Close your eyes and imagine this scenario.  Okay, don’t close your eyes, because you  need to read this!  Imagine: you have an incredible idea for a website. You are excited and ready to put it out there for everyone to see, so you begin the process. The first step is to find the perfect domain name. You check to see if it’s available – it is!  Now you can buy the domain name and plan the perfect website. But what will a domain name cost?

Domain names in the past

There are a few factors that play into domain name cost.  Several years ago, we saw the emergence of domain name speculators.  You might be thinking to yourself, “What in the world is a domain name speculator?” When the internet became more prominent in the homes of everyday people, speculators tried to buy up domain names. They thought these names would be popular. This hope of selling the names to companies in the future meant profit.

For example, you might purchased a domain name, or dot com, for something simple like love. Down the road, a dating service that wants that domain name, will pay good money to get it.  Sometimes, speculators sit on a domain name for years before they make any money. However, sometimes the domain names are a bust.  It was a gamble many people are willing to take and had potential for high pay out with little risk.

Domain names now

Since the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) added top-level domains for every country (.au, .us, .uk, instead of just .com), you started to see a decline in domain speculators. ICANN now even allows companies to create their own top-level domains – that’s why domain names don’t always end in .com or country codes anymore.  If you sell vintage postcards, your domain name could be vintage.postcards. If you are loaded and have about $200k laying around, you can do something like what Barclays did, which is register their own TLD – Check out Barclays site at http://home.barclays

Many others are in the works such as .app, .bank .mom and even .family domains. With so many options, you probably won’t be hunting down the owner of a domain name and negotiating a high-priced deal to buy the domain name you want. The exception to the rule is that many people, including myself believe that .com is king, and those domains seem to rank better in search engines currently, and for those two reasons, they might be worth paying a premium for, especially if is a a very good, short and easy to remember name, like pizza.com for example. I wonder how many offers that guy refused hoping to squeeze every penny out of that domain? Surely every pizza chain in the country has proposed to him by now.

Where does that leave domain name cost?

Typically, you can expect to spend $10-15 dollars a year for domain name cost.  Why a recurring fee?  You pay a registrar to register your domain name for you, and the recurring fee is simply like any registration fee.  Sometimes, you can purchase up to 10 years of registration for your domain name up front.  If you know you’ll have your website for a long time, this is a good idea, because it locks in your monthly fee for 10 years.  This protects you in case prices rise, and keeps you from having to worry about renewing every year. When it’s time to renew your domain name registration, your registrar will typically send you a notice, but if you don’t renew, someone else might scoop up your domain name. Make a calendar reminder so that you do not miss the renewal dates, just in case!

As you can see, domain name fees aren’t something to fret over anymore.  You can expect to register your domain name at a reasonable price, plus, you can customize it how you would like.  You might spend a few sleepless nights coming up with the perfect domain name that aligns with your brand, but you shouldn’t waste time dwelling on the price! If you have questions about domain name registration prices, contact your favorite web host.  Often, your web host can register your domain name for you, saving you a step with the added benefit of one-stop shopping and a single bill, and single service provider to manage your hosting and domains from. Once you have your domain name registered, you can focus on getting the site built and making those millions, yeah buddy!