Evaluate Long Term Costs
In addition to the upfront costs of getting a domain name, consider costs like taxes and renewal fees. Some registrars charge increased renewal fees when your domain registration expires, and depending on where you live, your domain name may be subject to state and local taxes.
Remember to budget for your domain name alongside other potential startup costs, like website hosting or creating a logo for your business.
Trademark Your Business Name
Registering the domain name is not enough to protect your brand name.
If you have just bought a domain name for a new brand, you need to register a trademark for it. This will protect you from infringing domain names and other infringing properties when you need to take legal action against someone trying to cash in on your business name.
Follow The Registrars Checkout Process
Next, use the registrars tool to see if it can sell you your desired domain and TLD.
If you can buy your domain, select a plan, and follow the registrars checkout process. Some registrars will offer a base plan with add-ons like a professional email address tied to your domain. Others offer methods that scale with your needs.
Many registrars will also offer you multiple TLDs as a bundle deal . These plans are perfect for anyone concerned about visitors struggling to find the correct address or competitors buying the domain.
Once you reach the checkout process, youll need to provide your registrar with your:
- Name
- Contact details
- Payment information
If you dont want your contact information to be public, make sure you purchase domain privacy.
You should also check the duration of your registration carefully. Many registrars will allow you to buy your name for several years at a time, but you may want to select a shorter plan if you havent used that registrar before.
Choosing a shorter plan to start with will allow you to switch if you arent happy with your registrars speed, security, service, or anything else.
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How Does Domain Name Hosting Work
To understand how domain name hosting works, it is essential to understand how a domain name actually works. When you enter a domain name into your internet browser, it sends a request to the Domain Name System.
The Domain Name System then looks up the name servers associated with that domain name. It communicates your request to the name servers, which then forward that request to the web server hosting the site. The web server then relays the information associated with that site back to the browser.
The name servers are managed by the domain web host, and the web server is managed by your website host. The domain name hosts responsibility is to register your domain name with the DNS and maintain the name servers so that your domain name remains active online.
Many Names One Destination
With most registrars, it’s easy to forward multiple domains to your website so you can simply create one site and then redirect visitors who type one of your other domain names to that one website. Google Domains offers simple web forwarding that lets you redirect any of your domains to your main website, or even to specific pages within your site, such as an order page, support page or image gallery.
Ready to find additional domain names? Visit now to search for names that perfectly complement your existing domain.
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How To Register Your Website’s Domain Name
When you register a domain name for your site, you make it a lot easier for people to find you, ensuring that you reap the branding and marketing benefits of having an online presence.
A domain name is the address that visitors type into their browser address bar to arrive at your website. It replaces an IP address: a random, unique string of numbers that specifies where your sites files are located. While a website domain can be an investment, you can also find one for free, especially if you purchase it with hosting.
In this post, youll learn everything you need to know about registering your websites domain name either for free or for a low cost.
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.
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Do’s And Don’ts Of Securing A Domain Name
Consider these six tips from small-business owners and experts before deciding on a website name.
Entrepreneur
Navigating the world of domain names can be a daunting task if you’re not up to speed on how to get one. With countless caveats and hosting companies out there, it’s easy to be overwhelmed or worse, make a mistake that could ultimately cripple your business.Consider these do’s and don’ts from small-business owners and experts to help secure your company’s domain name.Do: Include a location or keywords in your domain name, if you can.
If your business focuses on a geographic region, try to put the location into the name of your domain, says Jean Bedord, a Silicon Valley-based search consultant and author of the book I’ve Got a Domain Name–Now What??? When Mikalai Krivenko needed a domain for his painting business in Hoboken, N.J., in 2009, his son Yuriy, a Jersey City, N.J.-based search-optimization specialist, suggested he put “Hoboken” in the name. For $11, Krivenko bought hobokenpainter.com, which shows up at the top of keyword searches that include “Hoboken” and “painter.” Whether it’s location, or what your company does, Krivenko advises: “Put the most important keyword for your industry in the domain name.”
Related:
Related: Protecting Your Business with a Trademark
Why Are Domain Names So Important
A domain name gives your business instant credibility and puts you in the same online marketplace as your largest competitors. It says that you mean business and helps online shoppers and customers see you as a forward-thinking company that is conveniently accessible online. It is the pathway for people to visit your website, learn more about your business, and purchase your products and services.
The right domain will build your brand by creating a strong image for your business, and it can mean the difference between establishing a vibrant online presence and getting lost in cyberspace. If you publish your site through an internet service provider , your web address could end up like ISP.com/SuperiorAutoRepair , as compared to SuperiorAutoRepair.com. See the difference? Your customers will, too.
Also, search engine optimization is critical to your business being found via search, so you need to consider if your chosen domain name is SEO-friendly and includes keywords that will help with your sites ranking.
Read more: Establishing your brand with off-page SEO
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You Want To Expand Into New Markets
It is never too early to start thinking about the geographical expansion of your business, and multiple domains for your business can aid in this endeavor.
In fact, if you operate an online business that serves people outside of your home country, investing in country-specific TLDs is a must.
To achieve the best results in international SEO, you will need other country domains that lead to your site. For instance, if you own an online pottery store based out of New York City but sell to Europe and Canada, having NYCPottery.co.uk and NYCPottery.ca, in addition to your primary domain, will give you a big advantage.
As soon as expanding on an international level becomes a relevant venture for your business, acquiring multiple country-code domains is a must.
