When you’re competing for attention with hundreds upon thousands of websites within the same industry and offering the same products or services, you want to make sure your own site stands out in every way - including your choice of website address. Learn how to get a website domain with these helpful tips.
1. Comparing website domain costs
How much does a website domain cost? The answer is dependent on several different factors. At the minimum, you could be spending $10 per year for domain registration. This price only factors in the rights to use the website address on your page. If you get your .com domain through Strikingly, website domain purchase and connecting it to your website costs $24.95 per year. You don’t have to do much except approve the registration. Strikingly will connect your custom domain for you.
How much is a website domain depends on whether or not your chosen name is taken and the kind of domain extension you want. Some website owners may want to get a website domain that is already owned by another entity. In this case they go to auction sites where they might pay more than usual just to get that domain.
Conversely, you can also get a free website domain name if you sign up for a free account with Strikingly. You can choose any name that you want to come before the .mystrikingly.com address (provided no other user has taken that same name yet). Shared branding with Strikingly is quite common with many of our users especially those that are just starting out with their sites. When your website and your business takes off, you can decide to invest on your own personalized domain.
2. Choose an extension
The extension refers to the word that comes after your chosen domain name (e.g. .com, .biz, .org). Most businesses and individuals would gravitate towards .com because it’s easier for users to remember and it’s the most common extension. If you’re an exclusively local business, you can also add a country level domain extension (e.g. .ph, .sg, .us) to target an audience located within your country only. We also have an in-depth guide on how you should choose your domain extension so you’ll know what you’re in for before you register.
3. Brainstorm keywords
Some brands use their company name as their domain name. Others research keywords that are their audience use to search for their products or services. If you don’t have online brand recognition established just yet, including a search term in your domain name could help direct traffic to your website based on relevance. Think like your customer and find out what words they would use to look for you.
4. You can use your social media handles
If you have already amassed a significant following on social media, why not use your social media handle as your domain name? This helps with brand recognition and users will be able to associate your website with your social pages. It creates a more cohesive online presence as well.
5. Do a quick search on your website domain
Once you’ve decided on your website domain purchase, do a quick search and find out what comes up. If your exact domain name comes up, go to the website and find out what kind of pages come up. You will also want to know what kind of pages you might get associated with when you finally use that domain. Bigger brands usually purchase their domain in virtually every extension possible to prevent other entities from using the same name. It’s a common technique especially when using your brand name as the domain.
