Your domain is your home online. Especially if you want to build a personality based business, then you’ve got to setup your website as soon as you can!
Everything that we do online is incomplete without websites. Whether you access Facebook, watch a YouTube video, search Google or apply for jobs through LinkedIn. Every single activity that we do from our browsers is done from the website.
Every website has the unique domain name that sets it apart from the rest of them.
Domain names hold a significant value in the world of internet. People purchase, sell and auction domains.
The number of registrations made is also astonishing. As per Verisign report of Q4 2018, more than 348 million domain names were registered across all TLDs.
As of July 2018, here’s the graph of weekly growth by extension of domain names across the web.
What makes the domain names so promising and why you too must purchase one for your business.
Why purchase a custom domain name for a business?
Although WordPress.com and blogger are great platforms to develop your website with a free domain and hosting provided by these service providers when you search in Google or come across a website a dedicated URL for your a website gives a commercial look and feel for a website.
Buying domains for a year are as cheap as ordering a coffee. Moreover, you would also get the following benefits.
Identity
A custom domain for your branded business is like a distinctive identification of your business. If you purchase the same domain name as your business’ name, people can find you instantly on the internet.
Branding
Your domain will go everywhere. Your social media post, flyers, banners, and hoardings. The same name of your website will give professional branding experience.
Consistent presence
You will get a consistent brand name presence offline and online. Thanks to the same name as your website compared to the store, you are expanding your customer reach digitally.
What is domain registrars?
Domain name registrars are the companies who let you purchase top-level-domain which is also known as TLD. TLDs end with extensions like .com, .net, .co, .org, etc.
As a registrant, you pay the registrars the charges to book your domain name. There are dozens of domain name registrars that help you purchase your desired domain with the desired extension at a special price.
However, each of them has its pros and cons so they must be thoroughly researched by the buyer to make the right choice of choosing the registrar.
1. Cost of purchasing
Before anything else, you must check the price of registering the domain from a particular registrar. You can even get your first domain from a registrar for as low as $0.99/year, and some may charge around $15/year for the same. Indeed, their perks and other value-added services are different.
2. Time period
Time of the domain existence also plays a crucial role. If you are serious about the name and not going to change the domain, then buy it for several years. You will pay relatively less price if you buy a domain for a few years.
3. Domain transfers
You can transfer the domain to another registrar if you are not satisfied with the services of the one you registered. For 60 days, you cannot move the domain to another registrar.
Few registrars make the domain transfer free of cost, and some may charge. You can keep in mind that if you would want to shift to other domain registrars if you would have to pay something extra for the same.
4. Other perks
Check if the registrar is providing other add-ons when you are purchasing a domain. Some may offer free SSL certificate, auto-renewal, free domain transfer, a couple of email accounts, etc.
What Registrars Really Do?
Every domain is stored in a database called registry. When you give your name, address, details, name, email address while registering the domain, everything is stored inside the database called registry.
So, to make a domain name yours, you will need to enter the details into the registry. Registrars do that on your behalf. They have the rights, which are given by ICANN, to sell domain names and enter the details in the registry.
You need to go to registrars to purchase a domain for your business.
Here’re the top places or best domain name registrars you can try to buy your desired domain name.
Bluehost
If you are starting online, Bluehost would be the perfect destinations to purchase your digital properties like website hosting, email address, security, cloud storage, and domain name.
Although Bluehost is renowned for purchasing robust and fast web host for websites, they also are authorized domain name registrars to sell top-level domains to the users.
For a standard .com domain, Bluehost charges $11.99/year. You can also keep your domain in auto-renewal plan so whenever the domain is about to expire its validity is extended automatically.
Bluehost will also help you lock your dream domain so that it won’t get transferred or purchased by anyone else. Bluehost has got skilled customer support which is available for 24×7.
However, as already discussed, if you are a beginner who is just starting online, you would also require hosting. If you purchase Bluehost’s hosting, you get a domain for free. Check Bluehost’s website to verify any more such offers.
NameCheap
NameCheap provides one of the most straightforward and cheapest platforms to register your domain name. They charge around 8 to 10 USD for casual .com domains.
Namecheap’s website has a prominent and helpful UI through which you can find and choose your domains correctly. The intuitive layout of the website makes the whole experience unique and accessible to everyone.
With their chat support, you can ask their representative whenever you are stuck at the purchasing process. Furthermore, they have an enhanced knowledge base that makes your buying experience satisfactory.
