These days your business should have an online presence. Assuming you already believe this, everyone, including the local drycleaner, has a website. A domain name is the foundation of any website. It's important to get a good domain name without being scammed. Here's how:
Understanding the differences between purchasing web hosting and domain name registration is important. You need to have hosting to link to your domain name. However, there are many things you can do to improve the experience of buying a domain name. Hosting is the physical space that your website is stored. It is typically purchased with the domain name. However, you can buy hosting without the domain name. Hosting is not something I will be discussing here.
Domain names are very limited. There is only one domain name available. This means that even if you don't have the website in the works, you can purchase it immediately.
If you are considering purchasing a domain for your business website, do not rule out the possibility that more than one domain can be purchased. Names are available for as low as $20 per year at most domain registrars.
Where do you start?
First, secure the exact name of your company, preferably in.com format. You should verify Rick's Pizza's availability on RicksPizza.com. A WHOIS search-whois.net can help you do this. If someone is selling it for $8000, it's unlikely that you will be able to justify the cost.
If they know how urgent you are looking for the domain, they will be very demanding. So if you make an offer, think about how you can go about negotiating. We'll get to this later. If you are unable to get your dream domain due to the cost, you can try a different TLD (the domain ending) such as RicksPizza.net or RicksPizza.biz.
Keep your name brief: Names can exceed 63 characters. Yours should not be that long.
Be descriptive: If it makes sense, use relevant keywords such as "BuyMensPants.com", if you are a clothesier.
Make it catchy: A web 2.0 name generator such as Dotomator.com can help you create a catchy name. This was used by major webstart-ups like Drupal and Joomla.
You don't want to be sued by trademarks that are registered under your name.
If you are doing business in Germany, avoid hyphens in your name!
Avoid using numerical digits in your domain. This can be confusing for people who hear the domain name-say on the radio, and assume that "5-0" is "FiveZero".
It's important to make sure that it's not a name that you have to spell out for others. Flickr.com, for instance, has been experiencing this problem since its inception. It was first mentioned on the radio, and no one seems to know that it is missing the "e".
Misspellings are a concern: If your company is well-known, or if you have a common misspelling, register several spelling variations for your name. As a mainstream example, note that googel.com links with Google.com because Google recognized the traffic loss they would have suffered if they didn't recognize how to spell "Google".
To take advantage of domain forwarding, where one domain points at another, you might want to consider buying more than one domain. These terms might be typed into a search engine, or directly into the URL bar. It would be very helpful to have those names forward to your main website. You can use web registrars to register your name.
It is essential to ensure that your domain name has an auto renewal. Otherwise, your domain could be lost to public auction.
While it is not necessary to do so, you might consider purchasing domain names in other extensions (TLDs, as they are known). However, like any other extension, be careful not to go too far. You can purchase additional ccTLDs if you're a multi-national business startup called Widget co. There are many ccTLDs available, some of which make no sense and others that have different rules and regulations.
Understanding Subdomains and when to Register Additional Names: Subdomains are usually free for businesses that have major subcategories. In: this.example.com, "this" is the subdomain. Similar to this, if you are constantly creating new products and services for your business, it might be worth registering the domain name as well. Then forward that name to the appropriate area on your main website. This would be similar to McDonald's(r), which owns McRib.com, and forwards it to their homepage. You can own the e-real property on something and not be at risk of it being stolen by anyone else.
How to Properly Register a Domain Name (and get it for FREE) in 2022 (wpbeginner.com)