4 Things To Consider Before Buying A Domain Name
The process of creating a website usually begins with selecting a domain name, which is the name and address where people will be able to find your website online.
Although the wild west of .com domain names happened decades ago, the new crop of domains offer plenty of naming opportunity that may better suit your needs and support your goals on the Internet. For anyone launching their first website, or even for those doing an audit on your existing domain portfolio, here are four important things to consider before buying a domain name.
1. Choose a domain name registrar
Although you can buy domain names from any of the thousands of domain registrars operating around the world, there are often price differences and other unique qualities that differentiate registrars. Most allow domain registrations over multiple years, and many offer other domain services to help streamline your web building efffort. PrideLife however is the only domain registrar that is LGBT-owned and LGBT-certified, so for those interested in supporting LGBT small business it’s a great option.
2. Pay Attention to the domain name pricing
It helps to understand that each domain (i.e. .com, .org, .lgbt) is owned by a company, and those companies set the base cost for their domain names sold at registrars. It means that the base price for .com may be different than the base price for .lgbt, and therefore registrar may have different retail costs for each. Some of the newer domains may be priced a little higher, but they also have more name options available for registration. It’s often worth considering a slightly higher expense for a more impactful domain name, not unlike the “location” debate that occurs in real estate pricing.
3. Make it easy to memorize and spell
Recall is key because you want people to type in your domain name without error. Long names, phonetic spelling and hyphens are examples of ways to over complicate your domain name and make it harder for people to reach your website. Short and simple is always better, but also using domain extensions that match your interest (i.e. .yoga, .gay, .ski) or purpose (i.e. .blog, .org, .radio) can make your domain easier to remember. If your domain name is memorable and intuitive then you are on the right track, so test it out with some friends before committing.
4. Buy immediately
Having a great idea for a great name and finding that it is available for purchase can feel like winning the lottery. Be warned however that if you don’t act immediately to purchase your preferred domain name it may be taken by someone interested in the exact same name. When you search for a domain name it produces a query result in real time, but that is not a commitment to save the name for you if you do not act on the purchase quickly. Once a name is taken, it is taken, and you will find yourself starting over with a new name selection.
Keeping all of these things in mind, we encourage everyone to begin the process of bringing your best ideas and initiatives to life with the perfect domain name. It all starts with the name, and we’re here to assist 24 hours a day.
We hope you have found these items helpful and welcome the opportunity to share insights on other topics of interest. We invite you to share your experiences or comment below.