Last Updated on December 3, 2020 by Nadim Alamuddin
So you decided to register a website under your name? Congratulations! This post will guide you on select strategies on going from zero to domain name (choosing your domain name) in 30 minutes or less. In other words, it will help you in choosing your domain name and registering it.
With over 100,000 domain names being registered on a daily basis, it is now challenging to find a domain name of your choosing that is still available! Before going to the registrar’s URL, it is recommended you brainstorm on a number of potential names.
Table of Contents
Key Strategies In Choosing Your Domain Name…
Remember, your domain name is your address on your web. This is like choosing a name for your company. And, like choosing your company name, you should be asking yourself a few questions, outlined in the following strategies:
- Strategy #1: Will you keep it local or will you go international? As you may know, you could register a website in a particular country, with the country’s extension, rather than the more popular .com extension. But, will you be limiting your website’s reach? What if your website grows beyond your initial plan? Would you register another site in another country?
- Strategy #2: Do you know what your website will be about? If not, I’d recommend you reading “From Zero To Niche In 30 Minutes” to have a good handle on what your website or blog will be about.
- If you have picked a niche for your website or blog, one way to name your domain would be to choose a name that contains your niche within it. For example, I chose “blogandgetpaid.com” because it contains exactly what I am blogging about. I blog about building up your business or blog online, and I also blog about ways to monetize your blog.
- Choosing your domain name that includes your niche within it is not always easy. Certain niches, for example, have so many registered domains within the niche that it’s practically impossible to find anything that may fit. For example, if your niche is “Fitness”, it may be a challenge to find a domain name. However, you could always add your name and personalize the domain, including your niche in it. Something like “getfitwithname.com“, where “name” will be your name.
More Strategies For You…
Strategy #3: You don’t have to have your niche within your domain name. You can have a domain name that is personalized to you. Something like “workwithname.com” or “justdoitwithname.com” or even “firstname.lastname.com“. This is one way to brand yourself going forward. If you choose a domain name with your name, you are not limited to the website topic or niche.
Strategy #4: Another strategy is to create a catchy domain name. It doesn’t have to mean anything. Think of “Nike”, “Google”, “Yahoo”, etc. They all came up with something original that grabbed people’s attention, based on their success. Using this strategy, you would have created your own brand.
Guidelines You Should Simply Stick To…
No matter what strategy you use to choose your domain name, I would recommend sticking to the following simple guidelines:
- Make it easy to remember:
- Think about word of mouth. If you met a friend of yours and they wanted to know what your website address is, would it be easy for them to remember if you verbally told them?
- Make it easy to type:
- Avoid using numbers or hyphens in the domain name. Use plain words wherever possible. Unless your website is specific to a country or language, keep it in English.
- Make it as short as possible:
- In general, your domain name should not exceed 14 characters, with 6-14 being the norm. “blogandgetpaid.com” is 14 characters – phew, I got lucky!
- Use an appropriate extension:
- My recommendation here is to stick to “.com”, as it is the most popular extension and the easiest to remember. You don’t want your customers or prospects to mistakenly type the same domain name with another extension and end up buying from another site!
| Affiliate Disclosure: This blog post contains links that take you to external sites. Some of these sites are products and services that I recommend, based on my experience with them. If you decide to purchase from them, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Thank you in advance for your understanding. |
Brainstorming on Domain Names…
So, have you brainstormed on possible ways to go from zero to domain name? Are you ready to go and register your chosen domain? There are a few sites where you can register your domain name. Some are specialized in registering your domain names and offering additional services, while others may offer you a FREE domain name if you purchase their main service.
So, if you want to register a domain that you would like to host yourself, I would recommend you use Bluehost or HostGator to do so. Bluehost will provide hosting services for your website and offer you a domain name at no extra cost to you for the first year. If you choose this option, you can check out my post “From Zero To Blog In 5 Steps“, which takes you step by step through registering your domain and hosting services with Bluehost.
If you just want to register your domain for the time being, or if you’re not too concerned with hosting services, you can register with GoDaddy or Namecheap, two of the leading registrar service providers. Please know that both GoDaddy and Namecheap do offer hosting services, but they are not the experts in the hosting field, like Bluehost or HostGator.
There are some providers, such as WP Engine, that provide you with a complete solution. This includes hosting, WordPress, best of class themes (Studiopress), and all the tools to help you on your online journey!
How To Register A Domain…
The following steps outline how easy you can register a domain with Namecheap:
- Step #1: Search for the availability of your domain:
- Enter your ideal domain name and click on the search icon. See below:
- Step #2: Review the results of the search:
- Step #3: Add any extra services – here, I’d be cautious. There are services that other providers may offer for free, or that you don’t really need when starting out. Inform yourself before committing to them. In this example, I chose the email service, as it was free, and I added the SSL service for security. However, you may opt not to pay for it, as Bluehost offers it for free with your hosting account.
Some of the extra services include the installation of WordPress platform. My recommendation is to abstain from doing so here and to do so with the hosting provider, unless you want Namecheap or GoDaddy to be a one-stop shop for all your requirements.
- Step #4: View Your Cart / Pay For Your Services
- Lastly, click on your cart to review the services you’ve chosen and, if all is in order, proceed to checkout and payment.
Congratulations! You Just Went From Zero To Domain In 30 Min!!
You have succeeded in registering a domain name for yourself! Give yourself a pat on the back! Now, you can proceed to get a hosting account, if not done already. To do so, read my post “From Zero To Blog In 5 Steps” where you will find the step by step instructions to get that done. In that post, you will go through all the required steps to setup your website or blog, including installation of WordPress, choosing your theme and activating it.
Here are more “From Zero To” blog posts that are related to this one:
One more post that’s worth a read:
I want to congratulate you for reading this post till the end. Today, we seem to have lower attention spans and to be able to concentrate on a post deserves my hats off to you. Well done. In fact, I think you may find this post rather interesting to read, as it relates to how we need to concentrate better to be able to grow our business.
I would welcome any comment or question you may have. Please use the “Leave A Reply” section below. If you liked this post, please share it on your social media, I can use the exposure. Thank you for stopping by!
