Everything You Need to Know about Custom Domains

Imagine that every time you wanted to visit Google, you had to type its IP address into your browser instead of its domain name. It would be a lot more difficult to remember and type out 209.85.231.104 than Google.com. Same with 128.242.245.116 for Twitter.com and 208.80.152.2 for Wikipedia.com.

Seriously, if I asked you to close your eyes and repeat back one of those IP addresses, you probably couldn’t — but I bet you could repeat back every domain name.

That’s the beauty of网站域名- - - - - -他们是一记住一个简单的选择d identifying websites, acting like a home address for websites on the internet. They tell visitors where different sites live so they can easily find and return to them.

访问者在你的网站上,让他们来了back, you need a domain name that’s unique, short, and easy to memorize and spell. Thankfully, you don’t have to leave this up to chance. Instead, you can purchase andregister a custom domainfor your site.

In this post, we’ll discuss what a custom domain is, how to get one, and how much they cost. Let’s get started.

Domain name registration is required for proprietary reasons — it gives you ownership over your website's address so that no one else can claim it, and it simplifies how internet users find your site.

但是购买和注册customdomain name has additional benefits, including:

• Brand identity:A custom domain name is essential for a consistent online brand identity. Visitors will expect your domain name to match or resemble your company name.
• Credibility:A domain name that aligns with your company name (or your own name) establishes credibility, and makes your website appear legitimate to users.
• Memorability:If your domain is easy to remember, visitors can easily enter it into their search bars, resulting in more direct traffic to your site.
• Differentiation from competitors:A clean, catchy custom domain sets you apart from competing sites with clunkier domains.
• 搜索当局：In addition to strengthening your brand, custom domain names can also help you establish search authority. As a rule of thumb, the older a domain is, the more authority it has in search. That’s because it’s had time to accumulate quality content, internal links, and backlinks.

由于这些原因，重要的是从一开始就使用自定义域名。例如，如果您从Weebly，WordPress.com或WebNode之类的免费网站构建器开始，那么您将被分配一个子域 - 意味着您的URL可能看起来像example.weebly.com。如果您决定以后升级到付费计划，则可以购买自定义域，但是您的域授权基本上将重置为零。

When deciding on a custom domain name for your business, make sure it’s short, unique, and easy to pronounce and spell. It should also give visitors an idea of what your business is about.

以Google为例。虽然这个受欢迎的搜索引擎是almost named Alphabet or BackRub联合创始人拉里·佩奇（Larry Page）和谢尔盖·布林（Sergey Brin）最终决定在Google上。它源自“ googol”一词，这是一个巨大的数字，它反映了搜索引擎索引的众多网页。

现在，您了解拥有一个的好处，让我们看看获取和注册自定义域的成本。

几乎所有网站构建平台，从托管的网站构建者到自托管CMS平台再到两者之间的所有内容，都包括域名注册在其注册过程中。

Some hosted platforms like Squarespace, as well as hosting providers like Bluehost, include a free year of domain registration when you sign up, which appeals to new site owners who want to keep their costs low. Just make sure you check the renewal fees so you’re not unknowingly committing to an expensive annual rate.

其他托管平台CMS Huband providers like SiteGround require you to purchase a domain from a third-party domain registrar like GoDaddy or Namecheap and then connect it to your account. This is a relatively inexpensive and painless process as well.

Generally, registering and renewing a custom domain costs between $10 and $15 per year. For example, you can see GoDaddy’s pricing for different extensions below.

图像源

Now that we understand how the pricing of a custom domain name varies, let’s walk through the process of getting one.

The details of each step may vary according to the platform you’re building your site on and the domain registrar you’re purchasing from. Below, we’ll walk through the steps of purchasing a domain from Domain.com and connecting it to HubSpot. That way, you can host all your landing pages, blogs, and website pages on HubSpot and start building search authority.

1.选择您的域名注册商。

When choosing a domain registrar, evaluating the pricing, available domain names, privacy, reputation, and expiration fees of each can help narrow your selection.Domain.com, for example, offers domain registration for as low as $2.99 annually and most .com domains for $9.99 annually. This makes it one of the most cost-effective options.

其他best domain registrarsinclude Namecheap, GoDaddy, Name.com, and BlueHost.

2.搜索您所需的名称。

Once you’ve chosen your domain registrar, search to see if your desired domain name is available. If it is, you can add it to your cart and skip to step 4. If it’s taken, then move on to the next step.

For the sake of this demo, let’s say I want to build a lifestyle blog with the domain name afitzgerald.com. After a search, I see it’s already registered, so I’ll have to keep looking.

3. If that name is taken, try different variations and domain extensions.

If your desired name is taken, you have several options. You could try to buy the domain name from the current owner. Since this can cost hundreds (or even百万) of dollars, consider trying another approach.

If “.com” is taken, consider其他著名的扩展名，例如.net或.org。或者，您可能会开始使用.com尝试不同的变化。假设我不喜欢下面列出的任何替代方案。然后，我可能会尝试“ andreafitzgerald.com”或“ fitzgeralda.com”，等等。

4.向购物车添加域隐私和保护。

Once you’ve decided on a name and begin to check out, it’s a good idea to add domain privacy and protection. Without it, your personal information (including your name, address, phone number, and email) will be listed in thepublic WHOIS database任何人都可以查看。Internet Corporation要求该信息指定的姓名和数字（ICANN），该名称和数字（ICANN）监督和批准了域名注册商。

With domain privacy and protection, your personal information will not be listed in the public database, which helps to防止您网站上的威胁和攻击。

5. Purchase alternatives of your custom domain.

除了您的主要自定义域外，还要考虑购买拼写错误，相关扩展名和域名的其他替代方案。如果用户在浏览器中输入错误的地址，则可以帮助您保留用于网站的流量。

例如，我可能会购买andreaefitzgerald.com以及andreaefitzgerald.blog，以防人们在Google中输入我的名字和“博客”并单击后一个URL。

6.选择您的注册期限。

Once you’ve added your custom domain, desired alternatives, and domain privacy and protection to your cart, select how long you want to register your domain. You might set it for one year to pay the least amount upfront. You can always renew for a longer term later.

Or, you might set it up for multiple years to avoid worrying about the renewal process for a while. Some registrars offer a discount for multi-year terms as well, making this option more appealing to those with tighter budgets.

7. Buy an email domain and other add-ons.

在结帐过程中，大多数域注册商将提供一系列附加组件，从电子邮件到托管到SSL认证。

Your website building platform will likely include most of these features in its hosting plans — except for email. For example, withCMS Hub, you’ll get hosting, SSL certification, website building and design tools, and built-in security features. But, you’ll want to purchase a professional email address that matches your domain. This can help ensure your customers read your marketing emails instead of sending them straight to spam.

你可以connect your email sending domain to HubSpotor whatever platform you’re using later as you’re setting up your site.

8. Enter your payment information.

将所有需要的东西添加到购物车中后，就可以开始进行计费。您只需要填写付款和帐单信息即可正式拥有您的域名。

9.将您的域名连接到托管帐户。

使用您的名字正式注册的自定义域，剩下要做的就是将其连接到您的托管帐户或网站平台。

假设您已决定在CMS Hub上构建网站。你可以将域连接到集线器in a few easy steps right from your dashboard.

Reinforcing Your Brand Identity

购买和注册域名是创建网站的重要步骤。自定义域名不仅可以与您的受众建立信任，还可以增强您的品牌并吸引到您的网站的流量。正确的平台很容易。寻找可以轻松购买和连接域所需的文档和支持的文档和支持。

This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.