Tell Me What To Do Already
Okay, there are always tradeoffs with these things. Some additional convenience in one area costs you less convenience in another area. Same for security, pricing, and so on.
So, with all that being said, and taking all of the above into account, heres my general advice:
- If you want to launch your first WordPress website on a brand new domain name: Get the domain and hosting from the same company. Start with hosting research whats available in the market , and pick the best host for your needs, then get the domain from the same company.
- If you want to launch more than one website, or youre planning to expand your portfolio rather quickly: Get the domains and hosting from separate companies. Preferably two companies: All of your domains from one, and all of your hosting from the other. This gives you more room to move around and adjust your setup altogether in case your goals change or anything happens.
They say, dont keep all your eggs in one basket, but lets not go crazy here. I believe that both approaches buying your domain name and hosting from the same company versus from two separate companies have their place, and the right choice depends only on your requirements.
So whats your final decision? Are you buying your next domain name from a web hosting company or from a domain name registrar?
Keep It Short And Simple
Its an obvious strategy, but registering a domain name that is short and memorable isnt as easy as you might think. The fewer words or characters your domain name has, the more likely your customers will spell your domain correctly and find your site. This method might require some creativity, but it will pay off.
On the simple front, make sure your domain name is easy to spell and avoid using numbers and hyphens.
Which Is More Important Domain Or Hosting
People spend a lot of time, energy & money in developing ones website. Therefore, at a first glance, the website seems to be more important.
For a domain name, once you have decided upon a name which is available, it is the end of it. You dont have to spend time with it or give it much of a thought.
But websites, on the other hand, require planning, effort, and a lot more money than a domain name. Even when the site is done, it needs constant tweaking, updating, content creation, fine-tuning to speed it up.
You spend so much time on it, that it seems to be the most important entity among the two. And since your website is directly hosted on your Hosting server, the Hosting seems to be the most important of the two.
But did you know that your website is worth nothing if you lose your domain name? A website, on the other hand, can be redesigned. Or if the hosting fails, the website can be recovered from a backup and hosted again.
Suppose you spend 10 years marketing your website, building your brand. And you successfully build a big business around your website. What will happen if you lose your website? It will be a temporary setback before you build it or host it back again using your backed up files.
But what will happen if you lose your domain name? Your 10 years of marketing efforts will all go down the drain.Yes, thats how important a domain name is.
So, what are the measures you can take to protect your domain name?
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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.
Will A Blog Domain Help My Blog Rank Better
Google gives the same amount of weight to every extension. There is no SEO ranking difference between .com, .blog, or .xyz. Opting for a .blog domain name isnt a ranking factor. Improving SEO relies on multiple factors like site quality, authority, and linking. That said, choosing .blog might help users to identify your blog among the search results.
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Make It Brandable Not Generic
Creative, memorable domain names are always better than generic ones. After all, your domain name is how people will find, remember, and spread the word about your business on the internet. Its much better to have something that aligns with your brand instead of a domain name thats made up of a bunch of general keywords.
For example, can you tell the difference between cheapcarinsurance.com and affordableautoinsurance.com? Which one would you trust when it comes to buying insurance? Probably neither. Both sound a little spammy, and theyre terribly generic.
On the other hand, youll probably know where the domain names progressive.com or geico.com are going to point you to. Those companies have invested in their brands, and theyve used them in their domain names. You can trust that these sites are legitimate.
Even if you havent built up trust and loyalty yet, you can start by choosing a strong domain name that fits your brand.
How To Register A Domain Name With Namecheap
As the name suggests, this Namecheap offers great value for money. Its .com domains start from $8.88/year, which is a low price compared to the rest of the market.
To buy a domain name on Namecheap, head over to the homepage and insert a name on the search field. Alternatively, head to the Bulk Domain Name Search tool and enter up to 5,000 keywords and find multiple domains at once.
The site will redirect you to the search results page. Feel free to sort the available domains by cost, extension, or alphabetical order. Click Add to Cart on the name you want to register and the Checkout button on the bottom-right corner to continue with the payment process.
