Those looking to buy their first domain have one important question to answer: what is the cost of domain names?
The bad news is that there is no simple answer. The good news is that this comprehensive guide is all a newbie buyer needs to understand domain name cost, from how pricing works to how to avoid hidden fees.
The listed price of a domain is based on several factors. Here are the most important ones to keep in mind.
Be wary of cheap domain names. A registrar may offer enticing prices but will charge buyers for additional services like premium customer support, renewal fees, DNS management, web hosting packages, and email services.
Aside from renewal feels, owning a domain also means paying a small fee to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for coordinating the numbers and names related to Internet addresses.
Domain privacy is another cost that an owner should prepare for. It entails protecting their privacy by keeping their personal information out of the WHOIS directory.
Not all domains are created equal. Some are simply more valuable than others. Avoid overpaying when buying domain names by checking out the domain pricing guide below.
One of the factors that affect a domain’s price is its top-level domain (TLD) or domain extension. Because of high demand, the cost of a domain name that ends with .com will typically be higher than those that end in less popular TLDs like .net or .org.
There are many types of TLDs on the names market. Each is priced differently based on demand and other factors.
The most common domain extensions. Includes TLDs like .com, .net, and .org, all of which are used for a variety of purposes.
Bluehost Sample Pricing
| gTLD | Renewal | Privacy |
| .com | $21.99 | $15.00 |
| .net | $19.99 | $15.00 |
| .org | $18.99 | $15.00 |
These are domain extensions that are reserved for specific countries. For example, domains for Germany end in .de, while those for Canada end in .ca. These TLDs are sometimes pricier than gTLDs.
Bluehost Sample Pricing
| ccTLD | Renewal | Privacy |
| .ca | $17.99 | $15.00 |
| .co.uk | $11.99 | $15.00 |
| .tv | $37.99 | $15.00 |
Newer TLD options are reserved for specific industries. Examples of this category are .tech, .guru, and .blog.
Bluehost Sample Pricing
| New TLD | Renewal | Privacy |
| .cafe | $55.99 | $15.00 |
| .dating | $83.99 | $15.00 |
| .marketing | $55.99 | $15.00 |
These are domain extensions that show the purpose of a apart. For example, .edu is reserved for educational institutions, and .gov is for government agencies.
These TLDs include non-English characters, making the Internet more accessible to other languages.
There are domain extensions that are associated with a brand like .apple and .google.
A premium name has been registered by someone else and is currently on the market. Because of their high quality, these domains are more expensive and sought-after than regular common ones. Their price can range from a few thousand dollars to more than a million.
With around 664 million domain names in the world, buyers are bound to find one that fits their needs and budget. They just need to know where to find them.
Below are helpful websites to help buyers save on the cost for domain registration fees, renewal, and transfer.
These websites offer free domain pricing and hosting information to help many domain owners make smart choices about domain costs.
To keep the price of a domain within a set budget, it’s essential to be mindful of additional fees that might pop up. Here are some actionable tips to keep in mind.
1. Take advantage of the auto-renew option offered by domain registrars to avoid losing ownership of the recently bought domain.
2. Watch out for coupons and special discount offers. Sites like NamePros compile offers from across the Internet to help reduce the price of domains.
3. Register for multiple years. Paying for multi-year deals is usually cheaper than an annual renewal fee.
4. Join a discount program. A good example is the GoDaddy Domain Discount Club, which offers members better rates.
How much does it cost for a domain name? Owners must pay an annual fee to avoid losing ownership of their domain name. So, when asking the question, “How much do domains cost?” don’t forget to factor in the cost of renewal.
Depending on the registrar, extending a domain's registration process can cost between $8.27 and $29.99. Knowing the exact renewal fee can help a domain owner decide whether a domain is worth keeping in the long run.
Choosing a domain name is like choosing the online persona of a company or a personal brand. So, it’s safe to say that choosing a great domain name is a crucial initial step in building an online presence.
Here are some benefits a great domain name address on the internet brings to a brand.
