Buying domain name

[claire rostron]

Hi there
I'm buying a domain name for a new venture.

Ive bought the 1st yr last night but my friend said what if you're successful and the domain name co hold you to ransom and charge a fortune for later years. Does it work like this? Are there pros and cons to buying less or more time?

I use the internet a lot but don't have any experience setting up websites etc so any tips etc would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Claire.

 

[ryedale]

Hi

It doesn't work like that if you are using any reputable company

Whether the business is a success or not is irrelevant - you'll pay the same renewal price as any of their other clients.

Hope this helps

 

[james_firmsites]

Agree with ryedale, no proper domain registrar would work like this. Who are you registered with or post the domain name and we can all check the public whois and advise you on if the registrar is legit.

 

[WebshopMechanic]

Agree with the guys above.

Your best bet would be to buy the domain for a longer period up front. That way, you own it, you're covered and no nasty surprises, although there shouldn't be.

Reputable companies to buy domains from are:

• GoDaddy
• Fasthosts
• 123-Reg
• Names.co.uk
• 1and1
• UKReg

One other thing. It might be worth paying a little extra to hide your personal details from people searching. There's a scam with call centres in India and China calling everyone who has recently registered a domain name to sell them a new website or other country domains. They often scaremonger saying somebody else could own their business in that country.

It's bloody annoying because they waste your time.

Matt

 

[Clinton]

Yes, you can be held to ransom and be made to pay through the nose for future years.

That is why you should always make sure

1. you own the domain yourself (and it's not being held by your hosting company or developer);

2. you have direct access to the registrar login so you have full control of the domain and

3. you're the only one with direct access to control at the registrar level and that others (like developers, marketers etc) don't have access.

 

[TomJ83]

Hi @claire rostron. Welcome to the forums

In general, you will not end up in a situation where your domain name provider will charge you a fortune if your domain becomes popular. The domain name system is automated and they don't visit every domain to see if it's popular or not. That would be time consuming for them.

What you can however expect, is that the price for the next year will be increased because you get a discount in the first year. For example £0.99 first year, and coming years £10.99/year.

 

[claire rostron]

Hi Thanks a lot for your informative replies. On balance I think I'll extend it for longer. I got it with squarespace domains as they had good reviews for the diy web building tool and usability of their sites on mobiles. Any opinions on this?

 

[claire rostron]

Clinton, how do I do the things in your post - i.e. own it myself etc? Your post sounds like its very wise but slightly double dutch to me. I need to develop my knowledge clearly.

 

[fisicx]

Hi Thanks a lot for your informative replies. On balance I think I'll extend it for longer. I got it with squarespace domains as they had good reviews for the diy web building tool and usability of their sites on mobiles. Any opinions on this?

It depends on what sort of site you plan to build. The biggest problem with squarepsace is that you are locked into using their services, you can't move your site to a new host and you may end up paying a lot of money for over the years if you want extra features.

 

[UKSBD]

What you need to understand is that a domain registrar is different to a host (a lot do both)

General consensus is that you register with one but host with another as his tends to give you more control and security.

When you register a domain you receive an admin panel where you can control all settings for the domain.

When you take out hosting you receive separate control panels where you control billing and your website

It is important to never forget where your control panels are and the usernames and passwords for all of them.

When registering the domain use an email address that is independent from the host and the registrar and if using something like gmail make sure you never lose that email address.

DON'T let someone else register it on your behalf, even if it is registered in your name, make sure the contact email address is yours too.

 

[Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake]

Renewal prices also depend upon what domain you have bought. Prices of .com and .co.uk tend to be pretty standard across the board but if you've gone for one of the new gTLDs then renewal prices can come as a nasty shock (some are £xx, some are even £xxx if I remember right).

Like Clinton said, you should ensure that your domain is registered elsewhere from your hosting provider and only you have access to it. If you've gone for hosting where you get a 'free' domain, I'd ensure you get that transferred into your name too, as many hosting companies will give you the name for free but they retain the rights of registration.

 

[Clinton]

Clinton, how do I do the things in your post - i.e. own it myself etc ...slightly double dutch...

Like @UKSBD and @Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake say.

You can drop me a DM with your full name, business name and the name of the domain if you want and I can check a couple of things for you.

 

[UKSBD]

I'd ensure you get that transferred into your name too.

Not only should it be transferred to your name, it should also be transferred to your own domain registration panel and the contact/admin email address should be your own too.

The email address is as important as the name.

 

[claire rostron]

Yes, you can be held to ransom and be made to pay through the nose for future years.

That is why you should always make sure

1. you own the domain yourself (and it's not being held by your hosting company or developer);

2. you have direct access to the registrar login so you have full control of the domain and

3. you're the only one with direct access to control at the registrar level and that others (like developers, marketers etc) don't have access.

Clinton how do i do this? thanks

 

[TomJ83]

@claire rostron

If you buy your domain name from a domain name registrar, you will be fine. For example Name.com and Namecheap.

 

[Clinton]

If you're registering a new domain, it's as @TomJ83 and @WebshopMechanic have suggested - simply use a reputable registrar (and go direct to the registrar rather than through an intermediary)!

But you made this sloppy and ambiguous comment in your OP: "Ive bought the 1st yr last night..."

If you've already registered the domain then that's a different matter and I refer you to my earlier posts.

 

[TomJ83]

@claire rostron

You have mentioned that you bought your domain from Squarespace. They are pretty reputable so I don't think you will end up in a situation where your domain name will be held as a ransom. If you are not satisfied with them, there is an option for you to transfer the domain to another domain name registrar. That's a good sign. See link below.

https://support.squarespace.com/hc/...8-Transferring-a-domain-away-from-Squarespace

 

[Markus Brundisteg]

It is very important not just to look into prices of domain hosting but also location where the servers are. Usually it is better to have a domain (server) located in your country where you do business. It reduces server response time (your website is faster) also it gets you in higher positions in Google.