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.
How To Register A Domain Name: 4 Options
To get a domain name, youll need to call dibs with ICANN. ICANN is a global non-profit authority that maintains records on which domain and IP address belongs to whom and manages access to them.
But ICANN doesnt provide registration services, it only maintains records. Thats where domain name registrars come into play.
The primary role of a register is to:
- Coordinate claims on different domain names.
- Match specific domain names with Domain Name System nameservers.
- Ensure that there are no duplicate domain names.
Technically speaking, you are not buying a domain name from a registrar company, but reserve its usage for a specified time. You can pay to reserve a domain for 1-10 years at a time, depending on the registrar. After your initial subscription expires, youll need to renew it and pay a fee again. You can re-purchase your domain name over and over again.
When registering a domain name, you sign a long-term lease of your domain . You can read more about the domain costs here.
In practice, all of the above is much simpler than you think as we will show below.
What Do Others Have To Say
Always check reviews a before signing up. Pay no attention to the customer testimonials that are posted on a company’s site. Instead, search around online for reviews from real people. Read a decent number of reviews to get a clear idea about the quality of the services.
Take the time to learn about the industry and get it right the first time.
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Do We Need To Register A Domain Name
Strictly speaking, no. But realistically, a domain name is an important part of your company’s online presence and branding.
If you have a website, it needs an address. Similarly, if you want to send and receive email, you need an email address.
Unless you register a domain name, you will have to use addresses allocated by your internet service provider or email supplier.
For example, your ISP might let you use the website address ourcompany.ispname.com and email addresses like. However, addresses like these have several disadvantages:
- They do not give you a professional image.
- If you change your ISP, you may have to change website and email addresses.
- Customers will not be able to find your website by guessing the address.
Registering a domain name helps overcomes these disadvantages.
Choosing the right domain name can also help establish rights to your trading names or trade marks and prevents other businesses from using that domain name.
How To Use Namecheap With Shopify
Namcheap has a helpful guide on how to point your domain name to Shopify. All you have to do is that once youve registered your domain name, simply go to manage in your Namecheap portal and then under custom DNS select Shopify. Its that simple.
Then in your Shopify account youll need to do the following:
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What Should I Look For In A Web Host
When first getting started with web hosting, it’s easy to get caught up in things like its appearance and style. Getting people to notice a site is something else that’s sure to take up a lot of time, and you probably want the best web hosting the UK has to offer. Before getting too wrapped up in these matters, dedicate time and effort to finding the best provider possible. Without reliable hosting, a site could experience frequent crashes, slow load times and other issues. The easiest way to find the best option is by asking the following questions during the search.
Lower Costs On Renewals And Better Service
Namecheap simply has the lowest prices for domain name registration and renewals. As you cant own a domain name forever, you can only register it for a year at a time, this becomes a yearly cost that can add up if youre not using a domain name registrar.
Also get free WHOIS protection for life with your registration. WHOIS protection is not included with Shopify and to add it would add tot he cost of registering through Shopify. What WHOIS protection does is that it hides your personal information that you submitted when registering your domain name. Most web hosts charge extra for this but with Namecheap you get it for free.
Also Check: Average Domain Name Price
In Simple Terms What Is A Domain Name
Believe it or not, even if youve never heard the term domain name, youre already familiar with what it is.
Every time you type a website address into the address bar of a web browser, youre entering a domain name.
Put simply, a domain name is the name of your website. Its the address that will be used to access your website.
For example, if you wanted to go to Google, youd enter www.Google.com into your web browser and when you click enter or left-click your mouse, youd be directed to the website in the web browser.
A domain name can be comprised of any combination of letters and numerals.
Those letters and numerals are preceded by https://www and are followed by one of the various extensions for example, .com, .net, .edu, and for many Canadian-based websites, .ca.
No two names can be the same, like a fingerprint, theyre all unique.
So, if you wanted to have two websites, youd have to create two different domain names you cant share them between sites.
Each name has to be registered before it can be used.
If that sounds a little confusing, consider this example: your domain name is like a phone number and your website is your phone.
