How To Buy A Domain Name In 5 Steps
Before we go any further, its worth noting that its only possible to register an existing domain name with a valid domain extension that other people or businesses dont already own.
Were going to dive deeper into the steps to register a domain name from finding a trusted registrar through which to buy a websites address to finally getting into the registration process.
Here are the five steps to buy a domain:
Namecheap: Cheap Prices Decent Service
NameCheap is as cheap as the name suggests. They offer great deals starting at just $8.88 for most .com domains, with some more obscure extensions even being under a dollar. Their DNS isnt bad either, offering free WhoIs protection and a robust DNS provider thats easy to manage and transfer.
They have a bulk search option that lets you search up to 50 domain names at once, so if you have a whole list of ideas, you can enter them all in, see which ones might be taken, and check the prices for different TLDs.
They do offer managed WordPress hosting through EasyWP, though its probably best to go with a better WordPress provider and forward the domain to that site.
Image Credits: Maxx-Studio/Shutterstock
Get Professional Help If Needed
This process can seem overwhelming and can be a lot to take on for a busy business owner.
However, if you do not feel that you are ready to tackle such a big project, you can find a host that helps substantially. As mentioned, many major hosts will help with transitioning your information over and this can be a huge relief for most businesses.
If you cannot find a host that fits your needs or budget that can help with this, you may want to hire an expert in the area to do this. You want to make sure that you have everything lined out before cancelling your old host, otherwise your site could be offline for a while.
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Do I Need To Buy A Domain For My Shopify Store
While Shopify does provide a free domain name, its better to purchase one. The free Shopify domains are sub-domains, and include myshopify.com. If you want people to take your store seriously, you need to purchase a domain.
You dont need to purchase a domain to have a Shopify store, but a registered domain is standard for a professional look. Many sellers will feel a lack of trust towards a sub-domain.
It indicates that you dont take the business seriously. Purchasing a domain is relatively cheap, and its a necessary step to creating a business.
Read Also: Cost Of A Domain Name Per Year
Choose Potential Domain Names
Now you can develop a more refined list of potential names.
Start by listing all the names you like. Since you might not have an unlimited budget, make sure to dig deep here. You cant be too picky yet, because that will end up limiting your options. Write down everything you think might work.
I recommend browsing through the following websites to get more ideas. You might get lucky and find something you like just by browsing. If you do, add those to your list as well.
BrandBucket They put together more creative, brandable domain names and then sell them. Ive found a lot of names here I would not have thought of on my own.
BuyDomains.com They have a huge selection of domain names for sale. They have transparent pricing and offer a seamless experience. This is always my starting point, and preferred approach to acquiring a domain name.
Sedo.com Probably the biggest selection of domain names and the most well known place to acquire a name.
BuyDomains.com and Uniregistry are the biggest players in selling domains. More times than not, if a domain name is for sale when I type it into my browser, it is one of those two companies that is behind the sale. I find them to be the most reasonable. HugeDomains.com is another one I have bought from.
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How Do I Buy A Domain
Youve got a couple options. Domain registrars like GoDaddy and Register.com let you choose a domain name and register it for a fee . That gives you the right to the domain name for a year. If you want it for another 12 months, you pay a renewal fee thats often a little higher than the registration one. Youll also have the option to pay extra to get an email associated with your domain, and to add privacy protection that keeps things like your address, phone number, and email from being listed in a public database.
The challenge with this approach? You still need to connect your domain name to a website, which requires choosing a host and then transferring your domain name. It can be a little trickyespecially if you dont have much of a technical background .
Many website-building platforms let you avoid the hassle by purchasing your website and domain name at the same time. Thats actually how I got my domain name: When I signed up for Squarespace, a custom domain was part of the package. In fact, Squarespace makes your custom domain free for the first year if you sign up for an annual plan, after which its an easy flat fee that includes that privacy protection.
Now that youve got a name, why not consider building a website? It doesnt have to be a huge endeavor in fact, well show you how to create your personal site in just seven days!
Are You Using A Free Domain Name For Your Website Or Blog Here Are 5 Compelling Reasons Why You Should Invest In Your Own Personalised Domain Name
Blogs play an essential role in attracting more visitors to your website, provided you give them something they find valuable and interesting of course. There’s no doubt that your blog helps your website to grow and expand each time you publish a post. With the number of free blogging platforms available today, many people don’t see the value or need in registering a domain name. Why pay when you can get it for free?
Well, here are 5 reasons why you should, for less than the cost of your next lunch, have your own domain name and take care of one of the most essential elements of being on the web.
Want tips for picking a domain name? Read my .
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The Domain Registration Dilemma
When you set up hosting for a website, you can also register your domain through your host . For a lot of people, keeping all your website stuff in the same place sounds like a good idea. You only have to keep up with one set of login information, and you know that your hosts technical support staff will make sure everything is configured correctly.
However, you also have the option to register your domain elsewhere and simply point it to your host. This is what I strongly recommend for a number of reasons.
Keep your domain in one place. If you ever get mad at your web host and decide to move your site, youll also probably want to transfer your domain if its registered with the old host. Domain transfers can be annoying, time-consuming, and confusing. But if youve registered the domain elsewhere, you dont have to do anything except update your DNS settings to point to the new host.
Register all your domains together. You might be thinking, But I only have one website! That may be true, but for many of us, websites are addicting. For example, I own 45 domains right now. If I need to manage them, like when I transferred all my files to my new servers, I can just go to my registrar and mass update the DNS settings.
