Three Tips On Purchasing A Domain Name

Here’s a universal tip when purchasing a domain name: Don’t purchase from the first website that you stumble across. There is no dearth of domain name registrars that you can register your domain with or transfer your domain to.  A Google search will yield hundreds of websites. Exercise caution when choosing a domain name registrar because price is not always king.

Their price might appear incredibly low. And the website may be plastered with specials or slashed down prices. But, don’t rush into purchasing the domain name then and there. There are many factors that go into making a good domain registrar.

The following are some essentials to consider before purchasing a domain name:

• Compare Overall costs
• Think Long Term
• Consider the features you need

Compare Overall Costs

With domains, the pricing can be all over the place, from $0.99 for the first year, to in the $20 range.  That’s because most registrars offer first year introductory prices to gain your business.  Then, they raise the price the next year to their usual price, which is significantly higher. They figure they can cross sell enough of their other products, to make up for the initial loss.  Make sure you check the second year price. Also, if you saw an ad promoting a special price, make sure you click through that link.  Do not go directly to the site and sign up for an account first.  Most sites will only honor that price if you click on the specific advertisement.  That being said, you should carefully consider why you’re purchasing your domain.  If you haven’t decided on exactly what to name your website, it should be fine to purchase a domain on the cheap for a year until you decide if you want to keep it or not.  If the domain you’re purchasing or renewing is the name you want for your business, think deeper and long term.

Think long term

If you’ve decided on your domain name, not only should you purchase your domain for longer than a one year period, you should purchase it’s derivatives as well. Common misspellings, domains similar to your own, etc. If you purchase a .com, you should purchase the other common extensions (like the .net) as well. By doing this you can prevent cybersquatters or competitors from purchasing these domains and potentially tarnishing your brand. Also, you can set these domains to automatically forward to your main domain name. That way if a customer mistakenly mistypes your domain, they’ll still be forwarded to your site. Taking the above precautions ensures you have full control of your brand and aren’t losing out on traffic to your site.

Unfortunately, this can be quite costly. You’re not going to be able to utilize the $0.99 special coupons for multiple domains, or for longer than the first year. So, look for a domain registrar that has good pricing for multiple years. Is their pricing structure in line with what your business can afford to pay over the long term?  The last thing you want is to register your domain for only 1 year, forget to renew it, and have it purchased out from under you. You won’t have much recourse other than to change your website name, which can irreparably confuse your customers.

It should have a good reputation.  Imagine this scenario, you go to a domain registrar simply to search if the domains you’re thinking of purchasing are available.  You search for a few and then decide to sit and mull it over awhile. The registrar tracks your search, purchases the domain and then tries to sell it to you at a premium.  This happens more than you would think.

Did you know that in order to transfer to a different registrar you need your current registrar’s authorization to do so?  This policy is to prevent someone from trying to steal your domain, so certain security protocols must be followed before a transfer is authorized. Some registrars are known to deny an owner from transferring with very flimsy reasons. There’s not a lot you can do, other than complain to ICANN (a governing body of domains).  However, they will mainly leave it to the registrar and customer to try and resolve the issue on their own.  Google these practices and your prospective registrar’s reputation.  There’s a lot of information out there as to the registrars that are known to do this.

Find a website that clearly outlines the features offered

We mentioned earlier the tactic of offering low introductory rates, with the intention of cross selling other products. Does your intended registrar offer free WHOIS privacy?  ICANN requires that a domain owner’s contact information is published in their public WHOIS database. If you don’t want your information publically accessible you can set your domain to private. Many registrars charge up to $10 a year for this, which can be more than the price of the domain itself. Or, they offer free privacy for the first year only. Search for one that offers free WHOIS privacy for the length of your registration with them. This will protect you from spammers and save you a lot of money in the long run.

While not technically a feature, a registrar’s user interface or dashboard is very important. Will you have to click no on ten different offers, before you can even reach your account profile?  Do they make it so difficult to figure out how to cancel their auto-renew option that you end up paying ten times more the next year, because you can’t figure out how to turn it off?  Is it easy and intuitive to change your settings?

Some research in the beginning on these key points will be a huge time and cost saver in the long run.