Learn How To Register A Domain Name Of Your Own
We hope this guide to registering your domain name was helpful and that we have successfully pointed you in the right direction. With all said and done, domain names are extremely important they can help you grow your business and establish your brand. We encourage you to spend a sufficient amount of time researching your options and thinking through your domain name possibilities before making a purchase.
Global Recognition For Your Brand
Assigning domain name for your website means placing your brand on the world wide web. Your domain name will be visible to all the global internet users giving your brand marketability around the globe.
Even if your business is operating at the other end of the world, your domain name will help you have an omnipresence over the internet.
Anyone around the world will be able to connect with your brand just by using your domain name.
Most People Will Assume Your Website Ends In Com
Because of the overwhelming market share of .COM, particularly with major corporations, most of the Internet-using public has grown accustomed to assuming a companys website is their brand name followed by .COM. Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Googlethe list goes on.
In fact, according to this list of Fortune 500 companies from 2016, 495 of them use a .COM for their domain name. Only 4 used a .net and 1 used a .org.
There are over 134 million .COM registrations at the time of this writing. The next closest is .net with 14 million, which puts the extension soundly in second place.
There are a few companies, such as Nissan, who dont own their brand as a Dotcom, but those are the extremely rare exceptions. If you ever wanted to find Nissans website, for example, chances are youve had to backtrack to Google to learn that their website is actually .
Back before it went out of business, Twitters popular video app Vine existed on Vine.co. Vine.com itself appears to be registered to Amazon. The domain simply redirects to their homepage.
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Domain Name Registration And Copyright Infringement
One thing to consider prior to registration is whether or not there are any conflicts with trademarks or any form of copyright infringement. The best method for verifying the availability is by searching through a trademark database, which gives you all the pending or registered trademarks. ICANN is responsible for regulating and enforcing domain name copyright issues, and they can take away your domain name if they find you to be in violation of any of the following things:
- You do not actually run a business registered under that name.
- Your company purposefully chose a name that is analogous to a different trademark or domain name, and that could lead to consumer confusion.
- You created the name with plans to peddle that domain to a competitor for monetary gain.
- No one in the company carries a name that is the same as or similar to the registered name.
What’s A Domain Name And Web Address
A domain name is a unique name corresponding to one or more IP addresses .
A web address reflects a domain name , and is sometimes referred to as a URL or Uniform Resource Locator.
A web address is how people find your website on the internet. People can type your web address straight into a browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Safari on their computer, or into the internet application on their smart phone or tablet. People using a search engine like Google or Bing can also find your website by typing in a question or keywords, and searching.
You may also use your domain name in your email address To set up an email address you’ll also need to purchase an email service or hosting, which is different to registering a web address.
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Benefits Of A Strong Domain Name
Deciding and registering a domain name should not be done in haste. It is a valuable marketing and search tool that should successfully lead customers to your site. Careful deliberation and research should be applied, as it might be the most important decision you make when carving out your slice of the online market.
How To Register A Domain Name For Free
Youve heard the rumor about free domain names. Is it true?
Yes! There are actually ways to get a free domain name for your website.
First, you can get a free domain name for a web hosting provider such as Bluehost.
They offer every new user a 1-year free domain with any of their hosting plans. You can either register a brand new domain name with them or transfer a domain name, registered with another company.
Some other hosting providers who also have a 1-year free domain policy:
- HostGator
- Dreamhost
- InMotion Hosting
Note: The downside of getting a domain name from a hosting provider is more expensive renewals. After a free year, most hosting providers will charge a higher renewal fee, compared to domain registrars.
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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.
Why You Should Register Your Own Domain Name
There are many considerations when starting a business- choosing a name, services/products you will offer, registering your business, and more. An important step to take as soon as you choose a business name is to choose and purchase a website domain name. Websites are a critical part of marketing, and securing a good domain name should be done sooner, rather than later.
Even if you are not ready to have a website up and running, you should have a domain name ready and waiting.
Here are some reasons why you should purchase your own domain name:
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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.
Tips For Choosing A Registrar
Determine which services you require
You may want services like email hosting or support offered in French, so find out what each registrar offers. Remember, if you registered your .CA domain name as an individual you have free WHOIS privacy protection already included.
Check references
Seek out customer reviews and testimonials, and ask friends or colleagues for a recommendation. You may find that some registrars come highly recommended by your peers. If you make a mistake, you can always transfer your .CA domain to another registrar.
