Are you looking to start your digital journey by starting a blog or personal website? Well to begin, you will be required to have a unique domain name.
It is one of the initial steps towards building a website and for that, you have to find out a unique and good name that reflects you or your business and register it immediately.
In this post, we are going to share almost everything about the Domain names, i.e. what they mean, how they work, and also How you can register them for free. So, without delay, let us get started!
A domain name is a human-readable and understandable unique name, that is used to address a website’s specific location on the internet. For example, WPOven.com.
You can easily understand it by considering a website as a house, and then the domain name would be termed as its address.
Since the whole internet is a huge network of computers i.e. servers interconnected to each other, they all have assigned a unique address i.e. called IP addresses which is somewhat like this:
104.21.13.51
Similarly, every website or server has its unique address, i.e., IP addresses, which are unique combinations of numbers. But the problem is, for us humans, it will become very hard to memorize them. So, to make this understandable and easy to remember, domain names have been invented.
Now, domain names can consist of letters, numbers, or both, which helps to create unique names for companies or brands to stand out from the crowd and establish themselves as a branded name.
There are various types of domain names available in the market, some of them are given below for your reference:
Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs): These are the most common types of domains, such as .com, .org, .net, and .info.
Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs): These domains are specific to particular countries or territories, like .uk for the United Kingdom, .de for Germany, or .ca for Canada.
Brand TLDs: These are domain extensions specifically for brands, such as “.Google” or ” .apple “.
Community TLDs: These domains are designed for specific communities or groups, like .edu for educational institutions or .gov for government agencies.
New gTLDs: These are newer domain extensions introduced in recent years, such as .tech, .online, or .store.
Infrastructure TLDs: These domains are used for technical infrastructure, like .arpa for the Address and Routing Parameter Area.
Sponsored TLDs: These are domain extensions sponsored by private organizations or communities for specific purposes, such as .gov for government entities or .museum for museums.
When you are required to have a Domain Name Registered?
The quick answer is, as soon as possible. It is because as per the reports and stats, there have been over 350 million domain names are registered worldwide. Which calculates to one domain per 22 humans on Earth.
In that, 37.20% alone of registered domain names are Top Level Domains. From the above numbers you can assume how domain name business is.
As per the website Designinc, there are, on average, 33,000 new domain name registrations happening every day. This calculates to one domain name registration every 2.61 seconds!
From the above stats and data, you can conclude that whatever you might think of now, someone might be registering it at this moment or may have already done so.
So, the smart approach you can take is to register a domain name as soon as you get the idea.
Smart businessmen and entrepreneurs proactively follow this approach whenever a business idea comes to their mind and after that, they start their business.
You might have a question in your mind Why domain registering is useful?
The short and straightforward answer is, that it helps to protect your assets, brand identity, business name, and any idea you might have to think of for future business. But it is only helpful if you are serious about starting a business.
How much does a domain name cost?
Domain names are very cheap and even buying them is also easy. You can have a permanent domain name for a whole year and you can renew them from time to time. In case you do not like to continue the business, then you can let them expire.
The cost of a domain name generally varies due to its extension or TLD (top-level domain). For example, if you chose “.com” it can cost you around $8 – $14 per year (depending upon the registrar and TLD you choose).
There are more expensive Domain names available such as “.ai” and “.io“.
On the other hand, never go for the Free WordPress domain option, if you are serious about doing independent business.
Also, you need to protect your domain name information from being shared to prevent potential hacking and email spamming.
WhoisGuard Protection Shield is an add-on that helps you with domain privacy protection, which can cost you around an additional 10$-15$ a year.
Certain websites provide domain protection for free with their plans, such as Namecheap and Google domains, but they may be costlier than other domain websites.
Do I Need To Have a Website First Before Domain Registration?
No, you are not required to have a website first before domain Registration. When you try to create a website on WordPress, it will require a domain name first, then you can proceed further.
So, you can register a domain name first and then go after building a website later, whenever you feel so.
You might be surprised to know that, many individuals make it as a business too, which is called domain Flipping. Folks buy good and popular domain names, hold onto them for a while, and then sell them to someone else for a higher price.
How to Select the Right Domain Name?
As we have already mentioned Domain Name plays an important role in your business’s brand and its success. This is why it is one of the most important initial steps that you must be cautious about while selecting the most suitable domain name. To get a better idea, you can check the guidance given below:
1. First, you need to decide the niche of your website, i.e. you should figure out the first the niche of your business or your expertise. For example, if your business niche is “Web hosting” you want it to reflect that niche. Choosing a domain name like “BestWebHosts.com” will indicate what your website is about.
2. Once you are done deciding your website niche, now you can start choosing your domain name. But, choosing a domain name isn’t as easy as it seems. It’s because there are various factors and some important points you need to keep in mind such as:
The domain name must be around your niche.
Do keyword analysis and see which keyword has a higher search volume density with lower competition.
It should be easy to spell and remember.
