Why Do I Need A Domain
Your domain name is your unique identity. Domain names are used by businesses and individuals who plan on having an online presence. If you want to have a website or even a business email address, you need to have a domain name. This offers you the perfect stepping stone to start promoting yourself online and also protects you if you have a registered business and want to avoid anyone buying your matching domain.
How To Pick A Good Domain Name
This is a hard one and needs you to get extremely creative. Its difficult to find a good domain name that hasnt already been registered. Given the sheer number of websites on the internet, most of the names you come up with are likely already taken, especially in the .com space.
Nevertheless, its crucial to come up with a name thats unique and matches your brand. Importantly, it should be easy-to-remember. You can go with your own name for a personal blog or service. For other cases, a name that indicates your websites purpose would be best. For more help, you can refer to this post.
Before you search for a domain name, zero in on a keyword thats appropriate for a website. Its great if you can find a domain name that includes this keyword. You can also check out many online tools or blog name generators to come up with a domain name.
We recommend you to check our Blog Name Generator Tool.
Once you decide to register a domain name, you may think about registering it across multiple TLDs, to avoid messy copyright issues in the future.
Additional resources:
A Domain Name Has Authority
Hosting your content on a third party blogging or social media platform can seem unprofessional, and undermine your efforts to build a business or professional identity. Since these hosted platforms are often used for personal blogs and other kinds of informal sharing, it can be harder to establish your site as a trustworthy, authoritative source in your niche. Thats where domain name registration comes in. Your own domain name can let potential customers and clients know that youre a legitimate business with long term plans.
Recommended Reading: How To By Domain Name
How To Choose A Domain Name
Most businesses choose their business name as their domain name. And for most businesses that is a good choice. Its what your customers expect, and it is likely the first thing that comes up when people search your business.
But, for some businesses, people dont search your name. They search your product or your service. In those cases, it can help your website appear higher in the search results to include that product or service. This is part of whats known as search engine optimization, or SEO.
Example:
Business name plus product:
groot-potted-plants.com
Most important is having a domain name that is short, easy to spell and in line with your brand.
Read more about it in this guide to choosing a domain name.
How To Use Domains With Jimdo
A domain is included in every Jimdo premium plan. So after your upgrade, you can register your domain name straight away.
Register your domain first: This is an important first step! Sometimes, people make the mistake of printing business cards with a domain name they havent registered yet. And then they find out the domain is not available Thats an unfortunate situation you can easily avoid, by claiming your domain as soon as you can.
This is how you register a domain name at Jimdo:
- upgrade your website to a premium plan
- go to the dashboard of your website and open the domains section
- click Add your included domain and follow the steps
Do you have your own domain name already? No worries, you can transfer your existing domain to Jimdo.
Alternatively you can adjust your DNS settings at your domain hoster, to connect your domain to your Jimdo website. Thats called a redirect. There are several kinds of redirects and this article will show you exactly how to choose and set up the fitting redirect for your situation.
Redirects sound very technical , but to your domain hoster this is everyday work. So, no need to worry: they can help you set it up.
Read Also: How To Restore Domain Controller
Consider Using Local Places In Domain Names
If you don’t intend to promote your site to many places, you can add your business location and location to the domain name so that those in the neighborhood find your company.
I wish you all success!
See more:
Picking The Best Domain Registrar For Your Website
Once youve picked out a domain name, youll need to choose a domain registrar, which is the company where youll purchase it. When shopping around for a registrar, here are a few things to keep an eye on:
- Domain transfers. Check out the registrars transfer policy. If its complicated or expensive, keep looking.
- Pricing. Some companies offer lower prices for the first year and then increase them when its time for renewal. You may even be locked into a multi-year contract.
- Expiration policy. If you forget to renew the lease, someone else can take it from you. Therefore, look for a registrar that offers automatic renewals and a grace period.
- Domain privacy protection. As a website owner, youre required to add your personal information to a public database. Domain privacy protection hides your primary contact information to help keep your identity secure.
- Subdomains. You dont have to register subdomains separately. However, youll want to ensure that your registrar makes it easy to add subdomains to your site.
