Why Does My Business Need A Website
Today, 91% of consumers look online to search for goods or services, and 84% view a business with a website as more credible.Owning a website is crucial for small business owners in order to gain credibility and get found by both new and existing customers.
With Website.com, we provide the tools to publish your online presence as fast as possible.
Is There Any Difference Between Domain Registrars
Once you register a domain, its yours it doesnt matter which service you purchased it from. If a domain is available, you can usually buy it anywhere youd like. However, some domain registrars offer services or advantages that others dont.
Lets talk about a few key areas in which registrars tend to differ:
- Additional hosting services. As we mentioned, some platforms tackle both domain registration and hosting, while others only offer one service.
- Different prices for the same domains. Two domain registrars may charge you different prices for the same domain, for any number of reasons. That means its in your best interest to shop around if you want to save money.
- Support for different sets of TLDs. Some registrars only deal with popular TLDs, such as .com and .net, whereas others may include more niche options. A few examples of those include .wiki and .blog.
- Better domain management features. Ideally, you want to use a registrar that offers an intuitive user panel to help you manage your domains. At some point, you may need to transfer some domains over, or maybe modify their CNAME records. A convoluted control panel can complicate those tasks.
In summary, its smart to be picky about which domain registrar you use. You may want to choose one that offers premium top-level domains. At the very least, you want to use a service thats not going to make your life more complicated, which brings us to our next point.
How To Register Your Website’s Domain Name
The first domain name in history was Symbolics.com, which was registered on March 15, 1985. Today, there are more than 300 million domain names, with millions more added each year. A domain name is essentially the address that visitors will type into their browser address bar to arrive at your website.
Domain names allow users to easily connect to other computer IP addresses by typing in an address like “Google.com” instead of Google’s numerical IP address of “74.125.239.116.” In other words, domain names make our lives a lot easier.
Your domain name is an important part of establishing your brand. No two domain names can be exactly alike, although they can be similar. Ideally, your domain name will be unique and distinctive, so users don’t confuse it with other domain names or different businesses.
You might be wondering isn’t a domain name, then, simply a website? Although they are similar, domain names and websites have important differences. Your domain name is the address for your website it is what people use to find your website, which consists of pages, images, and other files.
Choosing and registering a domain name is often the first step when building a website. Read on to learn how to register a domain name.
Also Check: How To Get Free Domain Name For Website
When Should I Buy A Domain Name
The best time to register a domain depends on your project and urgency. However, its better to purchase it right away before a competitor claims the address.
According to Verisign, there were over 363 million domain registrations across all TLDs at the end of the first quarter of 2021. This figure is likely to grow each year as the number of people and businesses that compete to get a great domain name is increasing.
Moreover, many entrepreneurs consider domain names to be digital assets they buy plenty of good URLs as investments and wait for their value to increase before reselling them further down the road.
If you want to start a new online business but have no time to build an eCommerce site, then register a domain now and make a website later to reserve your brand or business name for the future. A domain name will be yours as long as you keep paying for it.
Also, consider purchasing a domain that includes your name even if youre not ready to create a personal website or portfolio yet. Doing this can give you control of what potential clients, employers, and other people see when they search for you on search engines.
All in all, purchasing a domain name should be a priority for those who are serious about building an online presence or starting a new business. It will help protect a brands identity and future business ideas.
Don’t Use Nonletter Characters
Make sure your web domain is easy to share in everyday speech. If you force your users to spend time saying things like “There’s a hyphen between …” then you probably don’t have the best URL for your company. Simplicity is important, so refrain from special characters and using numbers as letters.
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Option C: Use A Free Domain Name Registrar
You can get a domain name from a free domain registrar, but these dont come with a web hosting plan and are not suitable for business use. Why? The only truly free domains use untrustworthy-looking domain extensions, such as .tk, as opposed to a standard .com. So sure, you can save $12 per year, but a free domain like yourbusiness.tk will immediately make you appear unprofessional to prospective customers.
| PROS |
|---|
| .com extensions are not available for free |
| You dont own it |
| Often unreliable |
| More susceptible to hackers |
Make It Brandable Not Generic
Creative, memorable domain names are always better than generic ones. After all, your domain name is how people will find, remember, and spread the word about your business on the internet. Its much better to have something that aligns with your brand instead of a domain name thats made up of a bunch of general keywords.
For example, can you tell the difference between cheapcarinsurance.com and affordableautoinsurance.com? Which one would you trust when it comes to buying insurance? Probably neither. Both sound a little spammy, and theyre terribly generic.
On the other hand, youll probably know where the domain names progressive.com or geico.com are going to point you to. Those companies have invested in their brands, and theyve used them in their domain names. You can trust that these sites are legitimate.
