Are you considering starting a blog? If you are, then registering a domain name is one of the first things you need to do.. right after deciding on your niche.
Registering your own unique domain name is an important part of starting your blogging adventure.
Considering the low cost of registering a domain name it is a small investment for your business.
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Your domain name is the address for your website. This is what visitors will type into their browser address bar to get to your website.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) oversees the entire domain name system. They have authorized specific domain registrars to sell domain names.
CHEAPEST DOMAIN NAME REGISTRAR:
The best way to register a domain name is to register it through one of the authorized agents.. known as domain name registrars.
There are a lot of different domain registrars to choose from. The ones we recommend are GoDaddy.com and NameCheap.com
We recommend GoDaddy since that is the one we use.. and we recomment NameCheap because their prices are lower than most of the other registrars. Both of these domain name registrars and provide free basic privacy with your purchase as well.
Without privacy, the public WHOIS will list your name, address, phone number and email.
This can be very annoying because you will get phone calls and emails from every website developer on the planet. Everyone wants to build you a website.. for a hefty price of course!
With the domain privacy feature.. all of your personal information will conveniently be listed as: “Withheld for Privacy Purposes”. Privacy definitely makes your life so much easier!
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HOW TO CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME FOR YOUR BLOG:
Once you have decided on a niche.. you should begin your search for the perfect domain name. Ideally, your domain name should be something that will give people some idea as to what your blog is about.
For instance.. if your chosen niche is the travel niche.. you could register something like packyourbags.com
You should sit down and make a list of domain names you would like to check on. Keep in mind there are more than 350 million domain names in use worldwide.
This means you may have to check quite a few names before you find one that is available. Go to NameCheap.com to begin your search.
When registering your domain name.. Always try to get a .com This is the most popular TLD (top-level domain) and will be the easiest for your visitors to remember.
If the domain name you like is not available with the .com extension.. read our post:
* How to Start a Blog and Make Money
In Step Two.. “What are You Going to Name Your Blog” I have offered tips and suggestions on how to choose a domain name for your blog.
Your domain name should be easy to spell and easy to pronounce and it is best to keep it as short as possible. It should also be free of any hyphens and/or numbers.
If you live in a country other than the United States.. there are country code top-level domains (ccTLD). These will be two-letter country codes… such as .au for Australia, .nz for New Zealand, .de for Germany and so on.
Some TLDs are not available to you. TLDs such as .org are normally used for organizations, .gov is reserved for the government and .edu is reserved for education.
You also should not consider a .info as most times people see these sites as spammy. Think about it.. how many .info sites have you seen at the top of the SERPs?
There are dozens of additional domain extensions available.. but they are hard to remember and would not be good if you intend to create a brand name for yourself.
NOTE: More than 33,000 domain names are registered every day!
This means if you find something you like.. and it is available
it would be a good idea to register it ASAP. If you wait it could be gone!
WHAT IS THE COST FOR REGISTERING A DOMAIN NAME?
When you have determined your domain name you will register the domain with the domain registrar. The cost for registering a domain at NameCheap is currently $6.98.
This price covers the cost of the domain name registration for one year. At the end of the year, you will have to renew it. I strongly suggest turning on the auto-renew feature.
What if you happen to be out of town.. or maybe you are absolutely up to your ears working on your blog. You would not want to lose your domain name if for some reason the renewal date slipped by without you noticing.
If your blog is doing well after the first year and you intend to keep the domain name you can extend your registration for up to 10 years. I typically register and renew my domain names for 5 years at a time.
You should also keep your domain registration and hosting separate. Always register your domain names with a domain registrar.. and host your sites with a reliable web hosting company.
NOTE: You do NOT host your site with a Domain Name Registrar.. nor do you register your domain name with a Web Host.
That’s kind of like going to Dairy Queen for a burger.. and then going to Burger King for an ice cream cone. Always go to the people who specialize in whatever it is you are looking for!
POINT YOUR DOMAIN TO YOUR WEB HOST’S SERVERS:
As soon as you have completed your domain name registration and signed up with your web host.. be sure to update your DNS settings.. pointing your domain name to your web host’s servers. This lets the Internet know where to find your new website.
Hosting.com is an excellent choice for fast and reliable web hosting. They also provide excellent support via phone, email or chat. They keep a balanced number of accounts on each server.. meaning you will never experience slow load times due to overloaded servers.
Host Armada is another good choice for website hosting.. as is Big Scoots. Both of these offer shared hosting as well as upgraded plans and excellent customer support.
For more information on Website Hosting.. you can read the following Post:
* Website Hosting Services for Your Website
Are you ready to move on to the next step in starting your blog?
Here is the page that details the steps for you:
How to Become a Blogger – The Beginner’s Guide
About the Author: Sherry Bennett
Ms. Bennett is a Professional Blogger, who has been earning a living online with niche websites for 25+ years.
Through hard work and dedication, she has turned her passion for blogging into a 7-figure business.. and you can do the same.
Read More
* If you are a new blogger just starting your blogging adventure
learn how to start your blog the right way from the beginning:
Blogging Step-by-Step
Have more questions? Need some answers?
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