But Wait What If My Domain Name Is Taken
You have options. You could come up with a new name, slightly modify the domain name with a suffix, or try a different extension than .com. You could also use Whois to contact the current domain owner and get their asking price. If the domain is privately registered, you could also use a broker to negotiate on your behalf. It all depends on how badly you want that name. At the very least, it doesnt hurt to reach out. Youll be able to tell from the looks of the site whether itll be expensive to purchase or not. Theres no market rate for buying a domain name from somebody. It could cost you $10, or in the case of insurance.coms 2010 sale $35.6 million!
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Have An Authoritative Email Address
Buying a domain isn’t just about websitesyou can also use them for email addresses. This means, instead of an address that ends with gmail.com or outlook.com, email addresses can end with a domain owned by your company.
You can read about , but it boils down to a few key points.
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Branding. Emails look like they’re coming from your company, not from a free email service. This looks more professional.
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Control. You can give employees an address ending with @companyname.com, which you can take control of should they leave the company.
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Flexibility. You can point your domain to any email service, meaning you can switch email providers without having to inform all of your customers about a new email address.
Need an email host? Check out our list of .
Can I Transfer My Domain Name To Hostinger
Yes, its possible to transfer domain names 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.
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What Is A Whois Lookup
As explained above, WHOIS is a public directory that holds all the records and personal information of all registered domains. Since it is a public directory, it can be seen and viewed by everyone in the world.
The WHOIS Lookup is a feature in the WHOIS directory that, if you type the websites name on, will reveal who owns and manages the domain name, including their names, contact information, address, etc., that they initially provided while registering for the domain.
Although the WHOIS lookup feature is an easy way to find relevant information on the Public WHOIS database, it can sometimes be used against you or harm you if your personal information is just a lookup away from literally everyone in the world.
For example, we search the domain registrant details for nike.com in the following screenshot.
Below, we can see who the domain registrar is, when the registration expires, and when it was last updated.
Scrolling further down, we can see the registrants name, which city theyre located in, and even access their phone number and email address.
Now, its not a big deal for a large company like Nike to make this information available publicly. However, if youre a small business owner, you need to be careful with the accessible information about your business, where its available, and why. And that is exactly why you need to hide domain information of your website from the publics eye.
Run A Domain Name Search
Now that you have found a registrar through which to register your domain, the next step is to perform a domain name search.
When choosing a domain name, make sure to pick the right domain extension as well its the suffix at the end of a web address. Domain name extensions are also referred to as top-level domains .
There are different types of domain extensions available, such as:
- Country Code Top-Level Domain . This kind of TLD represents a specific country, letting both users and search engines know that a site is designed for visitors from a particular region. An example of this is the .us domain, which is the ccTLD for the United States.
- Sponsored Top-Level Domain . Its a type of TLD restricted to certain types of groups and organizations. Some of sTLD examples include .mil, .gov, and .edu.
- Generic Top-Level Domain . Its the most common type of TLD it doesnt rely on a country code and can be used for general purposes. A few examples of gTLDs include .com, .org, and .net. This category also includes new extensions, such as .xyz, .club, and .online.
When deciding on the extension that is suitable for your domain, look for a TLD that represents the purpose of your website. Choosing the wrong suffix can confuse visitors and make your brand name prone to being misinterpreted.
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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.
Types Of Domain Names
A domain name is usually broken up into two or more parts, each of which is separated by a dot, such as techradar.com. The section to the right of the last dot in the domain name is the top-level domain . These are usually one of the generic TLDs such as .com, .net, and .org.
Then there are ccTLDs, which are country code top level domains such as .uk and .in. Theyre meant to be used to identify sites meant for specific regions, such as bbc.co.uk or abc.net.au.
Unlike gTLD, many TLDs are intended for a specific use case. For instance, .edu is meant specifically for educational institutions, while .gov can only be used by Government agencies. You can view a list of all valid TLDs here .
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Why Do I Need A Domain Name
From third party publishing platforms to Facebook pages and groups, internet users have many options for establishing an online presence without a domain of their own. Whether youre starting a personal blog or building a business, owning your own domain name is a smart move that puts you in control of your brand and the content you create on the web. If you have ever asked yourself, Why do I need a domain name?, the experts at Bluehost are here to help. This guide will cover the importance of a domain name, what it is, and why you need one if you want to start a successful website.
How To Buy And Sell Domain Names And Make A Profit
While most people are familiar with the term house flipping, they may not be as well-versed on the phrase domain flipping. In laymans terms, domain flipping means the buying and selling of a website domain for a profit. Done right, buying and selling domain names can be a lucrative side hustle or small business.
The most expensive domain name ever was business.com, purchased by RH Donnelly for $345 million. While you can guess that this is far from the norm, there are ways to make a profit buying and selling domains. Here are some domain flipping tips to get you off to a successful start.
Understand the value
A domain name is much more than just the website address for a company, organization, group or individual. It is an important part of a business or personal brand. Domain names help people remember websites and serve as representations of a person or company online. A web address can be as important as the website it is associated with it’s a highly valuable asset.
Manage expectations
Buying and selling domain names can be fun and profitable but you should know the risks of domain investing. Keep things in perspective and have the right mindset. People are making a living buying and selling domain names but the selling of high-priced domains is rare. Don’t expect to make a lot of easy money.
Narrow your focus
Think big, start small
Do your homework
Rely on proven resources
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Connecting Your Domain Name To Mailchimp
Whether youve bought your domain through Mailchimp or a third party, you can transfer your domain name and connect it to your Mailchimp account. Once connected, you can use that domain with a custom landing page or Mailchimp-hosted website. If you dont already have a website, Mailchimp offers a free website builder that you can use to make your brand stand out with no coding skills required.