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How Do I Buy A Domain Name
Its easy to get a new domain. Here are the steps:1. Decide on a domain name extension. The extension is the part at the end of the domain name .net, .biz, .org or .com, for example.2. Think about what you’d like on the other side of the dot. It could be your business name or your specialty.3. Type the domain you want into the box at the top of this page. We’ll tell you if that particular domain is available and show other you may like better.4. Pick a domain, add it to your cart and check out. You are now the proud owner of your very own domain. As long as it’s registered to you, no one else may use it.
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How To Get A Domain Name From Namecheapcom
Namecheap is another popular website for buying domain names and getting website hosting. As their domain name prompts, they often have a lot of good deals and somewhat lower annular prices than GoDaddy, for example.
So if you love a good bargain, heres how to buy a domain name via Namecheap.
Step 1: Run your desired domain name search first and review available options. Namecheap has a really huge collection of new TLDs such as .art .digital, .luxury among 400+ other options.
Also, if your name isnt available or youd like to get some more ideas, switch to their advanced search view aka the Beast Mode:
As you can see from above, you have a lot more features to play with such as price range, suffix/prefix, and so on. This can help you drill down to that perfect domain name that is short, memorable, available, and yet cheap!
Step 2: After youve chosen the best contenders, proceed to your cart to start the checkout process. At this point, you can also add some extras and customize your order:
With Namecheap, you get a lifetime free WHOIS protection for every domain name, plus they recently added a bonus premium DNS offer . When you enable it, your domain gets yearly protection against DNS/DDoS attacks , plus ultra-fast global DNS response. This gives you some extra leverage in terms of your website speed.
On top of that, you can select some affordable up-sells such as:
Also, you can play around with your renewal. Namecheap provides a small discount for 2+ years.
How To Register A Domain Name With Siteground
Your adventure starts at SiteGround.com. More specifically, in the WordPress hosting section. Why the WordPress hosting section? Long story short, WordPress is our number one recommended platform to build your website with. Its versatile, free, and theres virtually no limit as to the extent you can customize it. To learn more about the ins and outs of WordPress, feel free to check out our beginner guides to WordPress.
As I mentioned earlier in this post, getting your domain name and hosting account from the same company saves you a lot of hassle and lets you launch a website much more quickly and with less effort than when working with two separate companies .
Therefore, while at SiteGround.com, start by picking your desired hosting plan. If youre just getting started with a small website project, you can begin with the cheapest option $3.95 a month.
If the domain is available, you will be able to proceed. If not, SiteGround will present you with some alternatives.
The next step is about providing your contact and payment info. SiteGround have a nice, single form for all that, so you dont need to jump from screen to screen.
The first three sections are pretty self-explanatory: Account Information, Client Information, Payment Information .
The last one Purchase Information is where you need to be a little more careful:
If youve deselected the extras, your total bill should be around $62. You can click on Pay Now.
You should see the confirmation screen :
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Why Whois Privacy Is Important
Without going too in-depth to what ICANN and WHOIS are, suffice to say its the nonprofit corporation that is responsible for keeping the internet secure and the naming structure of websites as it is. It requires anyone who registers a domain to provide accurate identifiable contact information, including name, address, email and phone number. Not everyone is comfortable with that information being public.
Domain registrars have found a way to keep your info safe and still provide ICANN with the info they need. These domain privacy features replace your information with the registrars info, at least publicly. Anyone can look up who registered a domain name, so having domain privacy can reduce spam for you, and keep you safe.
How To Register A Domain Name With Namecheap
As the name suggests, this Namecheap offers great value for money. Its .com domains start from $8.88/year, which is a low price compared to the rest of the market.
To buy a domain name on Namecheap, head over to the homepage and insert a name on the search field. Alternatively, head to the Bulk Domain Name Search tool and enter up to 5,000 keywords and find multiple domains at once.
The site will redirect you to the search results page. Feel free to sort the available domains by cost, extension, or alphabetical order. Click Add to Cart on the name you want to register and the Checkout button on the bottom-right corner to continue with the payment process.
The page will preview the order and suggest several add-ons to add to the cart, including PremiumDNS for a performance and security boost. This domain registrar also provides a free privacy and protection feature.
Confirm the order to move on to the next step creating a Namecheap account. Insert your contact information, including your name, phone number, email, and physical address. Enter a company name and tick the Im registering on behalf of a company box if applicable.
Press Continue to go to the Setup page. Here, specify the contact information for the domains registrant, administrator, technical support, and billings. If youre responsible for all these things, select User default account contact. Otherwise, choose to Add new contact where appropriate.
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Shop Around To Find The Best Price
Even though all domain registrars offer the same product they register a domain name on your behalf the pricing can sometimes be very different. For that reason, its always a good idea to shop around with different registrars and compare the prices of the domain name you want to get.
Just to give you an example, if youre after a .co domain extension a fairly popular choice these days youll find out that the same domain will cost you:
- $11.99 at GoDaddy
- $6.88 at Namecheap
- $32.50 at ENOM, and so on.
Now, Im not saying that Namecheap is always the cheapest, because its not. The price always depends on the specific TLD you want to get, so always go to multiple registrars and see whats up.
Also, just a general note: Always keep your login credentials to the registrars user panel very secure. If anyone gets access to that panel, theyll be able to transfer your domain to their account .
Which brings me to: