Sure, there are a few steps to the whole thing, but they aren’t complex or anxiety-inducing, especially not when you have a guide.  

In this post, we cover the A to Z of how to transfer a domain name. Keep reading, and you’ll learn the following information: 

• What does it mean to transfer a domain name? 
• Common reasons for transferring a domain name. 
• How to transfer a domain name. 
• Cost of transferring a domain name.  
• Whether or not your website and email will go down during a domain transfer. 
• And more! 

Use the table of contents below to jump to a particular section in this guide or start from the top for a comprehensive overview of transferring domain names.  

Domain Name Transfer FAQs 

Here’s everything you need to know about transferring domain names in one place.  

What does it mean to transfer a domain name? 

Transferring a domain name means moving a domain from the registrar where it is currently managed to a different registrar.  

Why transfer a domain name? 

You might want to transfer your domain name from one registrar to another for any number of reasons. Below, we’ve listed some of the most common reasons we hear from our domain registrants.  

• Cost and value.  
  • Registrars determine their own pricing based on the products and services they sell. Some registrars, like Domain.com, offer free perks with your domain registration (like email forwarding, URL forwarding, and more).  
  • If you’re not happy with the pricing structure of your current registrar and the features they offer, it may be time to make a change.  
• Domain management and user-friendliness.  
  • Managing your domain names shouldn’t be a hassle. Choose a registrar who prioritizes ease of use and offers all the features you need.  
  • Some registrars offer their own services and seamless integrations for things like email and hosting — while others offer clunky 3^rd party integrations that may slow you down.  
• Domain name is changing ownership.  
  • Did you sell a domain name? Or purchase one from someone else? That domain needs to be transferred to its new owner. 
• Customer support.  
  • If you run into a hiccup with your domain name, you’ll want to talk to an expert that can help. At Domain.com, our knowledge base and specialists are available 24/7.  

How long does it take to transfer a domain name? 

Transferring a domain name is a quick process. Once you’ve completed a few steps (like making sure the domain is unlocked, etc.), the rest of the process is taken care of by the registrars.  

You can complete your portion of the transfer process in one sitting (which we recommend for security reasons) It only takes an hour or two, max, and that’s being generous. Then, the registrars do their parts to complete your transfer which can take up to 5-7 business days.  

What do I need to transfer a domain name? 

To facilitate a successful domain name transfer, ensure the following four criteria are met: 

1. Domain(s) must be valid and registered with another registrar.  
2. The domain(s) must have been registered for at least 60 days and in unlock status.  
3. Admin contact and domain registrant information must be up-to-date.  
4. You have your transfer authorization, or EPP code, from the registrar you’re moving away from.  

Does transferring a domain name affect my custom email address? 

Moving your domain name doesn’t mean you have to move your email hosting. 

Are you using a third party to host your email? If so, it shouldn’t be affected by transferring a domain name. Domain.com does not make changes to the name servers for your domain during the transfer process.  

If your custom email address is hosted with your domain provider, a transfer could affect you. To avoid that, make sure to transfer your email account’s MX records to your new registrar while transferring your domain. By doing this, you’ll ensure your email account is linked to your domain name. However, you’ll continue to manage your email with your original provider. 

Want to transfer to Domain.com and manage your email with us? Create a Google Workspace account with Domain.com and migrate your email to that account.  

Will my website go down during a domain name transfer? 

Nope!  

When you transfer a domain name from one registrar to another, that’s literally all you’re doing. You’re not moving your email or hosting. During the domain transfer process, your nameservers don’t change — they’ll stay pointed to the same pre-transfer nameservers.  

Now, it’s another story if you’re changing your hosting provider along with your domain registrar. If you decide to change your website host, follow these steps to avoid site downtime: 

• Import your DNS records to your new hosting provider (it may be your new registrar.) 
• Double-check to make sure the DNS information is correct.  
• Change the nameservers at the originating registrar.  
  • You may have to wait for propagation; it could take 24-48 hours.  

Another scenario to consider is if you’re using the default nameservers of your current (pre-transfer) registrar. Many registrars offer access to free nameservers so long as your domain remains registered with them. If you decide to transfer your domain, you could lose access to those nameservers.  

If you’re unsure whether you’re using default nameservers, ask your registrar BEFORE you transfer your domain. We recommend keeping your domain pointed to your hosting provider’s nameservers.  

Will my website content transfer along with my domain name?  

No. Your website content will remain hosted wherever your site is hosted.  

Can I make changes to a domain while it’s being transferred? 

You cannot make any changes to a domain name when it’s actively in the transfer process.  

This means you’re unable to: 

• Update nameservers. 
• Change the WHOIS registration information.  
• Renew the domain registration.  

If you must make one of those edits, you’ll need to contact the originating registrar with a request to cancel the transfer. Otherwise, you’ll need to wait the standard 5-7 business days for the process to finish so you can make your edits.  

Can I transfer an expired or expiring domain name?  

Domain names must be in good standing for transferral.  

Attempting to transfer a domain that is on hold, expired, or expiring within 10 days can sometimes cause unexpected complications. If your domain is in one of those statuses and you’re looking to transfer it, call our transfer team for assistance at 800-403-3568.  

How do I prepare my domain name for transfer?  

Ready to transfer your domain name? Verify that you’ve got the following ducks in a row with your current registrar and you will be.

• Unlock your domain name.  
• Disable your domain’s privacy settings.  
• Ensure the admin contact information is updated and correct.  
• Get your transfer authorization code, also known as an EPP code.  
  • Depending on your registrar, you may need to contact them directly for your code.  
• Ensure your domain is at least 60 days old or opt-out of your domain lock. 
• Make sure your domain isn’t tangled up in any legal disputes as that’s a quick way to get it locked at the registry level.  

What is the 60-day domain lock? 

As of December 1, 2016, domain registrars are required to impose a lock that prevents a domain name from transfer for 60 days post-change to a registrant’s information.  

The good news? Registrars can provide a way to opt out of the 60-day lock. Not all registrars offer that ability upfront, which can make life difficult when managing domain names.  

At Domain.com, we believe you should have total management of your domain name, so we provide the option to unlock your domain right from your account dashboard. Simply toggle your domain lock on or off, depending on your needs.

How much does it cost to transfer a domain name?  

ICANN, the non-profit organization that oversees domains, requires that domain names be renewed for an additional year when transferred.  

At Domain.com, you can transfer your domain name for as low as $9.99. We don’t charge additional fees for domain name transfers, though the same can’t necessarily be said for all domain registrars.  

Transferring domain names to Domain.com 

Looking to transfer your domain name to Domain.com? Thanks for your consideration! Here’s what you need to know.  

Why should I transfer my domain name to Domain.com? 

Domain names are our bread and butter, and we’ve been a leader in the industry since 2000.  

However, it isn’t our age that makes us a great fit for your domains; it’s the fact that we’re designed to make managing your domains a breeze. Here’s how we do it… 

Straightforward domain management. 

Your domain dashboard lets you quickly and easily manage your domain names. That means no hunting around for hidden tools — toggle the most important features on or off as you need them.  

Once logged in, you can manage additional domain features (like pointers and subdomains) from the menu immediately to the left of your summary dashboard.  

Plentiful hosting options. 

We’re here to make your life easier when it comes to domains and to help you create and build your online presence.  

We don’t just offer over 300 TLDs for registration; we offer various website hosting and builder services, email, and more! 

Automatic domain name renewal.  

Your claim to your domain name has an expiration date.  

When your domain registration period runs out, so does your ownership of that domain name. You can leave yourself a reminder on your calendar to manually renew it, or you can use Domain.com’s Auto Renewal feature so that it’s one less thing to worry about.  

Cost-conscious pricing.  

We offer some of the most competitive pricing available in the domain name industry. Don’t believe us? Check it out for yourself. We’re not in the business of hiding our pricing and making it difficult to find.  