In other words, while theyre connected, they are two separate and distinct things.
Just like you can change your phone and retain the same phone number, you can also change your website and retain your domain name, youd just have to link your new website to your domain
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.
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How To Register Your Own Domain Name
One of the many reasons the internet is so powerful is because it gives nearly anyone the ability to share their voice and knowledge with the rest of the world. A particularly popular way to make yourself known is to set up a website.
These days many services, such as WordPress or Blogger, offer websites on commercial domains, but in a lot of cases it makes more sense to have your website on your own domaina personal place on the internet where you are in complete control of whats published and how it looks. Heres how to register your own domain name.
When setting up your personal domain name, you have a lot of options and many vendors to choose from. You can search around to see what works best for you and your needsor look over our suggestions belowbut the following steps outline the gist of what you need to do.
Can Domain Names Be Similar To Each Other
Yes. The same word might be used as a domain name in France and in the UK . And the same word may be registered as a .com or a .biz domain. Many brand-conscious companies cover themselves by registering their domains in several versions to make sure their competitors dont lock them out of possible future areas of trading.
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Find A Domain Name Registrar
The non-profit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers oversees the entire system of domain names, and it allows outside companies, called domain registrars, to sell and manage domain names. You will need to register your domain name through a registrar.
Some of the most popular domain registrars include GoDaddy, Bluehost, and Domain.com, although there are many more to choose from. Be sure to carefully consider pricing and policies for each one before choosing your domain registrar, as it will be managing your domain name.
Porkbun Review The Best Renewal Pricing On The Market
What good is a cherry domain name if you cant keep it? Weve all heard the horror stories of losing prime URL real estate on expiration. You spend the time brainstorming ideas, find an available domain, and buy it only to have all your hard work wiped away after a year.
There are two options for avoiding thisbuy a domain for as long as possible upfront or find a registrar with affordable, predictable renewal pricing.
For the latter, I recommend Porkbun.
They offer a killer combination of some of the best first-year price deals on new, trending, and alternative extensions as well as the best renewal rates nearly across the board. They beat the market on renewal pricing for over 200 domain extensions.
Look, its going to be ridiculously hard to find an available .com for your keywords at this point in the game. Unless youve gone the startup route of naming your company a cheeky misspelling of a real word, .com URLs are rare to find. Even if you do, youre going to have to pay out the nose for it.
But you dont need a .com or even a .net to have a memorable, easy-to-type web address. Think about the array of extensions that roll off the tongue and make sense for the purpose of your site, the industry you inhabit, or the type of people you want to visit.
Here are a few examples and the excellent rates you can find on Porkbun for them:
Heck, take a look at their renewal pricing on .com extensions against some of the big names:
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Register Through Shopify Domains Or A Domain Name Registrar
With Shopify, you get a free trial where youre able to create a store using a sub-domain of Shopify. This is excellent because you can sign up and design your store. When youre ready to properly launch your brand, youll need to setup a custom domain.
Shopify makes it easy for you to setup a domain name through them and its the main selling point of Shopify domains. Its easy for you the end user and Shopify gets to make a small profit on domain name registration and renewals.
In general through, I suggest you use Namecheap specifically because:
- Keep your services separate
- Lower cost on renewals and better service
- Professional domain name
Is It Better To Use A Dispute Resolution Procedure For A Domain Name Dispute Or To Go To Court
A dispute resolution procedure can only be used if you have rights to a domain name which someone else has registered ‘abusively’ or in bad faith. By contrast, court action can be taken on other grounds: for example, if someone is breaching your intellectual property rights or libelling you.
In terms of outcomes, successful use of a dispute resolution procedure will result in the domain name being transferred to you. If you want to claim damages, you will need to take court action. Bear in mind that it can be impossible to enforce judgment, particularly against individuals or companies based overseas.
Where there is a choice, using a dispute resolution procedure is generally faster and incurs lower costs. In some cases, you might wish to use both: the successful outcome of a dispute resolution procedure can be presented as evidence in a court case.
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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