LESSON 11.2

Purchasing a Domain Name

Your address on the internet for about $15 a year

Learn where to buy a domain name, how to choose one when your first choice is taken, and what to check before completing your purchase.

💡 The Concept

When you buy a domain name, you are reserving your address on the internet: the URL people will type to find your site. At around $20 per year, it is one of the most affordable investments you can make in your web presence.

Where to Buy

  • Hover.com: the recommended choice. Widest selection of domain extensions, free privacy protection included, and live phone support if you get stuck.
  • Namecheap.com: slightly cheaper than Hover, also includes free privacy protection, and widely used by web professionals.

Avoid GoDaddy. They charge extra for privacy protection and are well known for aggressive upselling during checkout.

Choosing Your Domain Name

Let’s say you plan to sell axolotls. You need a website domain.

An axolotl, a small Mexican salamander with a natural smile

What is an axolotl, you ask? It’s a small Mexican salamander with a natural smile. Who wouldn’t want one!

The obvious domain name is axolotls.com — but it’s taken. Virtually every one-word domain name has been claimed. So you need to find the next best thing. Here is what a search on Hover.com looks like:

Hover.com search results showing alternatives when axolotls.com is unavailable

Domain registrars like Hover.com suggest alternatives when your first choice is taken. Here are your main strategies:

  • Add more words: AxolotlForSale.com or BuyAxolotls.com
  • Try a dash: axolotl-shop.com. A dash is the only special character allowed in a domain name.
  • Try another extension (TLD): .net, .io, .dev, and .co are all legitimate and widely used.
  • Add a middle initial (for personal names): sarahjsmith.com instead of sarahsmith.com

What to Check Before You Buy

  • Renewal price: some registrars offer a cheap first year and then raise the price sharply. The renewal rate should be around $20 per year or less. Pay attention to the ongoing cost, not just the first year.
  • Free privacy protection: without it, your name, address, and email are publicly searchable in the WHOIS database. Both Hover and Google Domains include this at no extra cost. GoDaddy charges around $20 per year extra for privacy.
  • No hidden fees: read your cart carefully before completing the purchase.

Set It to Auto-Renew

With most online subscriptions, auto-renewing is optional. With a domain name, it is a good idea. If you do not renew your domain, your registrar will hold it for a few weeks and then release it to the public. At that point anyone can claim it, and your website goes offline. Set your domain to auto-renew and keep a current credit card on file. Use a permanent email address when you register, not a school account, so you receive renewal notices reliably.

A Few More Tips

If your own name or your children’s names are available as .com domains, consider purchasing them. Each domain costs less than a movie ticket, and having it ensures no one else can claim it. I have purchased domain names for all of my grandchildren, nephews, and nieces.

When you are considering a new venture and are not sure of the name yet, buy more than one candidate domain. Once you decide, let the others expire by turning off auto-renew.

Exercise: Try It Yourself

Ready to jump in? Here is how you can purchase a domain name.

Step 1. Go to Hover.com and search for a domain name you are interested in. Try your first and last name, a business idea, or anything else you would like to own as a .com.

Step 2. If it is taken, try one of the strategies above and find an available option you like.

Step 3. Check the renewal price before adding it to your cart.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Where should I buy a domain name?

I recommend Hover.com for most people. They have good prices, free privacy protection, live chat support, and they do not push you to buy extra services. My second choice is Namecheap.com. Their prices are often a bit lower than Hover, and they include free privacy protection. Avoid GoDaddy — they charge around $20 per year extra for privacy and are known for upselling during checkout.

Who should purchase the domain name?

The primary owner of the business or project should own the domain name, with full login access and control over the account, whether the domain is registered on its own or through the same account as your hosting. Whoever controls the login has final say. Avoid a setup where your web developer is the only one with access to the account; you need to be able to get in yourself.

Should I purchase the domain name and hosting together?

For most people, I now recommend buying them together, or at least through the same account, rather than automatically keeping them separate. My thinking on this has shifted. Modern websites need several kinds of DNS records — for the site itself, for email inboxes, and for the automated email that WordPress forms and WooCommerce send — and all of those records have to be added wherever your domain’s nameservers are actually pointing. When the domain and hosting are with two different companies, it is easy to add a record in the wrong place and spend hours troubleshooting something that was never going to work. Keeping everything in one account avoids that entirely. The old advice was about flexibility: if your domain is separate, switching hosts later is a bit easier. That is still true, and if you are comfortable managing DNS yourself or you do not fully trust a particular host, it is a reasonable choice. But for most beginners and small business owners, the simplicity of one account outweighs that flexibility.

How much should I pay for a domain?

Around $20 per year is typical. Avoid first-year promotional pricing that jumps to a much higher renewal rate after year one. Always check the renewal price before you buy.

Why are the best domain names taken?

Domain names are inexpensive, so resellers buy large numbers of them hoping to sell some at a profit. Most one- and two-word combinations are gone. If you try three words, you are more likely to find something available. When resellers sell a premium domain to a buyer, they typically charge $500 to $3000 or more for the transfer.

Should I buy all of the TLD variations of my domain name?

In the early days of the internet it made sense to grab the .net, .org, and .us versions of your name. But there are so many TLDs now that buying them all is not practical. I recommend purchasing only the .com.

What if I purchase a domain but don’t renew it?

If you miss a renewal, the registrar holds the domain briefly and then releases it to the public. You may not be able to get it back. Set auto-renew on, keep a current credit card on file, and use a permanent email address so you receive renewal notices.

What should I do if the domain name I want is very expensive?

The prices are sometimes negotiable, but I strongly recommend choosing a different domain name instead of paying a premium. A clever alternative name is almost always a better investment.

★ Key Takeaways

Every website needs its own address on the internet. This lesson explained what a domain name is and walked you through how to purchase one. Next, you will learn about website hosting, which is the service that stores your files and makes them available online. A domain name and a host work together to put your site on the web.

Next Lesson: Website Hosting

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