How do you buy a website domain name for your brand and why you need one

A domain name has now become an important part of your overall image, but how do you buy a website domain name. It sometimes gets overlooked but it forms the backbone of your online brand or image. It helps represent who you are and what you do. In this post, I will try and explain what it is, why you need one and where to get one.

What is a domain name

This is the way I explain to people what a domain is. ‘It’s your virtual address that you attach to your online real estate, your website. So that people can find you online.’

It helps in so many different ways which I will explain as we go along.

Imagine your house with no address… That would be silly. How can anyone find us or how will we get our post? Well, there you go. That’s one of the main reasons why it’s important to get one. The problem is people are unsure how or where to get one.

A domain is an address that is personal to you or your business, it’s that little address in your web browser window that you so often see. It’s what comes after the www. Sometimes referred to like your web address.

The reasons why it’s better to have one

There is a number reason’s why it is better to have a domain name one of which I’ve already explained, it’s your online address.

Below are a number of other reasons why it’s so important to have one

• Looks more professional
• Helps people to find you
• Represents your name and what you do
• Reinforces your brand
• Creates consistency
• Helps with social media
• Shows what services you offer
• Enables you to create a professional email

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Imagine a sweet shop down the street with no sign on the front. Do you think it will be easy for new customers to find the shop or understand what their products or services they offer?

How to choose and buy a domain name

Your domain name has to represent you. There are hundreds and thousands to choose from but the one you may be after may already be gone, so the sooner you secure it – the better. The way I look at a domain is to imagine you have to tell someone how to find you online.

So the simpler and more memorable the better. The other thing to consider is the spelling. I’ve seen this happen a few times when people struggle to spell certain words.

Here are two examples of the same business.

Let’s say you had a Florist business which also has a shop. The business / shop is called ‘Blossoms Florist’

Version 1:  A good domain name example is  www.blossoms.com  or  www.blossomsflorist.com

Version 2: www.blossoms-the-flower-shop.biz

This is just an example, but hopefully, you can see how much better the simpler version 1 looks and sounds

The other thing to consider is the TLD known as the Top – Level – Domain.
Sounds more complicated than it actually is. It’s the last segment of the domain that immediately follows the “dot” symbol. They are normally broken down into two categories, generic and country-specific.

.com
.net
.org
.co.uk (UK)
.us  (USA)

There are now quite a few options available, but I would always suggest the .com or country-specific as they are the most popular and also the ones most people would use as a guess when searching for your business.

Where and how to buy a website domain name

There are a lot of companies which offer a domain registration service. However, they can vary in price considerably. I have used a number of registration companies over the years but there are only a few companies are still use. The main one I use is Name Cheap who are very competitive on price for registering a domain name. They also offer a free ‘Whois Guard’ service which a lot of companies charge for extra. Bonus!

Try this easy to use the search bar to see if your ideal domain name is available.

How to buy a website and a domain name in one place

Most companies offering domain names offer hosting as well. But if you want a simple all in one solution visit my No1 recommendation below.

Whois and WhoisGuard

These are two services you need to be aware of. Whois is a service which all registration companies tend to offer. It provides information about a registered domain, such as owner, contact information, company with which a domain is registered (also known as a Registrar). The WhoisGuard is a privacy service that prevents people from seeing your name, address, contact number when someone performs a Whois search on your domain. This service also protects you from potential spam and identity theft

Do you own your domain forever

The simple answer is no, you are pretty much renting the name. You pay to register the name which then gets logged with a Registrar. When the renewal is due you pay for it again. If you don’t renew, the domain eventually gets offered to the open market again. So make sure you keep it up-to-date.

Why it becomes part of your brand

It becomes part of your brand mainly because it represents your name or your business. It’s personal to you or your business which then becomes an integral part of your online presence. Take my example from earlier blossoms.com, if you see my example below you can see how quickly your brand can start to develop across many platforms.

See how it quickly it starts to build out with the main aim in keeping things consistent, this will help with your online presence and brand building.