Free Domain Names? For How Long?
Since so many of the cool domain names have been snagged (and mostly by people who aren’t even using them-ugh!) choosing one can be a daunting task. As difficult as this step is, however, it is just the first decision of many before you launch your website.
Once you find the domain you will use, you need to reserve it. Most start-up businesses are looking for ways to save money and the temptation for choosing a company that offers free domain names with hosting is irresistible. Unfortunately, the cost you pay in the long run could be devastating to your online marketing.
Often when you choose to switch your website hosting to another company you will learn the domain registration was free to you because the hosting company owns it – not you. Some hosting companies will not release ownership and you will have to wait for it to expire and then register it again. This could literally take years. Another option, if the registrar allows, is to transfer the domain to another registrar but this can be costly depending on what your old host is requesting.
Domain names can be registered with many legitimate registrars from $9-25 a year. Pretty nominal compared to a “free” one that you don’t really control. Consider the cost of all the marketing materials you have developed with your domain printed on them. The links from directories and your indexed pages in search engines – not to mention all of your customers who have bookmarked your site – risk being lost.
Connection Group allows you to reserve your own domain name. We even recommend a couple of reputable registrars we work with regularly. If you don’t feel comfortable working through the process we can also reserve them for you. If we do, you hold the reservation and it will be a stand-alone domain name that you can move to a host of your choice at any time.
A couple of reputable domain registrars we work with regularly are:
http://www.godaddy.com
http://www.networksolutions.com
There are probably others out there that are good too. These two we have used since early 2000 without problem.
If you’re interested in learning more about domain names, this blog  is an incredibly in-depth resource on the history of domain names.
Let us know if we can help you select or secure domain names as you start thinking about your website design.