24/7 customer support.  

Sometimes, we all need a little help. Our teams are there for you 24/7.  

You can reach our teams by phone or live chat, and you have a comprehensive Knowledge Base chock-full of FAQs and step-by-step guidance at your disposal.  

How to transfer your domain from GoDaddy to Domain.com. 

Ready to make the move to Domain.com from GoDaddy? Here are the steps you’ll take to transfer your domain name to Domain.com.  

1. Log into your GoDaddy Account Manager.  
2. In the “My Products” section, find and click “Domain Manager.” 
3. Use the checkbox(es) to select the domain name(s) you want to modify.  
4. Above the list of your domain names, select “Locking.” 
5. To unlock the domain(s), clear the lock domains checkbox.  
6. Select “OK.” 
7. Click “OK” again. 

To retrieve your transfer authorization code from GoDaddy, follow these steps:

1. Log into your GoDaddy Account Manager.  
2. In the “My Products” section, click “Domain Manager.” 
3. Select the domain name whose authorization code you want.  
4. In the “Authorization Code” field, click the “Send by Email” hyperlink. 
5. Select “OK.” 
6. Click “OK” again. 

After submitting your transfer request to Domain.com, we’ll then send you an email confirming your transfer. Make sure to confirm your transfer via that email. Within it, we provide a link to your account so you can log in and enter your transfer authorization code.  

And that’s it! 

Transfer your domain name and build your online presence  

Transferring a domain name shouldn’t be a complicated process. At Domain.com, our goal is to make your domain name transfer as painless and intuitive as possible.  

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to our teams, leave a comment down below, or check out this Knowledge Base article to learn more about transferring a domain name to your account.

As women continue to be underrepresented in the tech field, we want to learn about their challenges and experiences and grow from them. Neha has had quite the journey through the domain landscape over the years and brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to the table. 

We’re delighted that she’s taken the time to sit down with us to share her insights and lived experiences, and thankful that we get to share them with you, too. 

Women in Domaining with Neha Naik of Radix Registry

Hi Neha, thanks for sitting down with us today to discuss women in domaining. To start, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Thanks for having me here, Natalie!

I happened to land in the domains industry over 15 years ago, not really knowing that a WHOLE WORLD exists associated with these words you type in your browser! It still blows my mind that most people out there are actually unaware of the existence of this thriving industry that really powers presence on the Internet.

15 years ago, Directi, our parent company, decided to recruit students as a campus batch. And there I was, among the first batch of campus recruits, never imagining that I’d be spending the next years of my career in this industry. There has been no looking back though.

Over the course of my domain industry journey, I’ve worked with a cross-section of partners – registrars, registries, and web hosts across the globe, and in varied roles that cut across sales and account management as my primary role, but also many other aspects.

It still blows my mind that most people out there are actually unaware of the existence of this thriving [domain] industry that really powers presence on the Internet.

Neha naik

I think that’s the beauty of working in a startup environment – you get to wear multiple hats and learn so much. I’ve had the opportunity to plan TLD launches, business migrations, work on policy and product management, and really get a very rounded understanding of the multiple facets of the industry.

We started with Radix in 2012, and I’ve been with the team since its inception. We have come such a long way from spending countless days writing out TLD applications to today, running some of the best new Top Level Domains out there.

While the line between work and other things I do is a little bit of a blur, when I’m not doing ‘domain things’, you’ll find me taking yogi breaks on my yoga mat. Through lockdowns and everything else in the last year, that has been my constant.

Can you describe your company and your role there?

Radix is one of the world’s largest new domain registries with a portfolio of 10 nTLDs and over 5.5 Million domains under management.

We have carefully chosen domain extensions that are semantically relevant and have broad applications. Our portfolio boasts of a good mix of TLDs that have an inherent appeal to a wide audience.

At Radix, our motto isn’t merely to increase our sales numbers; we are focused on helping businesses get good-quality domain names so they can build a strong online brand.

The last year has in fact reinforced the strength and value of the TLDs to really help businesses establish a quality online presence. With TLDs like .store for eCommerce businesses, .tech for startups, and .online for any business or individual looking to go online, the TLDs really cater to some of the most popular themes of what users are seeking when they go online.

Currently, I lead channel partnerships and channel marketing at Radix. We have a team of brilliant folks and we’ve organized ourselves to focus on different geographies. The geo-distributed approach helps us stay better connected with our partners and really cater to what each market needs most.

We have often been called the Radix Radicals, a team of passionate, super-focused people motivated to make a difference, and never shying away from trying new approaches to make that happen.

How long have you been in domaining? How did you get your start?

Like I mentioned before, I chanced upon the industry and I’m so glad I did. I’ve been a part of the domain industry for over 15 years now. I came in straight from college; joined LogicBoxes in 2005, which focused on the Registrar market, and was a part of the Directi Group.

As the first campus recruited batch, they put us through intense training to learn everything about the domain industry – those fundamentals, I’m sure I’ll never forget. I moved on to lead the Account Management team at LogicBoxes.

In 2012, Radix started in parallel and that was my shift from the registrar to the registry side.

As a woman, do you feel represented in the domain community? Why or why not?

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to interact with some great, accomplished women in the domain community across different companies and roles. There has been a gradual shift, and we can definitely see more women take up leadership positions across the board. And it is very visibly happening more today than it did before.

One amazing thing about the domain industry is the camaraderie that we share. I haven’t heard of any other industry that is as close-knit and as helpful to each other as ours is. It is where competitors are friends and that’s very rare to see. We have known so many people for so many years now that it is a mini-extended family in a way.

As far as being represented, I do still think we have ways to go before we see adequate representation, but it is very encouraging to see that shift happen and I’m hopeful of what we have ahead of us.

What are your thoughts on newer TLDs / domain extensions?

Call me biased coming from a company that runs new TLDs, but I believe new domain extensions expand the horizons of what people can do with their online identities.

The 2020 pandemic proved just how important it is for businesses and individuals to have a strong online presence. Domain names can help people cross that bridge from offline to online.

There are so many examples of businesses that are making the most of new domain extensions to stand out and build a strong online brand. For example, campus.site, a remote platform, started as a result of the pandemic. There were many such use-cases like one.fun, building.online, homeoffice.store, and more.

The 2020 pandemic proved just how important it is for businesses and individuals to have a strong online presence. Domain names can help people cross that bridge from offline to online.

neha naik

Awareness for new domains is still something that needs work, but you do see the shift and you do see innovation in the space. As online businesses need better names to stand out and be unique, I think new domains present them with meaningful domain choices that are available today.

We have several businesses on .tech and .online that have established themselves, and have raised funding cumulating to over $3.5 Bn – these are the future movers and shakers. And with the efforts across the industry, new TLDs will become more mainstream and more commonplace.

Do you have any predictions for what will happen and change within the domain community in the next year? Five years?

The domain industry is moving at a rapid pace and there’s a lot that we can hope to see in the coming years. In some ways the industry also seems to be contracting, more consolidating really across the registry and registrars/web service provider space. So we’ll see how it all comes together and impacts the industry dynamics.

Other than that, meeting in person at events and conferences every year was a big part of the domain community and 2020 brought that to a complete halt. But the good thing was that it didn’t stop us from staying connected and doing business.

While meetings were different, they were still productive. And on the social side, we had some great happy hours and group hangouts virtually.

The domain community is quite long-lived — people tend to stay within the industry and once you’ve made a connection with someone, they take you with them to all the places they go; and that’s great because it opens you up to so many new opportunities.

There are a few things that I’m expecting to see in the coming years as far as the domain community is concerned:

• New people coming into the domain industry from related fields. We all know the domain boom in 2020 has really accelerated the movement of businesses online and with that, it will no doubt bring in newcomers and keep the community thriving.
• Conferences and events will have both the offline and online components to them even after things go back to normal.
• The acceleration that the pandemic brought isn’t over yet and we’ll see its true impact in the coming years. It’ll bring in people from other industries and make “being online” absolutely vital for any business.

