If you’re thinking about starting a website and building your brand, the most crucial steps are to buy domain name and hosting for your site. It’s a simple process but an essential one.
Without a good domain and reliable hosting your website will become lost in the ocean of the internet and is unlikely to be very successful for you.
Here is our complete guide on how to buy domain name and hosting. Let’s start with the domain.
How to Buy Domain Name?
Choosing a Domain Name
Before you get to purchase your domain, you have to choose the name that suits your site. A good domain name really does make a difference.
Here are a few points to keep in mind:
1. Keep it Short
Your domain name represents your brand so it’s vital that you pick a name that people can easily remember. Keep it short, memorable and make sure it’s a name that can be pronounced easily. It should sound as good as it reads.
2. Keep it Simple
If the domain name you want is taken, adding hyphens to it may seem to solve the problem but that’s not the case. Adding a hyphen to your domain name instantly makes it more difficult to remember and pronounce.
If it isn’t a letter, it probably doesn’t belong in your domain name. If the name you want isn’t available it’s a much better idea to simply come up with a new one than modify an old idea without hyphens.
3. Use the Right Top-Level Domain Names
Your domain extension or Top Level Domain (TLD) is just as important as the name you choose. There are several TLD options you could choose but it’s best to stick to what works the most common being .com but if that isn’t available you can consider .net, .io, or .info as well.
4. Use Domain Name Generator Tools
Use online domain name generator tools to find potential domains you could use. Experiment with ideas and names that you have brainstormed to come up with the best domain for your site.
Input the relevant keywords for your site and these tools can help construct available domain names you could use. Some great options you could explore right now are leandomainsearch.com, namemesh.com, domainwheel.com
5. Choose a Reliable Registrar
When it comes to buying your domain, the name makes sure you identify a credible and reliable registrar to avoid paying more than you need. When selecting a registrar, compare their prices, expiration policies, as well as the additional features they might offer to make the best decision.
Reliable Top Domain Name Registrars
If you’ve settled on the name of your domain, it’s now time for you to purchase it. Here are 3 domain registrars that we recommend:
1. Bluehost
If you want to keep things simple, buy domain name hosting at one place. Here comes the Bluehost.
When sign up with any Bluehost web hosting plans you get a domain completely free for the first year. We’ll get into the web hosting options later but it’s a service you’ll need and Bluehost throws in a domain and an easy way to get started with WordPress.
With their basic plan at $2.75 a month, you get all these features as well as 24/7 experienced customer support and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
2. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is the largest domain registrar in the world with more than 20 million customers and over 75 million domains attached to them. GoDaddy provides competitive prices for the domains you need and are known for their reliable customer support that includes telephone helplines.
3. Namecheap
As the name suggests, Namecheap gets you your desired domains at the cheapest prices. They may not be as large as Bluehost or GoDaddy but with over 2 million satisfied customers, they’re just as reliable. Namecheap also has its own domain name generator to make your purchase easier.
Note: After you purchase your domain from your chosen registrar you need to verify your ownership of the name. This is as simple as clicking the verify link in the email sent to the address you used to purchase and set up the domain.
Now you have your domain, it’s time for the best and affordable hosting.
How to Buy Hosting? Explained
Things to keep in mind before purchasing your hosting service:
1. Choose a Reliable Hosting Service
Choose a hosting service you can trust. Make sure you evaluate prices, features, and ensure there aren’t any hidden fees. Too many offers and promotions could be a red flag so do your research before signing up to a provider.
2. Know The Type of Hosting You Need
The type of hosting you need depends on your website. Broadly you should consider Shared Hosting and Cloud Hosting, both with their benefits depending on your site.
Shared Hosting: With shared hosting, your site is stored on a server with several other websites. Every domain within that server shares the same resources for example the CPU. This makes shared hosting considerably cheaper than other hosting options and requires almost zero maintenance from you because your site is on a shared server.
As a beginner, shared hosting is simple, direct, and cheap. If your website receives a moderate amount of traffic and you’ve only just started with your website, shared hosting is ideal. Moreover, most shared hosting plans come with site builder tools among others to make everything just a bit easier for you.
Cloud Hosting: Cloud hosting hosts your website on a cloud network, this means it isn’t a single server hosting your site but a network of virtual and physical cloud servers. As opposed to shared hosting solutions, cloud hosting performs drastically better. Since it’s a network of servers rather than a single unit, this system is far more scalable meaning you can expand your network as much as your website requires as it grows.
It’s considerably more reliable as your performance isn’t dependent on a single server unit and as a user, you only pay for as much as you need. As your website and traffic grow, and your requirement for a large and high-performing site increases, cloud hosting is perhaps the better choice.
3. Check the Security and Support
Hosting your site securely is crucial. The internet is a risky realm and websites are constantly under threat from hackers. Ensuring the hosting provider, you choose is secure will protect you from these threats. For example, does your host come with anti-virus and malware prevention? Another great feature to look for is Website backups. Losing all your site data could become a catastrophe without the safety of backups.
2 Top Trusted Hosting Services
1. Bluehost
It can get confusing to find the best web hosting provider, but we’ve done the research and the best is undoubtedly Bluehost for small to medium blog sites. Bluehost provides one free domain as soon as you sign up which is an advantage with the service right out of the gate.
Here’s how you get started with Bluehost:
Bluehost has 3 plans you can choose from namely Basic, Plus, and Prime. Depending on your website pick the plan that works the best for you. If you’ve got just one site, the basic plan should meet your needs.
If you’ve got more, consider the plus or prime plans. However, the differences between the Plus and Prime plans are marginal so it’s probably best to opt for the cheaper one.
Once you’ve signed up you can construct your free domain name or use one you have purchased before. Next, fill out your contact information and account details, make your payment, verify your email, and log in to your Bluehost account.
Now you can view your dashboard and make full use of the Bluehost optimizations.
2. Cloudways
While Bluehost is fantastic for beginners, if you’re confident to take it to the next level Cloudways is a fantastic hosting option for the tech-savvy. In fact, we’re hosted on Cloudway’s Digital Ocean server, and we are absolutely in love with their service.
Here’s how you get started with Cloudways
Sign up with Cloudways and as soon as you do this you get a 3-day trial period to check out all the platform has to offer. Signing up does require you to verify your identification documents but the process is usually fairly quick.
Next, create your cloud servers and choose the type of application you want to run, and follow the steps to set up your server. Once your server is set up you can access your website and you’re good to go.
For a detailed Cloudways WordPress setup, here is our complete step by step guide:
FAQs on How to Buy Domain Name and Hosting
Conclusion
Hopefully, that gives you an idea of how to buy your domain and hosting. It’s a straightforward process but with several factors to consider. It’s a quick but crucial step in building a successful website that could be the beginning of the endless potential for you.
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