The page will preview the order and suggest several add-ons to add to the cart, including PremiumDNS for a performance and security boost. This domain registrar also provides a free privacy and protection feature.
Confirm the order to move on to the next step creating a Namecheap account. Insert your contact information, including your name, phone number, email, and physical address. Enter a company name and tick the Im registering on behalf of a company box if applicable.
Press Continue to go to the Setup page. Here, specify the contact information for the domains registrant, administrator, technical support, and billings. If youre responsible for all these things, select User default account contact. Otherwise, choose to Add new contact where appropriate.
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When Do You Need To Buy A Domain Name
According to Verisign, there were over 367 million domain registrations close to the second quarter of 2021, a 0.7% decrease from last year.
While domain name buying is slowing down, this shouldnt placate you. Its much harder to buy a domain from its owner than register it yourself. So, you should buy your desired domain name as soon as you know it, as you dont want someone else to take it.
If you have an idea for your domain, you are already on the right path to choosing a domain name.
When buying your domain name, consider purchasing any other names you want. That includes domains for your:
- Customer support program
- Customer loyalty program
If you want to use a domain in the future but not immediately, you can install a coming soon page on your domain with a WordPress extension like SeedProd. You can also park your domain. Domain parking is widespread, as ICANN estimates 52.95% of domains are currently parked.
What Is Domain Name And Hosting
We will start with the most basic question first. We will look at what a domain name is.
Think of your domain name as your online address. You want it to be something that others can easily relate to your business. Take our domain name raycreations.net for instance. Since our business name is Ray Creations, it makes sense to book a domain name that is as similar as possible to the business name.
Not only people remember and recall the domain name easily that way, it also helps in your brand building exercise.Also, when people are not familiar with your domain name, they will intuitively search for something similar to your brand name online, to get to your website. And if your domain name is totally different than your brand name, they wont have much luck finding it, would they?
Therefore, it makes sense to have the domain name as similar to your brand as possible.
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The Top 5 Hosting Providers
1) Bluehost:Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosting services available. It has been reviewed by many people and is seen as a reputable service for all your hosting needs. The company offers unlimited disk space, email accounts, monthly data transfers, and other useful features for those just starting out or even veteran entrepreneurs looking to change providers. For more information on package plans from Bluehost,
2) Namecheap: Namecheap is an international provider of domain name registration and web hosting services. They are a budget hosting provider with 11 million registered users, 8 million domains under their management, and ten years in the industry. Additionally, they have been accredited by ICANN since 2003 to register domain names on behalf of customers all around the world.
3) Hostinger:Hostinger has been in business since 2004 and offers a range of services globally. Hostinger International, Ltd is an employee-owned Web hosting provider and Internet domain registrar established to provide web space for anyone with the need. The companys headquarters are located in Singapore, while other offices are spread across Europe, Asia Pacific Region, North America, and South Africa.
Domain Names Vs Hosting
Before deciding, youll want to understand the difference between your domain name and your hosting.
Your domain name is the .com that your register, like your-business.com. You dont actually buy and own it forever, you register it in yearly increments. The actual domain name is simply a shortcut your users can type in to get to your WordPress hosting account. Your hosting account is where your WordPress files and database live, on a server, and your domain name is a shortcut to them.
Its like Main Street. Theres a sign that says Main Street which tells people what the name of the actual street is. This is like your domain. Then theres the actual Main Street, the asphalt road that is the street itself. This is like your hosting account.
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Domain Name Vs Web Hosting Whats The Difference
Domain names and web hosting are two different things however, theyre closely connected. You need both a domain name and a web hosting account to create a website. This means that you cant build a website without any one of them.
To get started, you can choose a domain name and register it with a domain registrar company. With most domain companies, you can register a domain name for a minimum period of 1 year. You need to renew your domain before expiring to continue using it.
Next, you can buy a hosting plan and link it with your domain name. After that, you can install a website software , install tools and plugins, and add content to your website.
The hosting menu will expand and present you with three different options:
- Dedicated Hosting
Youll still be able to bundle your hosting plan and domain registration if you select dedicated or VPS, but most of you wont need to worry about that right now. Just stick with shared hosting.