What advice would you give to women looking to start a career in domains?

My only advice would be to take the plunge. The domain industry offers opportunities across tech, product, sales, marketing, legal, compliance, data analytics, and more. Find what you love and jump in. There are companies of all shapes and sizes, from large corporations to nimble startups.

The domain community is extremely welcoming and you’ll get to connect and interact with some of the best minds from different parts of the world.

And if you do join us, give me a shout-out, and I’ll be more than happy to introduce you to our community.

Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your insights on the domain industry, Neha. We’re excited to see how the domain industry continues to grow and look forward to hearing more about your contributions to the industry.

Developing a strategy around your brand and learning how to market it are pivotal to the success of not just your brand, but your business as well. And that’s exactly what we’re discussing in today’s blog post. 

If you’d like to learn more about what a brand is and the different elements that comprise it, check out part one of our Guide to Branding, “What is Branding?” here. 

What is Brand Strategy and Marketing?

A strong brand strategy helps you present a unified, consistent brand identity in market: Ranging from your site design, to your social media profiles, and even to how you communicate with customers. 

Consistency is pivotal to branding because it helps set expectations with your audience, and a consistently good experience with your brand increases brand loyalty. Without a brand strategy to drive that consistency, your business will suffer. 

Crafting a brand strategy isn’t difficult, but it does take time and effort. 

A good brand strategy helps you understand your business values and directs your brand to grow in manners beneficial to both your business and customers. It’ll help you communicate with your audience clearly and effectively, attract the right customers, and positions your brand in a way that helps you grow your market share. 

Why is Brand Strategy Important?

Without a good, consistent brand strategy your business will suffer. 

Crafting a brand strategy helps you understand who you are and what matters to your business, like your values and mission. Those are vitally important to understand when making marketing and business decisions. 

When you have an inconsistent brand, your marketing and communications take a hit, and if you can’t clearly communicate your brand and values to your customers, you’ve lost them. 

So let’s look into how to create a brand strategy and what you can do to succeed against the competition. 

How to Create a Brand Strategy

Before sitting down to create your brand strategy, it’s good to have the following information at hand:

• Who’s your target audience?
  • Who are you trying to reach? Do you know what your ideal customer looks like? To craft an effective brand strategy you must know who you’re talking to and what their needs are so you can offer the appropriate solution. If you know your audience, you can speak to them more effectively.
• Who’s your competition?
  • What other businesses and brands are competing for the same customers and audience? This information is vital to know. If you understand your competition, you can figure out how to position yourself in the marketplace to stand out from them and attract customers. 

Once you have that information handy, it’s time to start strategizing. So, let’s do it. To build your brand strategy, follow the steps below. 

Understanding the Core of Your Brand

Your business holds a set of core beliefs that drives and influences every aspect of your brand. You can think of these beliefs as your business values or your mission. 

When your brand and core business beliefs are aligned, it’s a powerful thing. When they’re not, well, you’re facing some issues. 

If you understand what drives your business, what drives your brand, then you can successfully communicate that to your customers both verbally and visually. It allows you to grow your business in a way that successfully sets you apart from competitors and engenders you to your audience. 

Without a set of guiding beliefs, your messaging will be erratic, employees may feel directionless, and overall, your business will suffer. 

To help you determine your core values and beliefs, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who am I? Why does this business exist?
  • These questions help you understand the purpose of your business. 
• What does the future of my business look like? What does success look like and how do I create it?
  • These questions help you understand your business’s vision and mission, and help you determine what needs to be done to support them. 

It’s essential that you start your brand strategy by diving into the heart of your brand and determining your values. These values and your core brand can then be shared with your audience and in market through messaging and visual representations. 

Define Your Brand Voice and Messaging

Now that you understand what makes your brand tick, it’s time to figure out how to communicate that to your customers and in the market. You can think of this as an exercise in brand messaging. 

Brand messaging is the practice of talking about who you are. Like with any practice, the more you hone and refine your messaging, the better it gets. Defining your brand messaging helps your brand communicate honestly and effectively. 

It’s important to spend time figuring out your brand messaging before jumping into the more visual aspects of your brand. That’s because your brand’s visual assets are largely an extension of your messaging and how you represent yourself online and in market. 

For example, when developing Domain.com’s brand strategy, we determined that our messaging needs to be authentic, interesting, and straightforward. Cleverness is okay, but we’re not cutesy and we won’t pander. We try to be honest and transparent while speaking clearly and simply — no “fluff.”

In turn, this helped us craft our visual identity — bold, strong, and energetic. Our approach with images and the more flexible creative elements of our brand is to find clean, clear imagery for complicated concepts. Our minimal illustration style is designed much like our messaging, again, no “fluff.”

To craft the best brand messaging, you’ll need to understand three things:

• Your brand’s personality. 
  • Long gone are the days when businesses were entirely formal and focused on transactions alone. Now, your brand needs to have some personality. What characteristics and human attributes does your brand express? Are you fun and cheerful or serious and direct? Determining what attributes to highlight in your messaging helps you build relationships with the right audience. 
• What voice to use. 
  • Your brand voice is unique. A car dealership doesn’t have the same voice as a non-profit, and for good reason. Your brand’s voice is your brand’s personality put into words and articulated in your customer-facing messaging. 
• What tone to take. 
  • A good way to determine your tone is to think about how you want your messaging to make people feel. Your voice won’t change, but your tone can depending on the context of your message or who you’re talking to. Just because your voice is clever, doesn’t mean you can’t have a serious tone when necessary. 

Once you’ve defined your brand messaging, it’ll be so much easier to communicate effectively and talk about who you are in market. Your brand messaging and voice should be used when sharing your brand story, making a pitch, or making a promise to your customers. 

Define Your Brand’s Visual Identity

Usually, when someone hears the word “brand” they immediately jump to thinking of colors and logos. However, we chose to include visual identity as the third step in your brand strategy because it’s a continuation of your brand messaging. 

Your brand expresses itself through colors, images, and icons just as much as it does with words. When crafting your visual identity keep in mind that you’re designing not just for your immediate needs, but for your brand’s future, too. 

With that said, your visual identity needs to be clear and intuitive so that the different elements, like colors and logos, work together. There needs to be an element of flexibility so that you can adapt and grow as your business does and as you introduce new products or services. And it needs to be comprehensive. Detail your color palette and what your imagery is meant to convey so that your employees or contractors understand and can apply your visual identity to their tasks and responsibilities. 

Translating Your Brand Strategy into Brand Guidelines

Now that you’ve gone through the exercise of determining your brand strategy it’s time to finalize it. 

Translating your brand strategy into a tangible document that contains your brand guidelines is an essential step in achieving business success. Having this information documented not only keeps you accountable, but it makes it easy to share with whomever needs the information, whether that be employees or an outside contractor. 

We recommend using a cloud-based tool, like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, to track this information. Both tools make it easy to work from wherever you’re located and you can access your files across various devices. They also make it easy to collaborate with others and stay on top of tasks. 

Your brand guidelines should detail the following information:

• Mission
• Vision
• Voice & Tone
• Color Palette
• Logos, Taglines, and Icons
• Typography and font
• Visual Language and Identity
• Media kit 
  • Your media kit should include downloadable files of any logos or design elements that your employees or contractors may need to support your brand. 

Putting Your Brand into Market

Ready to take your business and brand into the market? Congrats!

Now that you’ve established your brand strategy, you’ve set yourself up for success. 

You can use your brand strategy and guidelines to talk your customers online and off — in email, via social media, and face-to-face. And you should absolutely use and refer to your brand guidelines when designing your website, the core of your digital identity. 

If you don’t have a website, we can help. With Domain.com’s WebsiteBuilder, you can get online quickly and easily. And while our AI-powered site builder helps make life a little easier by getting your site design started, you retain full control over customizing your site to support your brand identity. 

