Category Archives: Domain Registration Services

Domain Name – Your Online Identity

Domain Names 101: Public vs. Private Registration

When choosing the best web hosting, choosing public or private registration for your new domain can be a bit confusing. Read on to learn what to take into account when making this crucial decision for your company’s internet presence.

Let’s start by understanding the difference between these two. Regulations for domain registration require you to send your personal information such as physical and email addresses, to the registrar in order to become the legal owner of your domain. This information is then registered with WHOIS, a public database of domains and their owners maintained by the ICANN, the international organization in charge of keeping track of who owns what on the internet.

Anyone can look up the registered owner of a publicly registered domain by sending a query to WHOIS. This can lead to potential problems for you and other domain owners, such as:

  • Unwanted people knowing you own a domain
  • Unwanted visitors showing up on your property
  • Becoming a victim of data mining
  • Receiving a lot of spam
  • Domain hijacking
  • Domain slamming

Private domain registration is a service provided by your registrar that allows you to keep your information private when registering a domain. The registrar will then share its own information with WHOIS, acting as a shield to ensure your privacy and avoid the aforementioned issues. Private registration is usually a premium service you can contract for a low yearly fee. It’s affordability has made it one of the most requested additional services of registrars, and the best web hosting services will invariably offer it.

Private domain registration is a great service, but it might not be for everyone. Since WHOIS lists your registrar as the owner, your domain will not technically be owned by you. WHOIS is consulted to resolve any legal disputes related to domain ownership. Therefore, choosing a registrar or web hosting service you can trust is of paramount importance when creating a private registration.

If you own a single website or a few domains, purchasing this service is a no-brainer. However, costs can add up quickly for owners of a large quantity of domains (100+), owned either for flipping or as alternative access to websites. This can be circumvented with some legwork by setting a single or a few privately registered domains to act as proxies for the rest – though this is not implementable in every case.

The decision between public and private domain registration comes down to three fundamental factors. The first one is the security of your personal information. The second is the reliability of your registrar or web hosting provider. The third one is minimizing the possibility of harassment including spamming, stalking, and other situations that might affect you and your family.

Make sure you get the best web hosting services possible. Contact us with any inquiries on the privacy of your information. We offer the best solutions for domain registration and web hosting, and of course, we offer private domain registration services as well. Just select the option at checkout when ordering a domain from GlowHost.com and we’ve got you covered.

 

Domain Names 101: Choosing the Right Domain Name

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You’re all set! You’ve found the best web hosting company available and you’ve chosen your hosting option. You’re just itching to go live on the internet with some great content. There’s just one problem – you still haven’t settled on the perfect domain name.

This is a common problem. Your domain name isn’t just a web address; it becomes your identity on the internet! That’s why it’s super important to choose a domain name that is not only recognizable and easy to remember, but is also indicative of your brand as a whole.

Make it Yours

Domain names have to be unique, so if you want a common phrase in yours, there’s a chance it will be taken already. Get creative. You also have to think about your content. Is it a website for your company? A personal blog? The nature of your site’s content should influence your domain name.

Come up with a name that speaks to you. Research the name to see if it is unique. You may have to tweak it a bit to find something that is available, but this name will stay with you for a long time. Changing in the future will result in a ton of lost revenue, readers, search engine rankings, and branding efforts.

Make it Easy

By far one of the biggest mistakes people make when choosing a domain name is going for something that is difficult to remember or ambiguous in nature. Numbers in a domain name are a big problem, as it can be hard to remember if the URL contains a numeral or a number spelled out.

Using alternative or funky spellings likewise can be hard to remember and often result in confusion. Using shortened forms of words (‘ur’ for ‘your’ or ‘you are’) or intentionally misspelled words is a recipe for trouble.

Spell things correctly, and keep it short. No one wants to type out a long string of letters or numbers; they want something they can remember easily and find quickly.

Make it Relevant

If your domain name isn’t your company name, make it a description of what your website is about! Keywords in domain names help people find your site and make it more likely they will click on it. Think about it, if you see a website with “fireplace-installation” in the domain name, what do you think you will find there?

The internet makes it easy for people to find exactly what they are looking for. Use your domain name to make it even easier! Misleading or off-topic domain names reduce the likelihood of garnering a lot of online traffic, so make sure yours indicates what the site is actually about.

Register

Alright, now you know how to choose the right domain name for your purposes! It should be easy to remember, easy to search for, relevant to your content, and something you won’t get sick of easily. Go register it and get your site up and running with the best web hosting you can find.