Owning your digital assets is a core value here at Working Websites. That starts with having your own website and to do that, you need a domain name.
At least once a year for as long as I’ve been in business, I get a hopeful business owner who comes to me, ready to take their website to the next level– only to find out they don’t actually control it.
So I created a simple walkthrough on how to buy your own domain name. Check out it and leave your questions in the comments below.
Why is Owning Your Domain Important?
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If you only rely on third party sites to promote your business online, you're giving up power over your brand to forces you have no control over.
Assess Your Tech Comfort Level
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Are you someone who's comfortable diving into a knowledge base and figuring out technical things? Or do you find it somewhat intimidating? The less experience you have, the more you'll want to choose software and services that have an excellent reputation and customer support, to minimize problems.
- Buy your domains from a dedicated domain registrar and keep them separate from your web hosting. This makes it much easier to move hosts if you need to.
- Get domain privacy to keep your personal information safe
- Beware domain snipers–people who sniff out domain searches and then pre-emptively buy them to sell them at inflated rates.
Why Hover?
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Buying Your Domain
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Once you've determined that your domain is available, visit Hover and type your domain into the search box. From there you'll add your domain to the cart, setup your login details and check out.
If You Have a Domain Already
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If you like the service you're using or you have a long contract, you can keep your current domains where they are. I'll have another lesson on transferring your domain if you have existing domains and you want to move them all to once service.
If You Use Facebook / Yelp Instead
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One of our core values at Working Websites is that you should own the platform for your online marketing. Facebook, Yelp, Instagram or other social platforms are great additional platforms, but using them exclusively is giving up control of your brand to companies you have no control over.
If you're serious about growing your business with online marketing, you need to do it on a platform that you own.
Next Steps
You now have everything you need to take the first step in your online marketing journey. Download the checklist below and make it happen.