So what are you waiting for? Get started today. 

Your brand is what makes you and your business unique — if it could be distilled down into something tangible, we’d venture to call it your “special sauce.”

Your brand is a first impression — the first impression that customers and potential clients will have of your business. You don’t get a second chance at a first impression, so make it count.

The good thing is, you don’t have to go at it alone. We’re here to help you understand what it takes to craft the perfect brand and take it to market in our two-part guide to branding.

What Is a Brand?

Your brand comprises many things: It’s your business and website colors, your logo, the products and services you offer, and the way you present your business online. It’s the feeling someone gets when they hear your business or domain name, and it’s what they think of you as they browse your site. And yet, that still doesn’t fully capture what your brand is.

In essence, your brand is the summation of every single touchpoint a person can have with your business and what they think about you. That includes your site, social media, products and services, logos, your business’s mission and values, the way you speak to your audience on your site and in your blog, and how you provide customer service.

You can build and work on elements of your brand to influence it; however, keep in mind that it’s just as much what someone thinks of your business as it is the elements you can control, like your logo and colors. Ultimately, your brand lives and dies in the eyes of the consumer.  

To get a bit more technical, let’s look at how Merriam-Webster defines “Brand.” They say it’s a “class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer, a characteristic or distinctive kind, and a public image, reputation, or identity conceived of as something to be marketed or promoted.”

Why Are Brands Important?

Your brand sets you apart from the competition. When all else is equal, a customer’s brand loyalty is the deciding factor in where and with what business they choose to transact. Jeff Bezos once said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

So, what do you want your customers to say about you? And how can you influence it? Let’s explore different elements of branding that you can work on to craft the perfect brand identity.

Elements of Branding

Your brand isn’t entirely within your control. You see, it’s a living, evolving thing. You set the foundation upon which it grows: Deciding on a domain and business name, your logo, your colors, and your typography. Then, it evolves as people and customers interact with you, get to know your products and what type of service you provide, and when they buy into your mission and values as a business.

Business and Domain Name

Names affect brands, but how?

A good name lends trust and credibility to your business, to your brand. A good name is one of your company’s most valuable assets, and if you don’t believe us, you need only look to one of the largest businesses of our time, Starbucks, to find out why.

Starbucks co-founder, Gordon Bowker, tells us how Starbucks got its name in an interview with The Seattle Times. He says, “We were thinking of all kinds of names and came desperately close to calling it Cargo House, which would have been a terrible, terrible mistake. Terry Heckler [with whom Bowker owned an advertising agency] mentioned in an offhand way that he thought words that begin with ‘st’ were powerful words. I thought about that and I said, yeah, that’s right, so I did a list of ‘st’ words.

Somebody somehow came up with an old mining map of the Cascades and Mount Rainier, and there was an old mining town called Starbo. As soon as I saw Starbo, I, of course, jumped to Melville’s first mate [named Starbuck] in Moby-Dick.”

There you have it — Starbucks was named, in large part, due to the perceived strength of the “st” sound that begins its name.

“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

Jeff bezos

Words can indeed cause people to feel different things depending on the sounds in the word. Christopher Johnson, Ph.D., a verbal branding consultant known as “The Name Inspector,” discusses these sounds or “rhythmic contrasts” in words in his book MICROSTYLE The Art of Writing Little.

Did you know that business names can be thought of as either feminine or masculine depending on the sound or rhythm of the word?  He uses the examples of Chanel, a “feminine brand name”, and Black & Decker, a “masculine brand name”, as explained below.

The name Chanel is an iamb, meaning it consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one (shə-NEHL or chaNEL.) “Iambs tend to sound lighter and softer,” Johnson writes, while “… trochees tend to sound heavier and harder.” Black & Decker is an example of a trochee; those consist of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (BLACK & deck-ER.) He notes that “Most people ‘feel’ this difference even if they find it hard to pinpoint.” Keep in mind that means people will feel a certain way about your business name, probably without realizing it, so put some extra thought into naming your business.

Choosing the right domain name should be part of the process of selecting your business name. Both will support your brand, and for consistency, they should be as similar (if not exact) as possible. Successful businesses in this day and age require having an online presence, so a website (and therefore, domain name) is a must.

Here’s what else you should keep in mind when deciding on the perfect domain name for your brand:

• Does it pass the radio test?
  • If someone were only to hear your domain name in passing on the radio and never see it written out, could they navigate to it? If the answer is no, consider going back to the drawing board and choosing another name.
• Avoid unique spelling, punctuation, or excessive numbers.
  • For starters, it won’t pass the radio test. Do you really expect people to remember that instead of the letter “I,” you use the number “1” in your domain name? Or that you have approximately five hyphens and three numbers in your domain? No, you can’t reasonably expect that. And if people can’t remember or spell your domain name, the chances of them getting to your website are slim.
• Make it memorable.
  • Try to keep your domain name short. The longer it gets, the more chances people have of mistyping and never reaching your site.
• Buy alternate misspellings of your domain name.
  • This helps in two ways:
    • If there are common misspellings of your domain name, purchase them to ensure you get any traffic from people who mistyped your correct domain.
    • It prevents competitors from purchasing misspellings of your domain name. If your competitor owns those misspelled alternates of your domain, they can redirect traffic from there to their own site.
• Consider a new domain extension.
  • Is .com really king? It’s well known, and people recognize it, but nowadays, there are thousands of domain extensions that can help you get the perfect domain name.
  • Starting an online store? Try .store. Opening a yoga studio? Try .yoga. There is a domain extension for just about everything, and these TLDs can help add context and memorability to your domain name.

Business and Brand Logo

Humans are visual creatures, so hook their attention with a good-looking logo.

Why are logos important? Just like with domain names, a good logo is a calling card for your brand. Your logo should be memorable and unique enough that when people see it, they instantly think of your brand and don’t confuse it with another.

There are various types of logos, ranging from strictly visual (think abstract logos like Chase Bank) to mascots (used by many sports teams), emblems (law firms or universities), and lettermarks and wordmarks (like CNN or Google, respectively.)

Domain.com uses a variety of logos, like you see below, to help support our brand. 

When designing your logo, keep the following tips in mind:

• Leverage white and empty space. 
  • Your logo doesn’t need to look “busy” to communicate your brand.
• Rely on your business’s color palette. 
• Where will your logo be displayed? 
  • You’ll likely need different versions or sizes so that it looks good on your website, in your emails, and on social media. 
• Relevancy is key. 
  • Your logo is representative of your brand, don’t forget that. 

With Domain.com, it’s easy to create a professional logo to support your brand. All you need is a name, and Domain.com’s LogoMaker will instantly create hundreds of logo options for you to choose from. Then, you can customize everything from colors and fonts to icons and more. 

Sign in to your Domain.com account today and select “Business” at the top of your control panel to leverage the power and design capabilities of LogoMaker. 

Color Psychology and Branding

Designing a website can be a lot of fun, especially when you use a tool like WebsiteBuilder, which does all the heavy lifting for you. That gives you more time to focus on the creative aspects, like the color palette your business and site uses. 

Your brand’s color palette can affect the way people interact with you. This is due to color psychology, or “the study of hues as a determinant of human behavior.”

Certain colors lend themselves to specific associations. In Western culture, we say that green is the color of envy and think of blue as relaxing and meditative. The color black, for example, is believed to represent wealth and prosperity in Eastern cultures and is foreboding and threatening in Western cultures. 

Domain.com’s primary color is Carmine Red, as you see below. We chose it to help us create a strong, bold, and energetic brand expression that helps us stand out and build recognition. 

From there, we selected an accompanying functional color palette — one that’s monochromatic and leverages greyscale to add a stark contrast to our primary color. 

Go into your color selection with an idea of what you want those colors to exemplify. For Domain.com, we embrace a minimal and clean color palette to allow for deliberate emphasis on bold visual elements. Our colors are meant to inspire and drive action, to help the Doers out there get more done. 