There are plenty of registrars you can use. However, sometimes it makes sense to register your domain through your hosting provider.
Recommended Reading: How To Create A Business Domain Email
Purchase Your Domain Name And Complete Its Registration
Once you settle on a domain name, its time to purchase it. When you buy through Mailchimp, well let you know the annual cost of the domain name as well as any available discounts.
During the checkout process, youll be required to enter your contact information, including an email address, to register the domain.
Domain Names Can Communicate Expectations
Sometimes you cant find a great branded domain name or your market is too competitive to earn business through brand recognition. In these cases, you can strategically use your domain name to set consumer expectations and increase click-through rates.
For instance, if you operate a lawn care service in a large city like Tampa, you might find it difficult to grow a brand identity due to the amount of competition. Rather than choosing a branded domain name that few people would recognize, you might get more value by picking a domain name like TampaLawnCare.com.
While you cant trademark the name because it is a general term, it does help you clearly set expectations to your website visitors. Moreover, choosing targeted keywords in your market or industry can help you improve your local SEO.
Related: Domain SEO Can including keywords in a domain name improve search ranking?
Recommended Reading: How To Make An Email With Your Domain
What Is A Domain Name
A domain name is a string of text that maps to a numeric , used to access a website from client software. In plain English, a domain name is the text that a user types into a browser window to reach a particular website. For instance, the domain name for Google is google.com.
The actual address of a website is a complex numerical IP address , but thanks to , users are able to enter human-friendly domain names and be routed to the websites they are looking for. This process is known as a DNS lookup.
Difference Between Website Vs Domain Name Vs Website Hosting
Youll hear people talk about websites, domains and hosting. Those terms are all different, but very closely connected. Lets unpack this, shall we?
A website is a set of content, published on the internet. It is the collection of texts, images, designs etc. that you use to promote your business online.
All that information is stored on a server. This storing is also called website hosting. So thats where website hosting comes in. If you build a Jimdo website, it is stored on servers run by Jimdo.
If you register a domain name at a company, that company is called a domain host. So thats where the terms often flow together: the word host can mean different things in the context of websites.
You May Like: Where To Find Public Domain Images
What Is The Domain Name System
The Domain Name System is a technical process by which domain names are translated into their corresponding Internet Protocol addresses .
As we mentioned previously, every website has a unique, complex string of numbers and letters known as an IP address that computers use to render a web address to an end user.
While humans use words, letters and numbers to navigate to a specific website, the internet uses IP addresses to identify the web pages location.
When you type in the domain name or URL that you want to visit, the DNS works behind the scenes to find the sites correct IP address, and then it connects you to the website.
Can You Own A Domain Name
While you hear a lot about people buying, selling, and owning a domain name, the reality is that the registry owns all of its registered domain names.
When you “buy” a domain, you’re really leasing it or buying the right to reserve a domain name for your use for a certain amount of time â usually not more than 10 years. Still, it’s always possible to keep renewing a domain name, which means that people and companies can effectively control it indefinitely.
Recommended Reading: How To Register Ie 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.
Keep Your Domain Name On Brand
Theres no question that your domain name should reflect your brand, ideally using the same name plus a keyword to optimize its searchability. However, when you think of branding the first things that come to mind are probably names, slogans and logo design. Many entrepreneurs and creatives tend to overlook the branding aspect of their sites domain name until everything else has been decided, which often leads to unnecessary headaches and even losing customers.
Lets imagine you finally take the step to open your own plant nursery. You spend months and money purchasing everything you need, picking the perfect name and creating a beautiful logo. But when you go to register your domain name you realize a plant nursery two cities away already owns it. Now, you need to choose between rebranding all your assets or settling for a different website address, which could potentially guide your audience to the other business.
In order to avoid this, its important to register your domain name as soon as you choose your business name. You can even streamline the process by using a business name generator that immediately shows you the available domains related to each idea.
Read Also: How To Use Domain For Email
What Is Dns Caching
DNS caching occurs when a DNS server stores the results of its query in a local cache. It then sends those cached records to requesting clients instead of sending them back to the authoritative DNS servers.
