Are you looking to market your company on the Internet? If so, you need to build a website — and to do that, one of the first things you’ll need is a domain name.
Keep reading to learn how to buy a domain name and get answers to questions like:
- What is a domain name?
- How much does a domain name cost?
- Who sells website domains?
- How do I choose a domain name?
- How do I buy a domain name?
What is a domain name?
A domain name is a website’s URL. Every website is denoted by a particular IP address, which is a series of numbers (e.g., 573.8.5.3).
Since remembering the IP address of every site is difficult, sites also use domain names to represent their online location.
Domain names have two parts: The second-level domain (SLD) and the top-level domain (TLD).
The SLD makes up the bulk of the domain name, and usually consists of a word or series of words that represent that website’s brand.
The TLD, meanwhile, is the extension that appears at the end — .com, .org, and .net are common TLDs.
For example, the domain name for Barnes & Noble is barnesandnoble.com.
The purpose of a domain name is to give users an address to visit when they want to find a website.
If you wanted to buy something on Amazon, for example, and you didn’t have it bookmarked, the easiest thing to do would be to simply type “amazon.com” into your address bar.
How much do domain names cost?
Purchasing a domain name costs $0.95-$12 per domain — though high-value domains, like hotels.com, can sell for millions of dollars. Besides purchasing a domain name, you’ll also need to renew your domain registration annually, which costs between $2 – $20 per year.
Who sells website domains?
A cornerstone to learning how to purchase a domain name is understanding who sells them.
Domain registers sell domains.
When registering or buying your domain name, you do it through a domain registrar. One of the oldest and most well-known registrars is GoDaddy.
Others include:
Instead of using one of the above registrars, you can also register a domain name through your content management system (CMS), if you use one. In that situation, your CMS — WordPress, for example — will handle the registration for you.
How to choose a domain name
Every walkthrough on how to buy a domain name should discuss how to choose a domain name.
While you could pick one at random — don’t. Instead, there are several things you need to consider when making your choice.
In particular, you need to pay attention to branding, simplicity, and availability.
Choose an on-brand domain name
The first thing to consider before buying a domain is how it will fit in with your branding.
Whatever domain name you pick will be what shows up in the address bar every time someone visits your site, so it should represent your business. The most obvious approach to take is to use the name of your company.
Walmart, for instance, uses the domain name walmart.com.
Variations on your company name work too, though — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s site is hmhco.com.
Choose a simple, to-the-point domain name
In addition to representing your brand, your domain name should be simple and easy to remember. You want users to easily recall your URL whenever they want to visit your site, so you should use a domain name that’s short and succinct.
In some cases, that may mean shortening your brand name.
To return to the above example of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the company used “hmhco.com” because “houghtonmifflinharcourtcompany.com” would be too long and difficult to remember.
Choose an available domain name
The final factor in choosing your domain name is availability.
You can’t use the same domain name as another website — that’d be like your home having the same address as another house on your street. So, if another site has already claimed the domain name you want, it won’t be available to you.
That means you need to be prepared to come up with new names if your original preference doesn’t work out. It won’t be as much of a problem if your business has a unique name, but if it’s something common like “Main Street Diner,” you may want a backup plan.
Keep in mind that when it comes to how to register a domain name, you can also approach owners of existing domains.
In some cases — and for a price — they will sell the domain to you.
If you must change your name to find something available, keep it as short as possible and ensure it reflects your brand.
You can find a way to make a domain name using a variation of your company’s name — for example, “johnsonelectronics.com” for a company called “Taylor Johnson Electronics.”
How to buy a domain name in 6 steps
Now that you know some background information about buying a domain name, you’re ready to learn how to buy a domain name.
Just follow these steps to get started:
- Choose a domain registrar
- Compile domain name options
- Fine available domain options with a domain checker tool
- Choose an available domain option that meets your brand and requirements best
- Buy the domain name
- Register your domain name with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
Keep in mind after buying your domain name that you pay each year to keep your domain name — there’s no one-time domain payment. Most domain registrars allow you to turn on an auto-renewal feature, ensuring that you won’t lose your site after a year by forgetting to make your next payment.
What happens after your domain name purchase?
Once you have your domain name, the next step is to choose a web host.
Web hosting is slightly different from a domain — if your domain is your street address, your web host is the actual building located at that address.
It’s where all the files that make up your site are stored. Fortunately, the two elements often go hand in hand. Most domain registrars also offer web hosting services, allowing you to get them both in one place.
If for some reason you want to host your website elsewhere, you can do that too. You can get web hosting from sites like:
However you do it, web hosting and domain registration are the two key components of getting a website.