Font and Branding

A successful brand understands that different fonts send different messages to their audiences. So choose your fonts carefully — no one wants to send the wrong message to their audience accidentally. 

There are hundreds and hundreds of fonts available to you, some you can find for free, and others require purchase. However, most of the fonts you’ll want to use fall into the following categories:

• Serif
  • Serif fonts are distinctive due to the flourish or decorative stroke at the end of the letters (both horizontally and vertically.) These fonts generally give your site and brand a more formal tone. 
• Sans 
  • Sans fonts add no serifs, or decorative strokes, to their letters. In fact, in French, “sans” means without. These fonts give off a modern and straightforward vibe. 

Domain.com uses Lato for its branding, choosing it for its flexibility and bold, modern style. 

What are you thinking about using for your brand? Why? Let us know in the comments!

Customer Service, Values, and Branding

A consistent customer experience is at the core of your brand. To put this into perspective, let’s look at Starbucks again to see what they’re doing right. 

Whether or not you’ve had their coffee (and with over 28k locations, we’re betting you have), the odds are good that you’ve heard of Starbucks. How did they get to be so big and such a well-loved brand?

The intelligent minds at Starbucks realized that their brand, their business persona, was in the hands of their customers. Understanding that, they’ve since done everything they can to enhance the public’s perception of them positively. 

Starbucks trained its partners (what they call their employees) to greet you when you walk in the door and know that it should only take 3 minutes from that moment until you get your drink. I don’t know about you, but a cheerful greeting and expedient service are likely to make me think more fondly of a business.

Starbucks provides a consistent experience. You’ll find similar menus across most of their locations, all of which are easily identifiable by the green siren logo. Not to mention, that logo is one of the world’s most recognizable logos. Their locations are comfortable, inviting, and positioned as a “third place” — a place between home and work that’s welcoming and relaxing.

Starbucks’ mission statement is, “To inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” They live this mission in their stores, and it’s reflected in the materials they choose to share on social media. They do such an excellent job of living their mission statement, and so it’s how their customers think of them — it’s the heart of their brand.

What would happen to the Starbucks brand if they decided to double all their prices, increase the wait time for drinks, and hire only surly service workers? Those wouldn’t be changes to the material goods they offer, but changes that affect the customer experience. Their brand would undoubtedly suffer because it lives in the eyes of the consumer.

Have you ever been to the Starbucks website? In our original definition, we said that “Your brand is the summation of every single touchpoint a customer can have with your business and how they think about you.” Websites are customer touchpoints, and Starbucks’ site is designed to reflect their commitment to their mission statement and ease of use.

We understand that you may not have a Starbucks-sized budget to run and market your business, but you can still cop a few of their tactics to grow your brand. Put your customers first, provide a good and consistent experience, and live your mission statement.

A Successful Brand Is a Successful Business

Take the time to focus on building and crafting your brand before launching your business in the market. 

Structural elements like your logo, color palette, and typography and fonts keep your brand consistent and robust. These core pieces work together to make your brand recognizable wherever it appears. 

Once you’ve nailed your structural elements, you can approach your brand’s more flexible and creative elements, like selecting what photography and illustration to use on your site. All of these things help communicate a broader range of emotions, showcase your products, and create clear points of view for your customers. 

Ready to work on your brand and bring your business to life? Domain.com has all the tools you need, so get started today. 

We believe that the Internet has impacted society, culture, and history quite a bit since it became available to the masses in August of 1991. 

And behind the scenes, there are a lot of intelligent, thoughtful, and accomplished women who are influencing the world wide web as we know and experience it today. 

We wanted to speak to those women and find out firsthand what their experiences have been like, to discuss the position of women in domaining, and get their thoughts on the landscape of the future. 

So we sat down with Kelly Hardy, Head of Registry Policy at Centralnic, a leading provider of internet infrastructure services, to speak about her experiences as a woman in this field and why she enjoys working in domains. 

What she has to say is insightful, and provides hope and inspiration for other women who are looking to start a career in tech, which is known to be a male-dominated field. 

Women in Domaining with Kelly Hardy of Centralnic

Hi Kelly, thanks for sitting down with us today to discuss women in domaining. To start, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I don’t think my story is too dissimilar to a lot of people who’ve been in the domain space for a while in that I didn’t have a structured or expected path to get here. 

I started working as a touring music journalist when I was 16 and did that for a little over a decade with time off to go to college. I’ve been a skateboarder most of my life. I have a degree in comic books as comparative literature and had a ton of really strange jobs in the immediate post 9/11 economy. For instance, I briefly had a job opening “anthrax mail” (mail feared to be potentially laced with anthrax) at a water treatment plant in my hometown. I managed an educational performing arts space where I once brought a celebrated performance artist to lecture to the students not knowing he’d recently become a self-described witch doctor. I’ve co-owned a music magazine and small record label and did a bit of time working for big record companies. 

In my mid 20’s I ended up at a brand protection firm and started working with the ICANN community and fell in love with the domain industry. I then opened my own consulting firm and have worked with nearly everyone in the space, including .ME for nearly a decade. I closed that business almost a year ago to become CentralNic’s Head of Registry Policy. 

That is a really interesting career path that brought you to the Domain industry.  Can you describe your current company and your role there?

CentralNic Registry is one of the original domain infrastructure companies. We are a pure play-back end registry provider and also offer marketing, policy advisory, and a vast registrar network to plug our clients into. CentralNic is a really interesting company to work for because there is a deep understanding of the necessity of looking beyond the way we as an industry have always done things and to reach further, connecting the domain space and our clients to the larger Tech and governance communities. 

I am the head of registry policy, which is exactly what it sounds like, but I also run the registry consultancy which is basically a think tank for our registry clients. 

How long have you been in domaining? How did you get your start?

I’ve been in the space since 2006. 

I was a refugee from the music industry where I’d been working as a consultant bouncing between labels helping the heads of record companies, music producers and legal departments streamline their offices and help them make the transition to digital. That kind of thing really kills your love of the actual art but was excellent preparation for the domain industry. 

After that, I worked with Marksmen for a few years and got involved with the ICANN community through them and then started my own consulting firm. I took some time off in the late 2000s to work in television development until I got a call from Garth Miller to work with CoCCA and that was an adventure I didn’t want to turn down. I’ve been primarily working in the space with ccTLDs ever since. 

What attracted you to the domain industry?

The most obvious thing I would say is the travel, and that it is an unusual industry that is full of fascinating characters. 

But if you scratch a little deeper, I think it is that we are providing the infrastructure that connects most of the planet and that is important work. I think it is really beautiful that we help facilitate a tool that can improve lives and change people’s circumstances all over the world. 

I think that we [in the domain industry] are providing the infrastructure that connects most of the planet and that is important work.

Kelly hardy

The most valuable element of the travel is that when you’re going to really remote places, learning how people all over the world use the internet and seeing first-hand that what might be “normal use” to you at “home” doesn’t resemble someone else’s experience. Understanding that this can range from whether it is the device on which the internet is primarily accessed, ingenious ways that small businesses are set up or alternate forms of banking is so helpful for what we do. 

We can’t design a future if we don’t understand what that means holistically. In developing regions, where less stable infrastructure is available, you see people getting really creative. In these instances, we get to see a piece of the future and I think we are really lucky in that way.

As a woman, do you feel represented in the domain community? Why or why not?

This is an interesting question. 

I’ve been in the domain industry long enough that I remember a time when there were maybe a handful of women who had any visibility in the space and the culture was very different. Now the demographic has shifted radically, and generally, for tech, we may have a statistically larger saturation of women. In terms of being able to look around and see other women present, who are being treated like people, I absolutely feel represented. 