This process can help speed up Internet browsing because it reduces the number of queries that need to be made by your computer or mobile device. However, in some situations, DNS caching can result in errors you can only resolve by waiting or clearing the cache.
The other alternative is to disable the cache, but it is not a recommended step since it will slow down your web browsing.
To Solidify Your Brand Identity
A domain name that matches or resembles your company name can help you establish a consistent online brand identity. A visitor moving from your websites homepage to blog to knowledge base, for example, will notice that the core domain name remains consistent, as do other elements like the color scheme and typography.
Read Also: How To Tell If A Domain Name Is Taken
Domain Name Registrars And Registries
We’ve gone over what domain names are, how they work, and why you should have one, but how do you actually get your own domain name? If you think of a catchy name for your personal site or business, how do you get it recorded in the DNS so that people can start using your domain name to access your website?
The truth is that having your own domain name is easier than ever before. Registration fees are only $10â$15 a year, and the registration process is quick and simple. And once you have your own domain name, you have immediate access to all the advantages that come with it.
To understand that better, let’s first go over domain name registrars and registries.
How To Buy A Domain Name: Domain Registration Guide
What you need to know about domain names, how to choose the right one, and the steps to take to check if a domain name is available and to register your domain.
If you want to start a blog or a new online business, youll need to register a domain name, the name for your website. Getting the right domain for your needs might sound technical at first, but the process is pretty simple.
This domain registration guide will tell you what you need to know about domain name extensions, how to choose the right one for your needs, and the steps youll need to take to check if a domain name is available and to register your domain.
Also Check: How To Set Up Email On Domain
What’s The Difference Between A Domain Name And A Url
As you read this article, you might be looking up at the address bar and wondering whether that’s all part of Codecademy’s domain name. What you’re actually looking at is the uniform resource locator or URL.
The URL contains the domain name and two other important pieces of information: the transfer protocol and the path. Note that some browsers, like Google Chrome, no longer display the full URL in the address bar. If you’re using Chrome and can’t see the full URL, right-click the address bar and click “Always Show Full URLs.”
The transfer protocol is the convention used between the computer and the server on the internet .
The path name contains information about a specific page or file within a website. For example, everything you see in your address bar to the right of “Codecademy.com/” is the URL path.
Just like a file path on your computer, the URL path for this article is unique and allows you to easily access this page later on or share it with your friends on social media.
Where To Buy A Domain Name
You can get your own domain name at a domain hoster. These companies have been granted permission to register domains for clients. Jimdo works with such a company to provide the domains for Jimdo customers.
Tech talk: Buying a domain is a strange expression. When you register a domain, you will be listed as the owner. However, most registrations run for one year. At the end of that year, you need to extend the registration. So practically, its more like renting a domain.
Normally, you can only buy a domain if it is available. However, sometimes the owner of a domain is not using it. Thats where you sometimes hear stories of companies offering to buy a domain name from its current owner.
If the owner agrees, the name and contact details for the registration are changed to the new owner, who can then connect the domain to their business website. This is usually a more expensive option than registering a new domain.
Don’t Miss: Can I Buy A Domain For Life
How Do Domains Work
Every website has two main elements a domain name and a web hosting server. All domain names are linked to their respective IP addresses and point to the specific web servers that host the websites.
When a user enters a domain name into a browser, it looks for the associated IP address through a global network of Domain Name System servers.
Next, the server with the information about the IP address returnS it to the web browser which requests data about the site from the domains hosting service. This web server stores all of the websites data, including its files, database, and HTML code.
Once the host has sent the data back, the web browser converts it into a web page that users can visit.
Domain Names Do Not Contain Special Characters
Domain registration containing special characters such as ‘-‘ or ‘+’ hyphens will make the domain name longer and reduce the domain professionalism. Try visualizing a counselor calling customers to attend a professional seo course: ‘ Please visit the website dao-tao-seo.com for more details and the opening schedule. course ‘. Is it a lack of professionalism? Similarly, you should also avoid zero because it is often mistaken for an o.
The domain name of North Asia bank is a typical example: baca-bank.vn
Read Also: Should You Put Llc In Your Domain Name