Shop around
Shop around to get a good understanding of how much your domain name, and additional services, will cost. Registrars may offer bundles, packages, or special promotions. Keep in mind that cheapest isnt always necessarily best.
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Find Your Customer Support
To get the contact details to your customer support, enter your domain name below and click “Search”.
Note! If you have separate administrative, technical and/or billing contacts for your domain name, they will be disconnected from the domain name when you change retailer. Notify your new retailer of any contacts you want.
The Swedish Internet Foundation is an independent, business-driven and public-benefit organization. We work for an internet that contributes positively to people and society. We are responsible for the internet’s Swedish top-level domain .se and manages the operation and administration of the top-level domain .nu. The revenue from our business finances a number of initiatives in order to enable people to use the internet in the best way, and to stimulate the sharing of knowledge and innovation with a focus on the internet.
- Internetstiftelsen
Protecting Your Brand Beyond Your Attractive Domain Name
Your domain name provides you with the required brand image. As mentioned earlier, it is important to brainstorm a name that can bring justice to your brand. An exclusive domain name is not just a fancy name that can get instant recognition among the audience they help in protecting your brand image and continuously strengthen it.
There are plenty of things that you need to consider while buying luxury domain names.
When buying an exclusive domain, dont forget to consider purchasing at least .net domain extension, as well as other domain extensions if you can.
Getting all the popular extension instead of just .com.
For example, if your domain is www.MyPremiumDomain.com think about buying these 2 extensions too:
- .net
- .org
While this will inevitably result in a larger domain bill each year, we recommend this for a number of reasons:
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Search Engines Can Sometimes Favor Com Domains Over Others
This is definitely not always true, however, search engines like Google have been known to rank non-country-specific domain names better in universal search results than specific country code domains, which are sometimes assumed to be more specific to certain regions of the world.
The domain extension .io, for example, is an exception. Its growing in popularity in the app and tech world due to its input/output abbreviation, but its technically the country code domain for the British Indian Ocean Territory. In this case, however, Google understands that many website owners are using this ccTLd generically and not specifically to the British Indian Ocean Territory, but its important to keep in mind that certain extensions will be ranked differently if the majority of their use is region specific.
A Domain Name Gives You Your Own Corner Of The Internet
There are many reasons why you might want your own domain name. Maybe you want a place to feature your resume or portfolio. Maybe you’re looking to showcase a complex website you built yourself with languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
No matter what you intend to use it for, having your own domain name allows you to build a web presence that’s entirely about you. There are no social media templates, word count limits, or distracting sidebars competing for readers’ attention.
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Select A Registrar Or Reseller With Which To Register
Many registrars are commercial companies which sell domain names and compete in terms of price, customer service and other value-added services such as hosting and web development. Domain names can also be bought through resellers which have trading arrangements with accredited registrars.
Remember that buying a domain name is not just about price. Registrars that provide good customer service and other value-adds can be an asset to a business.
Check out the full list of accredited registrars who can process applications for the .ie top level domain . Many of these companies are also registrars for other TLDs.
Registering A Domain Name With Ionos
Headquartered in Germany, Ionos is one of the oldest players in the information technology industry, having been around since 1988. Ionos offers domain registration along with website hosting plans.
To register your domain with IONOS, go to the IONOS homepage:
After completing your order, your domain registration is complete.
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Benefits Of Quality Domain Names
Theres always more than you imagine. Exclusive domain names might seem simple and usual, just like the standard domain names, but they hold great importance. Their worth in the internet world is weighed in gold.
Lets take a look at the possible benefits you will get after registering for a premium domain name.
What To Consider When Choosing A Domain Registrar
- Price
- Hosting options
- Speed of updates
Choosing where you want to register your domain is very important. While the service should be similar no matter where you go, there are some important things to consider to ensure you get the best level of service possible.
The following are some of the reasons why it matters where you get your domain name from:
Price
Price is likely the biggest difference between the various domain name registration companies. Some companies, for example, offer a low price for the first year and then bump the price up for renewing your domain. Others charge a set fee each year for as long as you own the domain. Make sure to look at all the factors related to the price of your domain before registering.
Customer Service
While buying a domain name is pretty straightforward, keeping it properly updated may cause some confusion. Having a good customer service team at the domain name registration company is critical.
Hosting Options
If youre planning on hosting your website at the same company that you register the domain with, you want to make sure that the company offers quality hosting. Make sure that they offer a variety of hosting types such as shared hosting, virtual private service hosting, and dedicated servers so that you can upgrade if needed in the future.
Speed of Updates
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