In terms of being able to look around and see other women present [in the domain industry], who are being treated like people, I absolutely feel represented.

kelly hardy

However, in terms of women or people of color in positions of power in the domain industry and representation there, we have a long way to go. I have a lot of hope though, seeing how fast and how much the industry has changed. 

CentralNic is the first large company in the industry that I have worked for in-house and I feel really lucky to be involved with an organization that treats its employees well and is invested in their development. Leadership isn’t strictly male and there is real diversity both racially and geographically. There is still work to be done there, but it feels good to support an organization that is self-aware and leading the industry in the right direction.

What might you change to make the industry more welcoming to women?

We need more women and people of color in leadership positions industry-wide. Everyone benefits and we can make better things when there is diversity of thought and experience in the room. 

What are your thoughts on newer TLDs and domain extensions?

I was an early advocate of new TLDs and I feel the same way now that I did in 2008: this is a long game. 

It is not a get-rich-quick scheme and not every TLD will be a success, but I believe there is inherent value in creating TLD diversity on this scale. 

A lot was learned in the last round about what works and what does not. Hopefully, as an industry, we’ve become wiser and have a better idea of what the public user base wants. 

For adoption to really take off, we have to have meaningful promotion of new gTLDs with widespread marketing and education. It isn’t just about selling domains; it is about teaching people how to use the internet as we’ve structured it by releasing new TLDs by the thousand. 

I believe that for this kind of promotion to be effective, everyone involved would have to put ego and self-interest aside and work together to do what is best for the domain ecosystem and the end-user.

Do you have any predictions for what will happen and change within the domain community in the next year? Five years?

I think that the domain community has to start thinking larger than itself. If all we really focus on is selling more domain names, we will stagnate. 

We need to be thinking about what else we can do to make the Internet grow in a meaningful way and what we can be doing for end-users to make their use of the tool easier. 

What advice would you give to women looking to start a career in domains?

I would tell them that this is the rare sector of the tech industry where you can show up and be your entire self. That even though it might not look like it yet, there is room here for everyone and it is getting better and better. And that if you are willing to put in the work you can create something amazing.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us on women in domaining for Women’s History Month, Kelly. We appreciate your insights and look forward to seeing your contributions and expertise at play in the domain industry. 

Now comes the hard part (as if leaving behind the security of your regular job wasn’t hard enough). Along with the thrills of being your own boss comes the burden of having to manage everything on your own. 

Suddenly, you’re a CEO, a designer, a social media manager, a customer service representative, and an office administrator. Throw in client meetings and chasing vendors for payments and you’re cruising toward burnout.

The good news is you don’t have to do it all on your own. With the help of technology, you can take your mind off mundane tasks and get some free time to focus on making your solopreneurial venture profitable and scalable. 

Online Tools for Solopreneurs

Here are some tools you need to make your solo journey a smooth-sailing one.

Create a Website 

First of all, you need a website to create an online presence to help prospective clients or customers find you and connect with you. 

Creating a website doesn’t have to be an expensive affair but it’s definitely one that needs thorough research and attention to detail. Start by thinking about what purpose you want it to serve and then assemble the tools you need to get it up and running.

If you find the prospect of creating a website intimidating, relax. Creating a website is an easy process when you use WebsiteBuilder. To start, answer a few questions and Domain.com’s AI-powered WebsiteBuilder will select the right layout, along with initial images and content for your site. If you’d prefer to work with a professional to create your site, Domain.com can help with that, too. 

Website Hosting

Domain.com offers powerful and reliable hosting plans ranging from your basic hosting to more complex plans for eCommerce and high-volume sites. Additionally, they offer WordPress hosting, which is among the most versatile tools offering various templates for different kinds of websites. 

Domain Name

Next, you will need to register a domain name that people can use to find your website. An ideal domain name is:

• Similar to your company name so as to strengthen your online branding.
• Short and simple enough to be memorable and easy to type.
• Indicative of your industry or nature of business.
• Creative enough to stand out from competitors.
• Readily available to use and free of trademark protections.

Consider using new domain extensions that can not only be more affordable but can also make your domain name more meaningful and contextual. For instance, you can use .store for an online store, .tech if you are a coder, programmer, or web designer, .online if you are going to take online classes, or .space if you need an online space to display your art.  

Analytics

You will also need tools to provide data that measures the success of your website in terms of the traffic it is receiving from different sources, conversions, and bounce rates. Google Analytics is a free tool that offers most services that a solopreneurial venture would need, but you can also opt for paid tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush that can provide more complex data such as in-depth competitor analysis and backlink monitoring. 

Task Management and Communication

Being a one-person army is never easy. You need tools that can help you plan and organize your tasks, track workflows, track the amount of time spent on different jobs, and set up reminders. Fortunately, there is no dearth of online tools to help you in this department. Here are some of our favorites.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 offers all the tools you know and love to help you establish and run your business. Need to reinforce your brand with a professional email address that matches your domain name? Microsoft 365 has you covered. They also offer the tools you’re already familiar with, like Outlook, Word, Skype, and more. From cloud-based document management to virtual meeting software, you have everything you need to manage your business when you use Microsoft 365. 

Google Workspace

Stay on top of all your tasks with Google Workspace. Whether you need to stay in touch with your customers and clients or share documents with partners and employees, you can do it all with the tools they offer. And there’s no need to worry about confusing set up, domain verification, or toggling between Domain.com and Gmail. Google Workspace is completely integrated with your Domain.com control panel, allowing instant access so you can get down to business, fast.

Todoist

Todoist offers a host of features for different types of workers from creative professionals to freelancers to techies to business owners. It allows you to list and prioritize tasks and subtasks, segregate them into different categories, and set deadlines and reminders. You can also track your progress through productivity charts and earn points for completing tasks. 

Monday

Monday can easily be integrated with other apps such as Google, Dropbox, and Slack to set up automated workflows and help you save time. It also offers different viewing styles such as kanban, graphs, and charts so you can pick the one that you find easiest to read and understand.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is particularly useful for freelancers as it also provides tools for managing finances, time-tracking, and setting up estimates and timelines for projects. The invoicing tool ensures that you get paid on time while its collaborative project management tool makes it easy for clients to share feedback, so you can be on the same page at all stages of the task.

Accounting and Invoicing

Managing your business accounts can be the most daunting task for solopreneurs, especially if you’re not from a finance background. Hiring a bookkeeper may not be within everyone’s budget. But there are a number of online tools, from simple to complex, that you can use to take the load off your hands and learn a thing or two about accounting. 

Wave

This free software offers simple yet useful money-management solutions, making it ideal for small solo businesses. Its best feature is easy-to-create invoices, but it also helps you visualize your cash flows and stay on top of payments. If you want to manage your credit card payments through the app, it charges you a basic fee of $3-4 per transaction.

Xero

For more complex accounting needs, especially for those pertaining to online stores, Xero offers all of the services that Wave provides along with seamless integration with other apps that can help you automate workflows. Other useful features include inventory tracking, bill payments, bank account connections, tax calculations, financial reporting, and file sharing.

Social Media

As a solopreneur, you may not have a big marketing budget, but you can harness the power of social media to build your brand, connect with your audience and even sell your products. However, managing multiple social media accounts is no mean feat. 

That’s the reason why big companies have teams dedicated purely to social media. Not only do you need to understand the platforms well, but you also need to know your audience behavior, post on multiple accounts, and have the design and writing chops to create beautiful creatives and catchy captions. Sound intimidating? It doesn’t have to be, we’ll explain below. 

Analytics Tools

The best part about using social media platforms is that you can use their native tools (Facebook Ads Manager, Instagram Insights, and Twitter Analytics) for gaining useful target audience insights, such as demographic information, learning when they’re most active, and to discover how they’re engaging with your posts. You can even estimate the reach of your ads based on the cost and the time frame of your posts. 

Social Media Management Tools

Instead of setting up multiple reminders for posting on different accounts, you can use apps such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Buffer to run multiple accounts from a single platform, schedule future posts and receive advanced analytics.

