If you’re wanting to build a website and wondering how to register a domain name, the first thing you’ll want to do is have a brainstorming session. Your domain name should be short, non-hyphenated, and end in a .com. You should also choose a name that is easy for people to remember. You’ll also want your domain name to be easy to spell, as to prevent confusion for site visitors.
Tips for how to register a domain name
Making your domain name short
Creating a short domain name can be accomplished in two ways. First you can use less characters for longer words. This allows you to create a short name with a lot of words in it. The second method is to use fewer words. Even if one or both of the words in a two word domain name have a lot of letters, the name is still easy to remember by customers.
Why should you avoid using a hyphenated name
There are a few reasons to avoid hyphens in your domain name. It may offend some people, simply annoy them, or cause confusion in traffic and just look unprofessional.
Why use .com over others?
While there are a variety of top-level domains you can use for the ending of your chosen domain name, the standard .com comes across as the most trustworthy. Currently .com is the most popular and is almost a default for people to push in when entering a domain name.
Domain name building ideas
Use a personal name
If “investmenttips” is taken, try Davesinvestmenttips.com. Adding your name to your domain name adds a personal touch. Be sure to make your name easy to spell and easy to remember.
Using a place in your name
Some examples are dancinghouse, dancingroom, dancingshed, etc. Find one that makes sense and is easy to remember.
Using adjectives in your name
Try to situate a describing word in the domain name. Such as “topinvestmenttips, or bestinvestmenttips, etc.
Domain name registrars
A domain registrar is a company which allows you to have control over your domain name. When it comes time to choose a registrar, it pays to shop around. There are a wide variety of package prices ranging from $5 to $35 annually. However, don’t assume that paying more will guarantee better service. Often you’ll get very poor service from a $35/year registrar.
Here are some things you might want to look for before choosing a registrar:
Free bonuses
Sometimes registrars include addons or plugins when you sign up with them. Some offer certain features for free, while others may charge for them. It pays to do your research before committing to any plans.
WHOIS protection
This protects your personal information from being free for everyone to see. All you have to do is set your domain privacy options to hide your personal information.
Control Panel
Most domain registrars provide a personal control panel for monitoring your domain name, updating your nameservers, and also locking/unlocking your domain. While most registrars will offer a control panel, if you choose one who doesn’t, you’ll have to go through support to make these changes.
Support
Similar to web hosting, you want your domain registrar to be reliable and respond quickly to any issues that may arise. Generally you wont need support for your domain name, but it’s still a nice option to have if something comes up.
Top 2 domain registrars we recommend
#2 www.GoDaddy.com
Offers pretty good rates. GoDaddy.com has a good admin panel and reliable 24/7 customer support. While you can get domain names for as little as $1 through GoDaddy, they do charge you $10/year per domain for domain privacy (hiding your personal information from WHOIS search results.)
While GoDaddy is a very popular choice among many website owners, we highly recommend you consider using NameCheap.com instead, and here’s why…
#1 www.NameCheap.com
Offers better rates to GoDaddy.com and most other domain registrars, good email support, and simplicity. However, NameCheap.com does not charge any fees at all for domain privacy. This means that if, for example, you registered 10 domain names, NameCheap would still charge you $0 for domain privacy for all these domains. GoDaddy and most other domain registrars, however, would charge you approximately $100/year for domain privacy for all 10 domains.
If you’re looking for the most cost-efficient solution for registering your domain name, we recommend using NameCheap.com as you’ll save a fair bit of money in the long run.
Should you purchase a domain name and hosting from the same company?
Pros:
- If you purchase both your domain name and hosting from the same company, setting up the two of them to work together will be done by the company. If you were to buy a domain name and hosting separately, it’s not too difficult to set up, but you might have some troubles if you’re just starting out with this stuff.
- If you run into problems, it doesn’t matter if it’s a hosting issue or a domain issue. By having both hosting and your domain name with the same company, you only have one support center to contact. On the other hand, if you make use of separate companies each might deny responsibility and blame the other.
Cons:
- You may not like having both your hosting and domain name with the same company
- Companies that offer a “free domain” with the purchase of hosting should be considered with caution, as to make sure that it is in fact YOU who owns the chosen domain name, and not the company providing the hosting. Also, make sure you can transfer to a different registrar (for free) should choose to do so.
I’d like to point out that a lot of the time when you purchase your domain name and hosting from the same company, they will also charge you that $10/year fee per domain for domain privacy. As an example, we use www.bluehost.com as LEVO Magazine’s hosting company. And while we highly recommend Bluehost when it comes to website hosting (with their 24/7 chat, email, and phone support, reasonable and competitive prices, and straightforward user interface), we later found out that they do charge a $10/year fee per domain for domain privacy.
When it comes to running an e-business, it helps to cut back on costs whenever possible. So if you’d prefer to not have your personal information made public on the web, and save yourself around $10/year for masking your personal information, NameCheap is the domain registrar for you.
Purchasing a domain name
This process is very simple. First off you go to the registrar of your choice, enter the domain name you wish to purchase, and then head to the checkout page. You might have to set up an account before you make the purchase. If so simply register then proceed to make your purchase.
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