A domain name that works as branding for your business and gives your audience an easier path to reach your website. It is a distinctive online identity of your business. You must consider getting a domain name if your online business or blog garners a good online presence. Creating a website comes later after the selection of your domain name. 

Having a domain name indicates the legitimacy of your business while making the users find your site without worrying about spam and online fraud. Domain names are also instrumental in search engine optimisation, increasing your brand value, and offering credibility.

Whether you are using any Website Builder to create a custom website, Purchasing a domain name is the primary initiative you have to perform.

Although domain names are important for website owners, these come with a price. Sometimes, when you buy hosting for your website, domain names come for free. Otherwise, these can cost up to $10-$20 per year. The cost of a domain name primarily depends on several factors: the domain name’s popularity and the contract’s length.

How Much Does a Domain Cost?

If you plan to purchase a domain name for your website, you must take the help of a domain name registrar. The job of a registrar is to reserve the domain names. Purchasing a domain name is not a one-time or upfront buy; this rather works as an annual subscription. These companies that work as domain name registrars vary in their subscription plans and charges.

TLDs, or top-level domains and ccTLD or country code top-level domains, are the two most popular domain name types. Popular domain name extensions like .com, .net, and .edu are all top-level domains.

Similarly, .uk or .fr are some of the well-known ccTLDs. Between these two, users mostly try to stick with the TLDs because of their popularity and as they are well-received across the world.

Generally, when someone is about to enter a website domain in the address bar of a browser, .com comes up instantly in their mind before any other extensions.

On the other hand, people rely on ccTLDs as these are identification of national legitimacy and authenticity.

Most times, the ccTLDs are used for a purpose that has nothing to do with the specific country. For example, most businesses use the most commonly used .co extension, a ccTLD for Colombia.

Although TLDs and ccTLDs have similar pricing, the cost depends on the domain name provider. Here is a chart for different registrars that you might find helpful-

Registrar .com .org .us .me

NameCheap

$8.88/year

$11.98/year

$3.88/year

$3.88/year

GoDaddy

$0.99/year

$10.17/year

$7.99/year

$3.49/year

HostGator

$12.95/year

$12.95/year

$5.95/year

$15.00/year

But, before you think these plans are so cheap for a year, don’t forget these are just the starting price.

If you buy a domain name from any provider, they ask you to go for a two-year plan to free you from the hassle of renewing it after a point.

As the charges mentioned are for only the first year, the next year, you may have to pay as much as double the introductory price.

What are the Hidden Costs?

As you are now aware of the preliminary registration cost, you must know there is more to it.

After the registration is done, the provider might trick you into getting some add-ons that are supposedly beneficial for your websites, like a business email or email marketing pack.

These are the hidden costs that you have to bear even after paying for the registration. Some hidden costs are-

Renewals every year.

These registrations are done based on an annual subscription. If you want to retain possession of your domain name, you need to keep renewing your registration every year.

Failed to do so, your domain can be claimed by anyone else, as it would no longer be considered under your control.

Business Email Accounts

are add-ons you will receive with a new domain name registration. Many registrars offer a free business email with the domain name, whereas some offer a business email for an additional charge at the checkout.

You can avoid this add-on unless you are an online business or stressing about email marketing for your brand.

WHOIS Security

WHOIS, short for ‘Who is responsible for this domain name?’ is a query protocol that searches for information about a domain name’s owner. It oversees the database containing the contact information of the domain name user.

WHOIS protection means that your contact information is protected within the system. Although most domain name providers offer free WHOIS security, some may cause you an additional charge.

How much do you need to pay for a premium domain name?

A premium domain name is a first-rate pre-registered domain name that offers substantial growth in profit in the domain marketplace.

Premium domains are targeted to get more brand value, higher reach, and SERP ranking.

These are completely personalised, add more value to the website, and are easier to remember.

A premium domain can cost thousands to millions of dollars depending on the potential, length of the domain, and exclusivity of the name. Following are some of the most expensive domain names-

● Insurance.com – $35.6 million

● PrivateJet.com – $30.18 million

● Hotels.com – $11 million

● Fb.com – $8.5 million

● Business.com – $7.5 million

A premium domain name is available through private sellers, websites, or auctions.

What Affects the Cost of a Domain?

Multiple factors influence a domain name’s cost. Although you can reduce the charges by removing some features offered, ensure you don’t compromise the security.

The main reason you are getting a domain name is to reach more people and get remembered easily by the users.

The popularity of a Domain name.

The name of your domain is very impactful. If you buy a domain name that includes the most competitive keyword of a specific business, that might cost you a fortune.

If many people are looking for a ranking on the search engine through a keyword that bids high, it increases the popularity of the domain name.

Increased popularity means the domain name is expensive. Most of the time, these are sold out. If by any chance, you find it available, the price could be high.

Auto-renewals

Your responsibilities don’t end with registering for a domain name. It would help if you remembered that you must renew it after a year.

Although the introductory offers reduce your expenses a little, you must pay the full amount after a point.

If you opt for auto-renew, the registrar will deduct the annual renewal charges from your provided payment information on the renewal date.

Privacy and Protection

While registering for a domain name, your personal information, like your contact details, email address etc., is automatically added to the WHOIS database.

The WHOIS database is visible to all the domain name providers ensuring your claim to a particular domain.

Now, the domain name providers offer privacy so that your details are hidden in a WHOIS. It is hard to find a registrar that offers free WHOIS security. However, some provide free security for the first year of registration.

Transferring DomainsSSL Certificates

● VPS Hosting

● DNS managing

● Email Hosting.

A domain transfer means the changing of a domain name registrar. Here comes the usefulness of your WHOIS database, which the previous and current registrars use.

Both your website builder and hosting provider are involved in the process. Most domain name registrars don’t charge anything for the transfer.

Your Domain Registrar

You buy your domain name from a domain registrar. Domain registrars sometimes offer web hosting too.

They are also responsible for the reservations of domain names. You can find the topmost and most reliable domain registrars over the internet, or else you can use ICANN’s help.

Different domain name providers offer different add-ons upon registering for a domain name. Some of the important features they provide are-

For any or all of these, the registrars charge an additional cost which can increase your purchase.

Top-Level-Domain (TLD)

The TLDs can also impact your domain name cost. Going for a more popular TLD like .com or .net will be expensive compared to the other TLDs or ccTLDs.

Where can you purchase a domain name?

There are a lot of domain name providers on the web, but only a handful is trustworthy-

● HostGator – HostGator provides domain names and web hosting.

● Domain.com – Domain.com has a listing of plenty of TLDs and ccTLDs.

● GoDaddy – Like HostGator, GoDaddy is also a domain name registrar and a web hosting provider. It is one of the most popular registrars for beginners.

Your website builders also offer domain names. Sometimes, they offer free domain names too.

FAQs

How to Choose a Domain name?

Make sure your industry keyword is present on the domain name. Also, ensure having a brand name, searchability, and ease of access.

How to Choose a TLD?

You can always go for the cheaper one. The most popular choice would be .com, as most people are familiar with this extension more than anything. Consider going for .org if you have a website for an organisation, .com for a business, and .me for a personal website.

Can I get a domain name for free?

Yes, if your website builder offers a free domain name while registering.

Do I need more than one domain?

Multiple domains are advisable for those aiming to protect their brand name and have a decent budget.

How Do I Permanently Buy a Domain Name?

You cannot buy a domain name permanently. Domain names are renewed after a year and work on a yearly subscription basis.

Do I need both domain name and web hosting to build a website?

Web hosting means where you store your website core files, and the domain name is the address for your website. Both are equally important, and together they create a profitable website.