Content Creation Apps

Social media is nothing without stunning visuals, but don’t fret if designing isn’t one of your strong points. You don’t even have to enroll yourself in an online Photoshop or video-editing course (although those skills are always useful in the long run). With the help of apps such as Canva, Wordswag, and VSCO Cam, you can create beautiful content with pictures, text, and other design elements to take your social media game to the next level. 

Start Your Solopreneur Journey Today

Don’t let the burdens of being a solopreneur dissuade you from taking the journey. Armed with the right tools, hard work, and willpower, you can enrich your life with meaningful work that resonates with your passion, reap the benefits of well-deserved rewards, and live life on your own terms. 

Author Bio

Alisha is a Senior Content Marketing & Communication Specialist at Radix, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .STORE and .TECH. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

If you’re new to domains, you might not realize that they can expire, and that’s because domains aren’t a “one and done” type of purchase. When you register a domain name you’re in effect leasing it for a set amount of time, usually anywhere from 1 to 10 years.  

In this post, we’re discussing the importance of domain names, the lifecycle of domain names, what happens when a domain name expires, and domain name renewal.

Why should you renew your domain name?

The importance of a domain name

Domain names are more important than you might at first realize. They’re a big part of your online identity and represent your business.

A good domain name offers your business credibility and sets it apart from spammy websites. It inspires trust in your customers, gives your SEO efforts a boost, and gives you a central point to grow and market your digital business.

The perils of losing your domain name

When you lose your domain name, you lose an integral part of your brand. Your domain is a pivotal touchpoint that people have with your brand — in essence, it’s the address they need to arrive on your digital doorstep.

If you don’t renew your domain name and it expires, it’s available for purchase by just about anyone, including your competitors. Could you imagine a competitor snatching up your domain name and redirecting it to their main site? They wouldn’t even have to create a redirect to hurt your business, all they’d have to do is hold on to the domain name so that you can’t use it anymore.

Expired domain names are a hot commodity. Once a domain name has been registered and used, it can offer a history of established website traffic and backlinks, making them valuable to a great many people.

It’s not just competitors you have to worry about when your domain name expires. An expired domain name can impact your SEO, or search engine optimization. If your site goes down because your domain expired, it looks pretty bad to search engines, and there’s a good chance your site will lose its ranking in search engine results.

And then there’s the brand-building aspect that you have to worry about. When a domain name expires, you risk losing it altogether to another buyer. That means all the hard work you’ve put into marketing, establishing your site, and creating consumer trust is gone. GONE. It’ll set you back to the beginning of your digital journey and you’ll need to build those things all over again.

Real-life examples of expired domain names

Have you heard of Foursquare? When they were just a startup, they forgot to renew their domain name. For a business that was valued at nearly $80 million dollars at the time, that was a giant mistake and left them open to a lot of ridicule.

An expired domain name can also hit you where it hurts the most — right in your wallet. In 2017, Sorenson communications forgot to renew their domain name. However, they’re a provider of services for many Americans with disabilities and their domain expiration gaff was deemed “a preventable service outage.” In the end, they had to pay $2.7 million dollars on top of an additional $252 thousand dollar penalty. Ouch.

The lifecycle of a domain name

Domain name lifecycles can be broken down into four pieces: Active, Expired, Redemption Grace Period, and Pending Deletion.

• Active
  • When your domain is active, you can change its settings and modify contact information. Having an active domain name is essential to keeping your website online and your professional email working.
  • A domain becomes active once it’s been registered, those registration periods lasting anywhere from 1 to 10 years.
• Expired
  • A domain officially becomes expired one day after its expiration date. Your website and any email addresses associated with your domain name won’t function. Instead, your website will display a “parked” page.
  • Note: Others can bid on and attempt to purchase the domain name as soon as it expires; however, your claim to the domain takes priority over 3^rd party bids if you renew your domain within 30 days of its expiration.
• Redemption Grace Period
  • After about 45 days of being in an expired state, the domain name will enter a redemption grace period. Some TLDs may enter redemption status the day after they expire.
  • Note: If your domain is in a redemption period you can still retrieve it. Most registrars will charge a redemption fee in addition to your normal domain renewal rate. You can contact us if your domain was registered through Domain.com and you need to redeem it during the redemption period.
• Pending Delete
  • Once a domain enters the pending delete stage it can no longer be retrieved. It will remain in this status for about 5 days and then be released back into the public for new registration. If this happens, you can try to purchase the domain name again, assuming someone else doesn’t, and not have to pay any redemption fees, only the regular registration fee.

Domain name renewals

If you’re a Domain.com customer, we make renewing your domain easy. Instead of having to set a yearly calendar reminder or a bunch of reminders depending on how many domains you own, we give you the option of automatically renewing your domain name.

You can find the auto-renewal option in your account once you’re logged in. All you have to do is click “Domains” at the top left of the page, then select “Manage” under the domain name you’d like to set to auto-renew. You should then see the selection for auto-renew, and a quick switch of the toggle is all it takes as you see below.

Domain name renewal tips

Here are some tips we’ve put together to try and help make life a little easier when managing your domains.

• Keep your renewal reminder notices turned on. If you turn them off and don’t have auto-renew set up, it could be a recipe for disaster. We’ll send an email 30 days before your domain is set to expire and again within 5 days of the day it expires.
• Set your domains to automatically renew. This way, you won’t have to worry about missing an email reminder in a potentially over-crowded inbox.
• Update any outdated billing information. If you lose your credit or debit card, or if it expires naturally, you don’t want to find yourself in a bind. Instead of risking the loss of your domain name, go through your statements to see what charges are there and update those services with your new card information.
• Consolidate, consolidate, consolidate! It’s not easy keeping track of multiple domain names with different expiration dates across different registrars. We recommend keeping your domains with one registrar where you can see them all in one place.
• Is your email address up to date? If it’s not, you’ll never receive any domain expiration reminder emails. If the domain is your own, make sure your email address isn’t associated with a school or business you no longer attend or work for.

Protect your business, your brand, and your site with domain auto- renew

Purchasing a domain name is your first investment in your website and online business. Keep the momentum going by setting it to auto-renew so that you don’t lose your domain name and tarnish your brand.

No domain name? Grab yours today at Domain.com!

While every website needs a domain name, not every person who registers a domain name actually builds a site and uses their domain. So, it’s safe to say that there are far more than 1.74 billion registered domain names. 

It’s been over 35 years since the first domain name was registered in March of ‘85, and it’s become harder and harder for people to find the exact domain name they want. Many have already been registered, especially if they’re composed of words found in the dictionary and popular extensions.

So what’s a person to do?

First things first, just because a domain name is already registered doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to be unavailable for your use. There’s a big market of people who buy, sell, and invest in domain names that have already been registered, and more specifically, in premium domains. 

Premium domains have already been registered and are considered valuable — they’re shorter and keyword-rich, and that’s often reflected in their cost. Despite the initial investment, they could end up saving you marketing dollars over time as you won’t need to spend money slinging a second-rate domain name. 

But what other advantages do premium domain names offer? 

The benefits of using a premium domain name for business

Premium domain names give your business an advantage over the competition. Let’s explore how and why that is. 

Branding & Recognition

Branding your business is essential, and there’s a lot to a brand, including your domain name. Consistency is essential to your brand, and that includes having a domain name that speaks to what your business and site are all about. Premium domain names like food.com, cars.com, and vacation.com are all great examples of this, and put your business’s specialty and focus front and center. 

Marketing 

A great premium domain name gives your marketing efforts a boost. Since premium domains are often shorter and contain keywords, they’re easier to remember than a subpar domain name that’s riddled with hyphens and numbers. 

This all works in your favor when it comes to marketing, like word-of-mouth marketing, because your customers will have an easier time recalling your domain and sharing it with others. It also helps people retain and remember your domain name when they see it printed on materials, like business cards or flyers. In the long run, a premium domain name can save you money because people are wont to remember it — you won’t waste funds on constantly getting your mediocre domain name in front of peoples’ faces to try and cajole them into visiting your site. 