Creating contextually relevant domain names using extensions like .site, .tech, or .store can increase the probability that a website’s anchor text matches its URLs. This sends a positive signal to Google SEO and may lead to better rankings on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Another way to use domains with new extensions is to link a business to a specific niche. For example, an eCommerce store selling house plants will benefit from a domain name like www.indoorplants.store.
Picking a short and easy-to-remember domain can increase the chances that the target audience will remember a brand and even tell other people about it. A short domain is also difficult to misspell, avoiding the loss of traffic to a company website.
A brandable domain, a single-word and premium name, can also increase the value of a brand. Growing a brand around a brandable domain is a great investment, as brand value is expected to surpass what was initially paid for the domain.
Name choice is a crucial part of picking a domain. Some names simply work better than others. Here are some tips to choose the ideal domain name.
Pro tip: Consider buying multiple domains for a business in anticipation of the following scenarios.
1. Misspellings and typos of a business’s name. Consider buying domains with misspellings to redirect the traffic they’d get towards the main website.
2. Expansion to new locations. International companies are advised to acquire domains with ccTLDs of the possible locations they will expand to in the future.
3. Segmenting services and products. Getting a new domain for the launch of a new line is an excellent strategy to get the attention of the target audience.
Take a look at the usability pointers below to find out how to choose a respected registrar.
One popular and reliable domain registrar is NameCheap. It’s an ICANN-accredited company that manages everything domain-related, from registration to web hosting and protection.
According to the Namecheap LinkedIn page, it currently serves 2 million customers and has 10 million domains under its management. Let’s see what else it offers to its growing user base.
When domain owners choose to register with Namecheap, they’ll get access to the following perks.
Understanding how much does a domain name cost and setting up a website can be intimidating for first-timers. Namecheap offers its users expert guidance at every step of the process.
One way to buy a domain is through auctions. A domain auction offers credibility for individuals and business entities to buy and sell registered domain names through a bidding experience.
A domain name auction usually goes like this.
1. Find a marketplace where expired domains are auctioned.
2. Register for an account. Marketplaces like GoDaddy require users to pay a membership fee to participate in auctions.
3. Search for domain names to bid on based on criteria like domain age, site traffic, links, and relevance.
4. The transfer begins once the payment is made. The current owner transfers the ownership of the domain to the buyer.
Here are some reputable platforms that host domain auctions.
Acquiring a domain is an investment of money and time. Since it’s also a business’s online identity, like a trademark, protecting it from theft and other attacks should be a top priority.
These are some protective measures all domain owners should observe.
Beware of domain registrars that give away free domains or charge suspiciously low rates. They are likely to also skimp out on security measures to keep their clients’ domains safe from hackers and hijackers.
Don’t let someone else buy a domain and register it in their name. Not owning a domain name under their own name can spell disaster for a business. It can easily be hijacked, and the owner won’t be able to do anything about it because they can’t prove that they own the domain.
Keep in mind that emails can also be hacked. So, it’s a bad idea to keep domain login and account information in emails. If a domain owner receives such details from their registrar through email, it’s best to move the messages to a more secure location.
Don’t use weak passwords for domains and email accounts. Create a strong password that is a mix of numbers, letters, and symbols. Don’t forget to enable two-factor authentication for the accounts as well.
Don’t give sensitive details about a domain to anyone, even trusted people like the domain’s web developer or designer. Issues over payment may lead to bad blood and can compromise the domain’s security.
It’s easy for hackers to use the information found in the WHOIS directory. Use the registrar’s domain privacy protection service to keep out names, addresses, and contact information off of the public directory.
Domains are part of the fast-paced world of technology. It’s a good idea for those who operate and develop websites to stay updated on the latest developments and possible future price increases in the world of domains.
Monitor domain price increases before they happen through websites like TLD Price Changes. It tracks price changes for various registries and is free to use.
TLD Price Changes categorizes upcoming price changes based on TLDs so users can easily watch out for potential increases. They can also directly search by entering an extension in the search box.
To find the perfect domain, a person should be asking questions beyond “How much do domains cost?”. Instead, they should be concerned about the costs of not finding a domain that aligns with their company or brand.
So, don’t hesitate to use this article as a guide on how to find the best domain name money can buy.
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