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How to Select and Buy a Domain Name for Your Blog

· 3 min read

This is how you can select and buy a domain name for your Blog.

In my last few posts, I wrote about how you can select the niche of your blog, which Blogging platform you should use, the differences between WordPress.Org and WordPress.Com, and why you should go with the self-hosted WordPress.

When you have selected your niche and decided WordPress.Org as your Blogging platform, the next requirement you have is a domain name.

If you are absolutely new to this term, the domain name is the name of a website. An example of a domain name is TechYorker.Com.

In this domain name, the characters before the dot make the domain name. After the dot, we have .com, which is called Domain extension.

There are several domain name types, and it is decided based on the extension of a domain. Below are the domain types with an example of their suffix.

Top Level Domains: .com, .org, .net, .co, .edu, .gov, .mil

Again Top Level domains are divided into two types:

Generic Top-Level Domain: The Generic Top-Level domains are .com, .org, .edu, etc

Country Code Top-Level Domain: The second type of Top Level domain is country level. It is assigned to a country or a region. Some examples are: .in, .pk, .uk, etc.

New Top-Level Domains: Recently, a new type of domain suffix has been getting popular. It is called New Top Level Domains. Some examples of the nTLDs: are .media, .app, etc.

Now that you know about domain types, there are a few things that you should consider while choosing your domain name.

  • Short, Catchy, Easy to Type & Pronounce: Ensure your domain name is short and catchy. Also, the domain name should be easy to type so users don't get confused while searching for it. Also, it should be easy to pronounce so one can easily pronounce the name, and others can understand it.
  • Brandable: As your ultimate goal will be growing your blog into a digital media brand, ensure it is brandable.
  • Select a Good Domain Extension: You should select a domain extension based on your requirements. If you are going to target international audience, try to get the .com extension. You can also go with the .net extension. In case you want to target audience within your country, you can go with country-level extensions.
  • Go with a name that indicates the niche of your blog: While selecting your domain name, go with a name that clearly indicates the niche of your blog. If your niche is, Tech, try to go with a name that has Tech, Gadgets, in its name. I did the same and went with TechYorker.Com.

Suppose you have selected your domain name; the next step is to buy it. There are dozens of domain registrars from where you can register your domain name.

I personally use Godaddy as it is trusted and serving for the last 24 years. The cost of the domain registration depends based upon the domain extension you are going with.

For first-time registration, domain registrars offer discounts. You can ask them for it. When the domain registration period expires, you will need to renew it before the expiry so you don't lose your domain name.

So basically, this is how you can select and buy a domain name for your blog.

That's all in this post.

Thanks for reading. Have a great day!