You can watch videos and read blogs to understand how to buy the proper domain name for your business.
When you type your desired domain name, Namecheap also gives you options of different extensions that you can also purchase. You can add the ones you like, and on the right side of the panel, you can check the total amount for the domains you have added in the cart.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is arguably the first choice domain name for the business of any type. If you are a freelancer or running a million dollar company, GoDaddy’s features cover every kind of customer segment and give perfect domain registering experience to everyone.
Founded in 1997 at Arizona, USA, this domain registering company now has more than 18 million customers overall. Moreover, GoDaddy is the largest domain name registrar of the world and has managed more than 70 million domain names so far.
GoDaddy has a simple layout and suggests other extensions as well when you type your desired domain. GoDaddy sometimes charges as low as $0.99/year for the domain name up to $14.99/year for usual purchase.
You can find coupon codes and discount vouchers for the buying your domain name at the best price from GoDaddy.
BigRock
BigRock is an Indian domain name registrar which renowned for its excellent and easy purchasing services. Bigrock has two websites for the Indian users and outside India. The price for buying a regular .com domain from Bigrock is $9.99/year.
For others, Bigrock.com is the place where they can find hosting and domain plans for their business. Moreover, you can also purchase cloud storage, VPS, email and security for your websites.
Bigrock provides exclusive discounts on various extension domains for the users who are buying from the BigRock for the first time. So, if you wish to avail the discount, do some research online as they regularly update their discount price for new users.
Once you search your domain name on Bigrock, it shows the availability of .com extension of the domain. If you wish, you can purchase your domain for two straight years at a relatively lower price.
Hover
Hover is the single stop destination to purchase domain names and business email addresses for your venture. You can choose your ideal domain name from more than 100 extensions.
Whether you are an artist, builder, marketer or a blogger, Hover has a set of creative extensions that would make your website domain self-explanatory to your prospects.
Through the robust system of the Hover.com, you can point your domain to any third-party hosting providers instantly. Your website visitors can have an uninterrupted connection to your web browser which would be synced with Hover’s domain.
The active support system of Hover will make your questions heard and solved quickly. Hover understands the requirements of their customers, so they are available on all the major platforms like Twitter, Email, phone calls, chat, etc.
The fees of purchasing a domain from Hover is $12.99/year, and so is the charge for renewals. Moreover, if you want to renew your domain after the first year, the costs would be $14.99/year.
1and1
With $1/year for the first year, you get a domain registered and get a free email address for the commercial use. Also, 1and1 provides free SSL certificate with the registration. For the renewal, you will be charged for $15/year.
The unique pricing of 1and1 makes it one of the cost-effective domain registrars in the market. Along with hosting, 1and1 also provide hosting, VPS, cloud, email, servers, etc.
The free business email address that you have got has 2 GB of the mailbox to save your conversation online. With a single domain from 1and1, you add up to 10,000 subdomains in your website to bifurcate your website into different segments like news, blog, purchase, etc.
1and1 can also lock your domain so that others would not transfer your branded domain without your concern. They have a skilled and sound technical support which would attend your questions 24/7.
The free SSL can help your website rank better in Google and establish trust in the first time visitor that they are interacting with a secure and encrypted communication channel.
Domain.com
At $9.99/year, you can purchase the ideal domain for your company and make a website.
Along with the attractive price of domains, Domain.com also provides smart tools through which you can begin your website building instantly. They do have hosting plans, email accounts, SSL and site lock services through which you can access your website from a single place.
If you wish to use the third party web hosting, the UI of the Domain.com makes the whole procedure smooth and effortless even for a non-technical person.
HostGator
This list is incomplete without HostGator which is one of the oldest in the market of the domain and hosting service provider.
HostGator is your one-stop solution for everything you need from a domain service provider. Its experience of the industry makes it a trustworthy and right source for registering domains for the business.
With $12.95/year you can register your domain name and book your digital identity on which you can build your website. Although the price of HostGator is comparatively higher than other domain registrars, they are also providing three additional features for their users.
In a single domain registration, you can lock your domain and keep it away from the unauthorized parties; your domain will be auto-renewed when the plan is over, and access the secure management framework of the HostGator through which you can manage and monitor your domains easily.
Conclusion
Every domain registrar holds different pros and cons. You need to identify whose service would help you the most in developing an interactive website and scale your business.
If you have any favorite place to buy domains for your websites, share the reasons and your experience in the comments.
