name For Your Website

Your company needs a website, which means it needs a domain name. Your first step is registering a domain name, which can be daunting for first-timers. Don’t worry: Our guide walks you through it.

Once you’ve decided to build a website, you need to make an important decision, even before you consult our best web hosting services roundup: What’s your domain name going to be? You know, it’s the web address by which all your many customers find you. Your domain name is, in effect, the name of your website, so you want to make sure you get a good one. Purchasing a name is a relatively simple process, but finding one that isn’t already taken can be a challenge. In addition, you’ll also want to make sure you understand the contract between you and the domain name registrar. If this is starting to sound a bit complicated, don’t worry: This primer can help you get started.

Read Also: Can I Transfer My Domain Name To Another Host

How Can I Get A Free Domain For Com

You only need to register for any of the web hosting plans that offer a free domain name. However, make sure the value is enough for you to buy the .com TLD.For example, if you sign up for Hostingers Premium or Business shared hosting plans, you will get a free domain for one year with the value equivalent of a .com TLD.

Dont Sell Yourself Cheap

Another true story: An entrepreneur went looking for the .com version of a business domain and it was already taken, but for sale on the domain aftermarket for $2,500 a price he considered too high to shell out for the ideal domain name. He decided to go with the .net version because it was available at a normal price.

Within a few years, the business exploded their product was everywhere. This happy entrepreneur then decided to invest in the .com version of the businesss domain name.

Heres the catch: A lot of people had been typing .com instead of .net when searching for the businesss website. The impressive number of hits to the parked web page attached to the premium .com domain had spiked its price to $15,000.

So, if you know you want a domain for your business and its available as a premium domain, save up and invest in the perfect domain at the beginning. You can save yourself money in the long run.

Read Also: Godaddy To Squarespace

Buying A Domain Name This Is What You Need To Know

Anthony Heddings is the resident cloud engineer for LifeSavvy Media, a technical writer, programmer, and an expert at Amazon’s AWS platform. He’s written hundreds of articles for How-To Geek and CloudSavvy IT that have been read millions of times. Read more…

A domain name is your websites location on the internet. It translates the digits that make up your IP address into something catchy that people can remember. Domain names are bought through Domain Name Registrars, companies that manage the reservation of domain names and point them to your website.

RELATED:What Is DNS, and Should I Use Another DNS Server?

What If My Domain Is Already Taken

If someone already has your domain, you might still be able to buy it, but it will cost more. This is because instead of buying it from a registrar for a standard price, youll have to buy it off of whoever has it. Many people register domains they think could be profitable and then sell them on domain marketplaces like Sedo and Afternic. You can try searching those services if you need that specific domain.

The cheaper thing to do though is to try a different top level domain . There are many mainstream ones like .org, .net, and .co, but also some more obscure ones like .xyz, .biz, and .business. Often these wont be taken, and you can find a domain with the same name by buying one of these.

Read Also: How Much Does It Cost For A Domain Name

Hire A Professional Website Designer

This option will cost you more but require less of your time. In most cases, youll need to supply the content for your website including text and images but a designer can put it all together to give you a beautiful, highly functional website.

Editors note: The experts at GoDaddys Website Design Service can create a mobile-friendly, beautiful site that reflects your industry while following your lead and input.

Its An Easy & Inexpensive Way To Protect Your Identity Online The Cost To Prevent The Problems I Outlined Is Very Low

Domain names are less than $15/year. I also recommend adding privacy . Thats full price at GoDaddy, but RARELY do I pay full price. My last purchase was $11.87. You can usually find coupons or get a discount for buying 5 at a time. You can also save by just buying the .com versions. If you really want to protect it, buy the .net and .org, but skip all the other variations. Some great places to buy domains are Namecheap, Bluehost and Host Gator

Read Also: What To Do After Buying A Domain

Choose The Best Domain Name Option

When youre checking for available domain names, youll often find that your first, second, and tenth choices are already taken. Some of the different approaches you can take when this happens are:

• Keep searching. Let your creative juices flow, and continue to search until you find something you love or at least like.
• Choose another extension. If the .com isnt available and youre set on a certain name, consider the .net or .org if you think it will work.
• Reach out to the owner. Maybe the domain is already owned, but its not being put to much use. You could reach out to the owner with an offer.

S To Your Dream Domain

Now that you are ready to take the plunge and go for that perfect domain for your project, lets look at a few final steps which will give you the best chance at walking away with that name. There are really only a few steps involved in buying a domain:

Of course, you can apply variations and tactics to each step, but I am confident someone with little domain buying experience can make a decent go of getting the exact name they want if they follow the steps below.

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The Parts Of A Domain Name

There are two parts to every domain name: a second-level domain and a top-level domain .The second-level domain is the part of the domain name to the left of the dot the part that you come up with. For example, in Namecheap.com, the second-level domain is Namecheap.

The top-level domain name is the part to the right of the dot, such as .com domain extension, .org, .net, and so forth. There are hundreds of top-level domain names you can choose from when creating a domain name. While .com is the most popular TLD, there are also country code domain names like .ca , .de , and .uk as well as descriptive domains like .money, .blog, and yes, even .pizza!

Get Started Online With The Right Domain Name

Your domain name sets the tone for your online presence, and finding the right one can take time and effort. But, with options ranging from entirely free to five figures or more, anyone on just about any budget can buy a domain name to launch a business or a brand.

Domain.com has the tools you need to continue building your business into a success.

Kristin Crabb

Content Marketing Strategist working in the digital marketing industry. Skilled in SEO-focused content creation, keyword research and competitive analysis, interactive content, web content optimization, and landing page creation.

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Choose The Right Domain Extension

When picking the extension or TLD for your domain name, .com is still the best choice unless you have a reason to choose something else. Roughly 43% of all domains have a .com extension, making it what people expect to see the most.

While Google confirms that your choice of TLD will not impact rankings, it does affect consumer perception. Many people view other TLDs as less trustworthy.

That said, .net or .org extensions are not uncommon, so they can be good secondary options if you find the perfect name and the coveted .com isnt available.

But if you do decide to go with an extension other than a .com, make sure you take a look at what type of website is currently on the .com extension. Someone is bound to go there accidentally while looking for your brand. If the site holds fishy or offensive content, you might want to steer clear of that name altogether.

Finally, avoid those niche domain name extensions like .space, .club, .pizza, unless you really think theyll enhance your brand.

Complete Control Over Your Domain

There are some registrars that only provide partial control over your domain.

This could include the registrar adding their own contact information to portions of your domain details , or even preventing you from making critical updates to your domain settings .

Your potential domain provider should be able to tell you their policies on this before you register your domain name, so dont be afraid to ask if youre going to have full control of your own domain before you register it.

Recommended Reading: Squarespace To Godaddy

Can I Transfer My Domain Name To Hostinger

Yes, its possible to transfer a domain name from another registrar to Hostinger.

However, there are a few requirements before transferring a domain to your web hosting account:

• More than 60 days must have passed from the registration or last transfer date.
• You must have the domains auth-code from your current registrar.
• The domains WHOIS privacy protection has to be disabled.
• You have to point your domain name to Hostinger.
• The domains status cannot be Pending Delete or Redemption.

To transfer a domain to Hostinger, go to the Hostinger Transfer Domain page and enter your domain name. Then click Transfer.

After finishing the order and entering the domain EPP code, the transfer process will begin and youll receive an email regarding the domain transfer that you will have to confirm.

The domain registration will also be renewed for a year after the transfer, except for ccTLDs like .es, .co.uk, or .com.br.

Keep in mind that your website might be unavailable during the DNS changes, which can take up to 24 hours to propagate fully.