Even if you havent built up trust and loyalty yet, you can start by choosing a strong domain name that fits your brand.
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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:
How To Choose A Domain Name
Since your domain name can have a major impact on your online presence, what you choose is a vital first step in building your brand. Finding the perfect domain name, however, can be challenging.
While its true that there are millions of domain names available, many of the popular domain names that are easy to remember are taken. Fortunately, you can still get what you need if you go through a simple process and use a bit of imagination.
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How Much Does A Website Cost
The cost of running a website can be broken into 3 main elements: the domain, hosting, and the way to make the website.
A domain is the unique web address that visitors can type into the browser to find your website, e.g. www.website.com.A domain name is typically a yearly cost, ranging from around $15/year and up.
Website hosting allows your website files to be stored and seen on the internet. This is typically a monthly ongoing cost, usuallyaround $14.99/month and up.
The website platform used to create a website is another factor to consider. The cost of making a website may vary depending on whetheryou choose a DIY approach, or hire a web designer or developer. Hiring a web expert can be a significant expense that generally requiresan initial design cost and an ongoing maintenance fee.
With Website.com premium plans, everything is included to create your website, including a professional domain name, web hosting, and a websitebuilder with easy tools to create your site. Premium plans range from $3/month ,which is an extremely cost effective way to own a professional website.
With a free Website.com plan, you can get a free website name and get online entirely for free. Keep in mind that Website.com premium plansinclude a professional domain name, more website pages and advanced features to lend more professionalism to your site.
Add Domain Id Protection
When you register a domain name with ICANN, you must provide your contact information including your name, phone number, physical address, and email address.
As soon as your domain name is registered, this contact information becomes available to the public unless you pay for domain privacy through your domain registrar. This domain privacy will shield your information from view keeping your personal information safe from spammers or worse, identity thieves.
Once you’ve got the domain name in hand, you’re ready to find hosting and build your website. Consider a free CMS, like HubSpot, to design your website, strategize for SEO, and create a blog.
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How To Register A Domain On Godaddycom
GoDaddy is also known as a web hosting provider, but you can also buy a domain name from them.
Step 1: Look up a new domain name first. If you havent come up with a good name yet or are assessing different options, GoDaddy has a nice set of extra features to help you out.
You can use the Bulk Domain search to check a bunch of domain ideas for eligibility in a click. Or you can play around with their free domain name generator to get some alternative suggestions if your primary choice is already taken:
Also, if you are feeling very determined to get your desired domain for branding purposes, GoDaddy can try to broker a deal for you with the owner. But remember, the original owner may name any price they deem appropriate so in that case, youll be paying:
- Domain purchase fee to the seller.
- GoDaddy Domain Brokerage commission.
- The regular yearly subscription price for the selected domain and add-ons.
If you are running a small business, going into a heated negotiation with some cyber squatters may not be the best investment of your time and budgets.
Wait out and see if the other person forgets to renew their domain or abandons it so that you could snatch it then. GoDaddy has a Domain Backordering service where you can reserve your place in line for a specific domain. If theres more than one buyer, the domain goes on auction. If its just you only, you get it immediately.
Again, youd be pitched several upsells in case you change your mind.
What Is A Registrar For Domain Purchase
Registrars are services dedicated to helping you choose and for buying domain names for your website. They enable you to register as many domains as you want, and either assign them to a site or just save them for later. Either way, youll need to pay a yearly fee to maintain ownership after initially buying domain names.
In general, domain registrars enable you to check if a given domain is available, often offering multiple Top-Level Domain options. If they have a domain you want, you can register it by filling out a few forms and paying a fee, which varies depending on the domain and TLD you choose. Once you complete your domain purchase, youre free to do as you please with your domain.
Just to be clear registering a domain and hosting a website are two different things. You can tackle them in any order you want. However, many web hosts provide domain registration services, so you can check both tasks off your list at once. This is because domain services are an integral part of website management, and its only natural for people to want to take care of everything from one service.
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Check If Your Desired Domain Name Is Available
There are 1.74 billion websites, according to Website Hosting Rating, so there is a good chance your preferred URL is already taken. After you’ve identified the URL you would like to use, you should run it through a domain vacancy checkers, such as Instant Domain Search and WHOis.net. Be sure to check that the extension you want is available. Always check if .com is available first before moving on to other extensions.
If your .com URL is available, you may want to consider buying the URL in adjacent extensions, like .net, .info and .org. Failing to do so can lead to problems down the road, according to Bede Fahey, co-founder of Kiwi Marketing Group.
“Purchasing the .net and .org versions of a domain is also important, as it protects you from squatters and, more importantly, confusion among clients,” Fahey told business.com.