Buying a domain is relatively simple but can be confusing at first.
Here are the basics you will need to know:
- First, you will choose a register, you can register a domain with us or any of the thousands of services.
- Next, you will check your domain name’s availability.
- Once you find the domain or domains you like, you will purchase them.
- And finally, you will change the name servers to match your host. If you register with us, the name servers are already added.
1. Choosing a domain register
To own a domain you need to purchase it from a domain registrar commonly known as a domain register. A domain register is a company that is accredited by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). There are thousands available, including us. The price is important, but be careful with companies that might have hidden fees or hidden charges. Godaddy for example is one of the more popular registrars that have suspended domains for certain TOS issues and held them for expensive release fees.
2. Checking if the domain is available
Unfortunately, finding the right domain can be tricky. Some companies will register thousands of domains in hopes you will pay a higher charge. I would stay away from these companies and find something close to what might be perfect. What’s important is that people can remember the domain and that it’s not too long. I would stay under 10 characters and stay away from hyphens if it’s the main domain. If it’s for marketing, hyphens are fine. This is just my preference, though, many companies use hyphens and more characters in their main domain. Don’t be afraid to stray away from .com, as we have. In 10 years .com will have no more importance than any other TLD, and even now it’s only important for a small amount of people. You can search and register your domain on our Domain Registration page. We have free privacy and one of the lowest prices on the Internet.
3. Purchasing the domain name
This is just like any other Ecommerce situation, you choose your domain, add it to your cart, and then pay for it. You will need to provide your WHOIS information, if you choose to add privacy then that information will not be public. Only the domain register can see it. Your email used here needs to be current, ICANN will do checks from time to time to make sure it is, if the email does not work they can suspend the domain.
4. Setting things up
If you use another hosting service than the register, you will need to change the name servers. For example, our name servers are:
ns1.webhost.pro
ns2.webhost.pro
ns3.webhost.pro
Every host has different name servers. You change these in the account manager section or with domain registers you can call in to change them. If you don’t change these, the domain will not connect to your web hosting account. Stay away from domain masking or forwarding, this will eliminate any chance of getting a good ranking in search engines. Once you change the name servers, it can take a couple of hours to update everywhere. I suggest taking a break for an hour or so and coming back to check on it. Sometimes, though, it will update within a couple of minutes.
5. Start building your website.
Once your domain is registered and your name servers are set, you can start building a website. If you have more than one domain, you would add additional ones as parked (showing the same as your main domain content) or ass an addon domain (showing its own content) in your cPanel.