How to secure a domain name

You've decided on a name for your website and learned that it's available. You need to register the name to secure ownership. There are several ways to do this. You can register the domain name and host the website with the same company, or, register the domain name with one company and host the website with another company.

Let’s look at option one. The financial benefit is that companies that provide both registration and hosting may offer package discounts to get your business. Another advantage is that you have only one control panel to view your registration and hosting information. The downside to this arrangement is that if you’re dissatisfied with the quality of website hosting, you must transfer the domain name to a new registrar when you find a new host. Although some companies will offer to let you keep the name registered with them, you’ll pay a higher (non-discounted) yearly fee. In practice, when problems arise, more website owners tend to be unhappy with the quality of hosting than with name registration.

Option two has the advantage of keeping your registrar and web host separate in case problems occur. Also, companies that are exclusively a domain name registrar may offer discounts to sign up for a period of several years instead of just one. The drawback is that the procedure is a bit more time consuming because you sign up with two companies. Accessing information about your domain name and site also means logging into separate accounts on each provider website.

As a web designer, I suggest the following approach to obtain a domain name:

• Shop around for the best price like you would for anything else
• Read independent reviews of registrar and hosting companies
• Keep your domain name registration and website hosting separate
• At sign up, make sure you’re listed as the owner of the domain name, not the registrar
• If the web host offers a trial period, use it

Comment on this post with any good tips on domain name registration or website hosting.

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