Bluehost offers four different shared web hosting plans to choose fromBasic, Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro:
If youre launching a small personal site, the Basic entry-level plan starting at $2.95 per month should be fine for you. For those of you launching a site for your business, Id go with the Choice Plus plan, at a minimum.
The extra features that come with this plan are worth the few extra bucks per month.
To continue, just click the Select button under the plan that fits your needs.
Is Buying And Selling Domains Profitable
It can be with the right approach.
When it comes to buying domain names, its all about doing the research. This means pinpointing names with potential value and if theyre already owned by someone else assessing their price against possible ROI.
On the sales side, market forces dictate when and where it makes the most sense to sell. For example, if you manage to purchase newly available domain name suffixes, you may be able to tap into market trends and make a significant profit. Its also worth noting, however, that domain name prices continually fluctuate. In practice, this means that a domain worth big money a month ago could see a sudden value loss. Much like owning land, however, the market typically rights itself if youre willing to wait.
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Negotiate A Price That Works For Both Of You
When you get in contact, negotiate a fair price. Look up the domains history on the Wayback Machine and check out the domains Domain Authority to get a sense of its value. You can use tools such as Moz or Ahrefs to get this number.
Once you settle on a price, use Escrow to facilitate payment. Do not use your personal PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle account.
What Are The Features Of A Good Business Name
When you name your business, its important to make sure that it will serve your brand well for years to come and help you build a strong customer base. Here are some of the top qualities your business name should have:
- Clear: The name should be easy to understand, pronounce, and spell.
- Distinctive: Your name shouldnt be confused with that of another business.
- Catchy: Choose a name thats both interesting and memorable.
- Brandable: Imagine how your name will look on marketing materials, such as business cards and logos.
- Future-proof: Your name shouldnt limit your companys ability to grow.
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How Can Ionos Afford To Offer Free Domains
First of all, IONOS is not a free domain name service provider in general. We usually have very competitive pricing for our domain customers however, you will not be able to enjoy free domains all the time. The reason we can occasionally give away domains at little or no cost is that our large customer base enables us to attract a lot of registries that work with us.
One example of such cooperation might be a registry that launches a new TLD but does not intend to do all of the marketing and sales activities by themselves. Nevertheless they would like to see quick growth in their user base and to reach this goal they give IONOS very attractive offers. Then, for example, we can sometimes offer free domain registration.
On the one hand, this is a great opportunity for our customers to benefit from fantastic offers, on the other hand it can evoke the wrong impression about the hosting industry in general. In the long run, it is impossible to offer free domain name registration and cheap web hosting services at a high quality level.
Delivering Domain Success With Namecom
Whats in a name? When it comes to buying and selling domains, everything. Finding a name thats relevant to your target market, and shows signs of increased demand can help drive interest among buyers and boost potential sales prices.
Given the sheer number of domain name options, and the increasing amount of available domain suffixes, however, this can be a daunting task. Best bet? Start with Name.com. From a massive list of available domains, to curated results for memorable names that can help capture buyer interest, to easy aftermarket access, we can help you buy and sell domain names better.
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Tips For Buying And Selling Domain Names
A great domain name helps businesses succeed online. As a result, companies may be willing to spend big if it means getting their ideal domain name. For investors, this offers an opportunity: If theyre able to buy in-demand names, they could potentially sell them for significant profit.
How does this process work? What do potential domain investors need to know about picking the right domain names, setting the right prices, and generating buyer interest?
In this piece, well dive into six tips on how to buy and sell domains and answer the burning question: Is buying and selling domains profitable?
Some Tips On Getting A Great Domain Name
After selling over a million domains, we’ve learned a few things…
Use our Domains Search Tool
Get domain availabilities, prices, and even suggestions by using our Domains Search Tool.
Keep it Concise
The maximum length of a domain name is 253 charactersâ¦the sites most of us visit are way less. Keep it simple to stay memorable.
Reserve Your Name
Personal domain names are a good +1 to your owned domains. Use your own name as a property to forward visitors to sites you want associated with yourself.
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