In 2020, every business must be present on the World Wide Web (WWW). It could be owning a website or having a social media page or account. Depending on the needs of your business, you will need an identity, just like you have a name to identify yourself.
What is domain registration or domain name registration?
Domain registration or domain name registration is the process of registering a domain name, which identifies one or more IP addresses with a name that is easier to remember and use in URLs to identify particular web pages. The person or company that registers the domain name is called the registrant of the domain name.
The goal of my article is to help you get an identity for your business using a website. Names with extensions such as .com, .net, .us, .com.gh, etc. that you type in your browser when you surf information about a person or a company are called domain name. Every website on the Internet needs this unique identity called a domain name.
A domain name is a unique name that identifies a website among the millions of websites on the www. Two sites cannot share the same name. Each website can have a primary domain name, although you can redirect other domain names to another domain (this is for another conversation). Some examples of domain names in Ghana are www.ghanaweb.com, www.jbklutse.com, www.facebook.com, www.mfa.gov.gh, etc.
Now that you know what a domain is, let’s take a look at how to buy or register one for yourself or your business. You can either buy it locally from a web hosting company (most of them are resellers of large companies outside of Ghana) or buy directly from large internet companies in the registration market. domain or web hosting. If this is your first time buying a domain name, I encourage you to check out our article on 3 tips before buying your first domain name.
What do you need to buy your domain?
If you decide to buy it from a local web hosting company in Ghana, you will need one of the following:
- Debit card (your VISA or Mastercard from your bank),
- Mobile money,
- Bank transfer (some companies offer this option, but it is an option that I will not encourage).
For those who want to buy from international web hosting companies, you need a debit card (you need to check with your bank if the debit card can make payments online) or a Paypal account.
TIP: For security reasons, I will recommend that you go to any First Atlantic Bank (FAB) or UBA bank and apply for their INSTANT card. Your bank account is not linked to this instant card; it is a virtual account with a physical card (debit card) for making payments and withdrawals.
Where to buy a domain name online?
There are many great service providers out there, but I’m going to limit my list to those I’ve used or still use.
Local hosts:
- DTech Ghana: DTech is one of the oldest web hosting companies in Ghana. For me, this was the first business I started using when I decided to venture into the online space, especially website building. They have been helpful to me and I know they will work for you. I bought my first hosting account from Dtech with a free domain (most hosting companies offer free domains for the first year if you buy a hosting package from them.
- Nakroteck: Owned by an ambitious young IT specialist, Nakro Technology is mainly in Internet services and solutions. They specialize in helping organizations integrate their businesses with the Internet from basic building blocks like a website to more complex solutions designed for specific verticals.
Foreign hosts:
- GoDaddy: GoDaddy is an Internet domain registrar and web hosting company. It is one of the leading companies in this field. Godaddy was my company of choice, where I buy all my domains. I used to manage all my domains there until they got too expensive to maintain.
- NameCheap: Namecheap is where I manage and buy all of my new domains. They’re affordable, and their renewal rates are better than GoDaddy’s. It also sells hosting packages.
- iPage, HostGator, BlueHost: are all web hosting companies that I have used in the past that also sell domains.
In conclusion
It is entirely possible to buy your hosting or domain from local businesses. They offer payment options that most people have, and you can easily visit their office whenever you want. However, I buy all of my domains and web hosting needs from overseas companies. The main benefit for me is instant access to the domains I buy versus buying from local businesses. The choice is yours. I am open to advice and business; you can reach me on 0272839333 (Call and Whatsapp).
If you enjoyed reading my article on domain registration, feel free to comment below.
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