If possible, it should be SEO-friendly (i.e easy to understand and simple
Try making it short.
Try to avoid numbers and special characters in the domain name.
Your first preference should be to get .com, if not then try .net or .co.
If you are looking to build a brand, the name should be unique and out of the box.
Once you can find your domain, register it immediately and buy a web hosting plan in the next step.
How to Register a Domain Name?
After you get an idea about a domain name for your business, follow the steps given below:
Step 1: Check domain availability
First, check whether the domain that you have decided is available or not with any domain registrars like GoDaddy or Google Domains.
Please note that, sometimes the available domains might reflect high price tags and it can also reach up to thousands of dollars.
If you are not ready to pay these higher prices, choose its alternative domain names. Such as if the prices for the “.com” domain are expensive go for .org, .net, or .co TLDs.
On top of that, the popular registrars also suggest similar available domain names. For example, if the domain name “mydomain.com” is unavailable, they will suggest ” mydomain.net “.
Also, you need to check domain availability on various social media platforms as well. It helps to make sure everything is consistent across your website and social handles.
Step 2: Select Domain Registrar
While looking for the best domain registrar, you might find it a bit difficult due to the plenty of options available online.
Especially when cost is a factor, finding a cheap and reliable option can be challenging. This is because if you go for a low-cost domain name registrar, they might compromise the price by removing some essential privacy protection features.
Also, some web hosting provider also provides you Free domains along with their web hosting package, but they have their limitations and cons. These types of web hosts generally include domain registration for a limited time or also have renewal charges.
For your convenience, you can go for Godaddy or Google domains to register your domain name, since these two registrars are the most popular and trusted platforms. You can buy domains on either of these platforms and then host your website on a reliable and trusted Managed WordPress host.
Fun Fact:GoDaddy is one of the reputed World’s largest domain registrars with more than 20 million customers and counting with more than 84 million domains.
Step 3: Buy and Register your domain name
Since GoDaddy is trustable and popular, we are going to show you how you can register your domain name to this particular registrar in step by step.
Go to Godaddy.com and enter your desired domain name in the search box.
Godaddy domain Name search
If the domain name is available, a success message will appear with your domain name listed at the top.
If not a list of suggestions will be displayed from which you can choose, shown in the picture below:
List of suggestive Domain Names
After that select the domain name you are interested in buying and add it to your cart.
Click on the “Continue to cart” button to proceed to checkout.
GoDaddy will display additional services that you can purchase with your domain name. But You can skip these by selecting “No thanks” and clicking “Continue.”
On the next page, review your domain name and its registration period. You can adjust the registration period up to 10 years, but it’s advisable to choose a shorter period i.e. 1 year to save some cost and you can renew it before it expires.
After that sign up to GoDaddy account to complete the registration process.
Enter your billing address and make a payment for the domain name.
GoDaddy will register your domain name and send you an email with a link to your domain control panel.
Extra tip: You can opt for auto-renewal of your domain name, so that GoDaddy automatically deducts the bill amount whenever the expiry date approaches, ensuring you won’t lose your domain name if you forget to renew it.
Conclusion
Always remember, before heading to buy a domain name, first you spend some time thinking about your business. Question yourself what is the goal of your business and how you would like to emerge as a brand. It will help you to choose a brand name that reflects your business and its motto. After that, you can use it for your domain name and build a website that also reflects your business and brand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best domain name Registrar?
Although there are various Domain Registrars available now, the most trusted, reputed, and popular ones are GoDaddy and Google domains.
These Domain registrars also provide the best domain privacy and also offer discounts from time to time.
How do I know if a domain name is available?
Domain registrars have a search feature where you can enter any domain name of your choice. If it’s available, a success message will appear. If not, you’ll be provided with a list of alternative domain names similar to it.
What do I do once I have bought my domain name?
Once you buy a domain name, the next thing you do is to set up Hosting. Choose a particular, reliable, and trusted Web hosting service provider and connect your domain to it. For this, you need to point your domain to your hosting provider’s server. It includes updating your domain’s DNS settings to point to the IP address provided by your hosting company.
Now you are ready to do the Website designing and marketing part.
How do I permanently buy a domain name?
You cannot simply buy a domain name permanently, but you can renew its registration from time to time to claim it. It is because the domain name is more like buying a license or rental service and most of the Domain Registrates allow you only up to 10 years of license.
Is there a way to buy an existing domain name?
Yes, most domain registrars allow you to purchase domain names with the assistance of brokerage features. However, this doesn’t guarantee access to your desired domain name, as the seller may not be interested in selling it or may have set a very high price.
Rahul Kumar is a web enthusiast, and content strategist specializing in WordPress & web hosting. With years of experience and a commitment to staying up-to-date with industry trends, he creates effective online strategies that drive traffic, boosts engagement, and increase conversions. Rahul’s attention to detail and ability to craft compelling content makes him a valuable asset to any brand looking to improve its online presence.
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