How to Register a Domain Name (2022 Guide) – Forbes Advisor

Creating a website is a crucial step in building your business. Not only does this help people contact you and learn more about the company, but your website is also a reflection of your brand. Therefore, it is important that your website domain name accurately and effectively reflects your business and brand. Registering your website’s domain name can seem overwhelming to many new business owners. In this article, we break it down for you in a step-by-step guide so you can register your domain name and get your website up and running.

Step 1. Choose a domain name

Namecheap

Your domain name is basically the name of your website. This is the part of the URL that appears before the “.com” or “.org”. When choosing a domain name, you’ll want something that’s catchy, easy to remember, and matches your business name and brand. Finding an available domain name that accurately represents your business and brand can be difficult, depending on the frequency of the name.

You can check domain name availability with a domain registrar, such as Namecheap, GoDaddy, or Google Domains. In some cases, the domain name will be “available”, but there will be a high price attached to it, sometimes up to thousands of dollars. Unless you’re willing to pay a substantial amount of money to get a domain name (and most people aren’t), you should consider the name with alternatives to the .com extension. In many cases, a domain name will be available with .org or .biz or .net for free (or very cheap).

In many cases, the domain name registrar will suggest similar domain names available. For example, if myperfectdomainname.com is not available, the registrar may suggest myperfectdomainname.biz.

Even if a domain name is available, you should verify that the name is also available on social media to ensure alignment between your website and social identifiers.

Step 2. Choose a domain name registrar

How to register a domain name

Namecheap

While cost is certainly a consideration, choosing a domain name registrar is a bit more complicated than looking for the cheapest option. Some low-cost domain name registrars may not have adequate privacy protections, and depending on your needs, you may want to consider using the same company to register your domain name and host your website. For example, A2 Hosting and GoDaddy are also web hosting services, which means you have a one-stop shop for buying and registering your domain name and hosting your website.

On the other hand, you may be able to sign up for a web hosting service that also offers domain registration, such as DreamHost or HostGator. But it’s important to read the fine print in these situations because domain name registration may only be included for a year or two, after which additional fees may be involved. However, not all web hosting companies offer you the option of registering a domain name. In this case, you will need to buy and register your domain name with one company and host your website with another company.

Step 3. Purchase and register your domain name

How to register a domain name

Domain.com

While it’s possible to register your domain name for free and meet ICANN’s global registry requirements, not everyone is comfortable with their private information being available on the registry. ICANN audience. A domain name registrar generally offers the ability to provide necessary information to ICANN while protecting your privacy. For this reason, many people choose to use a private domain name registrar to purchase and register their domain name. This privacy protection may incur additional charges.

Once you’ve chosen an available domain name, you can purchase the name for a small fee, usually around $10 to $15 per year. These fees are usually paid on an annual basis, but some registrars offer multi-year terms. When recording the name, you will want to pay particular attention to the length of the recording.

Rather than choosing a long-term subscription, you can consider a shorter term with automatic renewal. This way you still have the option of transferring your domain name to another company if you are unhappy with the service, but you are not vulnerable to the domain name being taken over by another party at the in case it expires before you have had a chance to renew the registration.

You can also bid on a domain name that you already own, but a word of warning: the costs can be quite high, depending on the popularity of the domain name.

Step 4. Familiarize yourself with the domain name contract

The service provided by the Domain Name Registrar, your rights and obligations, and the Domain Name Registrar’s ability to make changes to the Arrangement are all governed by the Domain Name Agreement. It is important to read and understand the domain name contract in order to avoid any surprises.

Step 5. Don’t lose the domain name

Renewing your domain name is essential to ensure that you can continue to use the domain name. If you selected the auto-renewal option with your domain name registrar, this step is as simple as making sure you have up-to-date payment information. If your domain name expires before you renew it, the name becomes available for purchase by others and you risk losing use of the domain name.

Step 6. Create your website

If you plan to use your domain name with a working website, then you will create your website. You will need to find a separate company to host the website if your registrar does not provide both services. And if you lack coding experience, you can use a drag-and-drop website builder like Weebly, Squarespace, or Wix to build your website.

Conclusion

Before buying and registering a domain name, it’s worth spending some time reviewing your business needs, goals, and brand. By strategizing how you plan to use the domain name and your website to represent your business and brand, you can make informed decisions about the domain name and its registration.

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