If you want to create a website or you want a business email address, the first thing you need to do is get a domain name. Like most other beginners, you may think that a domain refers to a website or the hosting service. A domain name is a component of a website, but it is not the website. The following guide gives you helpful insights into what a domain name means and how much you should expect to pay for one.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is simply your website’s address that users will type into the browser URL bar to open and access your site. It refers to the ‘address’ of your site.

It is your website’s name and technically refers to an address where your site can be accessed. Your site resides on a server and domain name is used to find and identify the location of both the server and your site’s exact location on that server.

• Computer systems have an IP address that identifies them
• These addresses are a series of number that most humans cannot remember
• The Domains identify these IP addresses to simplify the process
• A domain name can be a combination of letters and numbers
• It will need a domain extension such as .com, .com.au, .au, .org, or .net

It is normal to come across domain names like www.yourcompanyname.com.au, but there are no limitations to what kind of names can be created. Some odd examples include the following:

• dotcom.com
• gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooogle.com
• thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com
• dowebsitesneedtolookexactlythesameineverybrowser.com.au

Having a domain that is too long however is confusing and not easy to remember for your customers.

What Should You Pay for Your Domain Name?

A domain can cost anything in the single digits to tens of thousands of dollars. There are many factors that affect the price of a domain name. The preliminary factors include:

• Domain registrar
• Domain extension
• Domain availability
• SEO factors

Preferred website addresses are shorter, easier to remember, and brand-able.

In addition to a new website address, you can also purchase an existing domain from others who have already registered them. These are usually premium domain names and you should expect to spend a lot more compared to buying a new one.

Be aware not to let your domain expire as some companies will buy them and resell them at a higher price.

Expected Prices

You should expect to spend around $25 annually on a domain name. Keep in mind that domains are subscription-based services and you will have to retain them periodically.

Different hosting services provide different plans that include your website address as part of their packages as well. You should expect to spend the following with some of the most popular domain providers:

• Thomas Web Designs From $49 ($24.50 per year) payable every 2 years with FREE Domain Privacy.
• Crazy Domains from $20.99 per year.
• Web Central from $23.99 per year.

All these prices vary…… However note none of these providers offer Domain Privacy and this is an add on cost besides our own services at Thomas Web designs. Keep reading…….

Additional Costs

When buying a Domain once you click on the Buy now button you are normally taken to the checkout page to pay, before you check out, you will notice a few ‘Extra Services’ options, but here are my thoughts on the ‘Extra Services’ offered:

Domain Privacy – When you purchase a domain your details are shown on a domain database called Icann Whois. Some companies hang out here and contact people that buy a new domain name to try to sell them services. This can be super annoying so if you are concerned I would suggest paying the extra $10-$15 per year to keep your information private, note**** This is provided free if using our services at Thomas Web Designs.

Personal email – I would suggest giving this a miss. When we set up your hosting you can set your email up alongside it or you are best to use an email tool like gsuite.

Website Hosting – I personally find that some companies that don’t use Australian hosting towers are slow and unreliable. I recommend you using a faster loading website provider, we can help you with that.

Also when buying a domain, you need to also consider the renewal costs. The renewal costs may be higher than the domain name for the first year for some companies.

Cost of Premium Domain Names

As already mentioned, premium domains are usually registered by domain investors to sell at a higher price. They tend to be more memorable and may carry greater SEO value. The price of these domain names depends on factors like:

• Uniqueness
• Brand potential
• Domain name length
• Niche

Here is a list of some of the most expensive premium domain names:

• Business.com: $7.5 million
• Hotels.com: $11 million
• Internet.com: $18 million
• nsurance.com: $35.6 million
• Carinsurance.com: $49.7 million

Thus, the price of a domain depends on many factors.

Choosing the Perfect Domain Name

When creating and buying a domain name for your website, price is not the only factor that should be considered. The key factors that you should keep in mind include:

• Your company or brand name
• Simple & easy to remember
• Keyword-rich name
• Short

Make sure to buy your domain name from a reputable registrar. The seller should have a long history and market reputation. So keep all these points in mind when you think of buying a new domain for your website.

Talk to us today to help you with your domain name search.

I’m Jacinta Thomas, also known as your humble wordpress web design tech whiz and online marketing consultant.

I’m a reserved yet highly motivated and adaptable digital marketing expert ready to use my online marketing knowledge to help your business be seen online and ramp up your sales. I love horses, dogs, cats, country music, chocolate and most of all helping people.

I help family focused entrepreneurs build top ranking, self-managed websites, help work through any wordpress tech issues and get set up with hosting, blogging, SEO and social media, so they can earn more money and live their dream life.

If you’re ready to get your business online, and seen on social media and all search engines then check out my blog, biz resources, jump into my free Facebook group and of course contact me at any time.