When you decide on a name for your business/website, the first thing you’ll want to do is secure the domain. The domain is also known as the web address. It’s where you will tell people to go to visit your website, what you’ll put on business cards and marketing materials. For example, our company’s domain of the website you are currently reading this article on is plantedsky.com
Securing a domain is not a commitment to an actual website platform or anything else yet, it is simply reserving the address so no one else can snag it up before you. once you secure it, you can take all the time you need to choose how you’re going to build a website, so it’s best to grab your domain the moment you know the name of it.
Domains generally cost about $10/year and you can get them from a number of providers.
I recommend Namecheap because of their pricing, support and overall user experience. I’ve been using them happily since ~2010 and have never had any issues with them.
You can visit Namecheap here : Find your domain on Namecheap and search for the domain of your choice to make sure it’s available.
Once you find the domain you want, add it your cart and look at their coupon codes, because you might able to save an extra buck or two on checkout by punching in a code: Namecheap Coupons.
You really shouldn’t need any add-ons or anything like that at this point, so your total cost per domain should come to around $10 (if you’re buying a domain ending in “.com”).
I also recommend that you make sure you keep your credit card on file with Namecheap and make sure to enable auto-renew – so that your domain doesn’t expire when your registration period is up. Many people choose to auto-renew on a year-to-year basis, but if you’re confident that you are keeping the domain for years to come, you amy want to choose longer registration period to save more money.
Do you have any other questions about domains, or choosing a website platform, or any other info you’d like to see me cover in this blog? Feel free to contact me today with any questions.