Credibility & Authority

In business, credibility is vital. In today’s digital age, a domain name is oftentimes the first interaction someone has with a brand. Your domain name can make or break someone’s first impression of your business and site. 

Let’s set the scenario: You’re looking to buy a new car and want to take out a loan, but you’re not sure who to work with so you hop over to Google and run an online search. Now, you’re going to see a TON of results — but what will you click on — a search result with a domain of loans.com, or a search result with a domain like car-loans1135s.com? 

When it comes to first impressions, premium domain names give you credibility and authority over the competition. 

Website Traffic

Premium domain names are more likely to get you direct, type-in traffic on your website. 

What this means is that people are typing your (short & keyword-friendly) premium domain name into the URL bar to search those keywords instead of using a dedicated search engine. And voila! They land on your site because your premium domain matches their search terms. Direct website traffic is a boon for your business — in fact, direct traffic is known to have high conversion rates. 

SEO Benefits

SEO can seem mystifying — is it a science? Is it some kind of wizardry? SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of optimizing your website so that it performs better in online search results. 

The whole point of SEO is to make sure that the sites that are most useful and relevant to the end user’s query surface first in the results. 

If your domain name is shorter and key-word rich, like with premium domains, it’s more likely to appear higher in the search results. Now, granted, you have to actually have a relevant website, too. Long gone are the days when just a keyword could grant you top placement. But if you have those keywords in your domain name and have a good website, your SEO potential grows drastically. 

How to purchase a premium domain name

Ready to make an investment in your business and website with a premium domain name?

You’ve come to the right place. You can purchase a premium domain through a domain name search on Domain.com, and we also recommend our sister company, BuyDomains.com, that specializes in premium domains. 

When you purchase a premium domain name you’re investing in so many aspects of your business: marketing, branding, SEO, and more. So what are you waiting for? Get a leg up on your online competition with a premium domain name today. 

WHOIS is a way of storing that information and making it available for the public to search. 

In this post, we’ll dive into the WHOIS public database to understand what kind of information is stored there, why it’s available, and how you can use it. We’ll also discuss options at your disposal for keeping your personal information private in the WHOIS database. 

What is WHOIS?

WHOIS is a public database that houses the information collected when someone registers a domain name or updates their DNS settings.

ICANN, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, regulates the WHOIS database. They’ve done so since 1982, back in the wild and wooly days of the early Internet. They describe the WHOIS service as a “ …free, publicly available directory containing the contact and technical information of registered domain name registrants.”

The registration data that’s stored in the WHOIS database is actually held in different locations, all managed by different registries and registrars. A registry owns and manages domain extensions, like Verisign who owns .com and .net, but they don’t sell them. Instead, their domains are sold and registered through different registrars, like Domain.com. 

Why was the WHOIS database created?

Initially, the database was created as a directory. It listed “the contact information … of anyone transmitting data across the ARPANET,” a building block of the Internet as we know it today. 

Think about it: The Internet we’re familiar with today is absolutely massive. Odds are, you can find just about anything on the Internet. But how often have you stopped to think about where the information is coming from and who’s behind it? With the rise and prominence of fake news, it’s more important now than ever before to know the source of your information. 

WHOIS helps to democratize the Internet. Anyone, from businesses and corporations to law enforcement and individual users, can access and use the WHOIS database to find out who is behind a domain name and any associated website. 

Beyond that, many people find the WHOIS database a great tool for business opportunities. If you’re looking to take your business online or start a website you’re going to need a domain name. However, as you get started, you might find that the domain name you want is already registered by someone else. You can use the WHOIS database to get their contact information and reach out to try and broker and deal for the domain name you want. 

What kind of information is stored in the WHOIS database?

When a domain name is registered the registrant has to supply their information and it needs to be accurate. If you supply false information when registering your domain name you run the risk of losing your domain. ICANN writes, “If the domain name registrant knowingly provides inaccurate information, fails to update information within seven days of any change, or does not respond within 15 days to an inquiry about accuracy, the domain name may be suspended or cancelled.”

The information collected during the domain registration process includes your:

• Name. 
• Address. 
• Phone Number. 
• Email Address. 

That’s pretty sensitive information to have at anyone’s fingertips, especially the Internet-at-large. If you’d rather not have all of your personal information easily searchable by anyone with an internet connection, you do have options. 

Most every domain name registrar offers some form of domain privacy, which is just as it sounds. Domain privacy allows you to supplant the registrar’s information for your own, so instead of having your contact information displayed in WHOIS Lookup results, your registrar’s will show. If someone needs to contact you about your domain name your registrar acts as the “middle man” — they’ll direct any inquiries to you for you to view and act upon. 

At Domain.com, we’ve taken domain privacy to the next level. We offer Domain Privacy + Protection, a tool that keeps your information out of the WHOIS database and provides malware scans and blacklist prevention, the latter powered by SiteLock. 

In addition to your information (or your registrar’s if you’re using domain privacy), WHOIS Lookup results display information about your registrar, administrative contacts, and technical contacts. This information is incredibly useful to have on hand if you run into any technical issues with your domain or site. 

WHOIS Lookup limitations

While the WHOIS database stores a massive amount of information about registered domain names, it doesn’t display all of the registration information for every domain name. Certain TLDs, like .com and .net, will always have their registration information in the WHOIS database. Other TLDs, like .me or .gov, display less information. And then there are some domain extensions, like .asia or .coop, that don’t allow for domain privacy, so the registrant information will always be searchable and viewable. 

ICANN is always working to improve the WHOIS system and has acknowledged that “The evolution of the Internet ecosystem has created challenges for WHOIS in every area.” 

Rest assured that as improvements are made, Domain.com will continue to strive in providing the most accurate information while ensuring you have the tools you need to maintain your domain privacy and protection. 

Ready to perform a WHOIS Lookup?

Get started researching domain names today at Domain.com

If you have any questions about understanding your WHOIS Lookup results, or any other questions about WHOIS in general, let us know in the comments below. Happy searching!

What you may not realize is that you should put just as much effort and care into each decision you make when building your business’ website and digital presence.

As your business name and signage draw foot traffic to your shops, domain names attract visitors to your e-commerce website. And as the number of visitors to your site increases, so does your potential to make more sales.

The thing is, not every domain is a great one. So, how do you choose a domain name for your e-commerce business and site AND feel confident that it’s a good choice?

That’s what we’ll figure out today. By the time you’ve read this post you’ll know exactly how to land the perfect domain name — and avoid the duds.

Tips for choosing an e-commerce domain name.

Launching an online business is an exciting venture. But before you can build your website, add your wares, and start selling, you have to purchase a domain name.

Juliet may have said that, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” but we’d have to disagree. There’s a lot to a name, and some resonate with people better than others. 

Here’s what you need to know about choosing a domain name to create a strong, branded e-commerce business.

Look for your exact match domain name.

If you already have a business name that people know and trust, it’s in your best interest to find the matching domain name. Your business identity should be consistent, both online and off, so you don’t want to use two different names if you can avoid it.

However, it isn’t always easy to find a domain name that exactly matches your business name, especially if you’re only searching for a .com domain name.

But don’t get disheartened! Just because your exact match domain name isn’t readily available, doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Here’s what you can do about it.

Expand your domain extension search horizons.

If you know anything about domains, you know .com has long been considered the king. Why is that?

The .com domain is one of the original six domain extensions, or TLDs, created in 1985 with the inception of the DNS, or Domain Name System. Much of .com’s notoriety has to do with the fact that it’s familiar to people. But familiarity isn’t what you’re after with a domain name — relevancy and memorability are.

For the most relevant, memorable domain name, you might need to think outside the .com box. Instead, consider using a newer domain extension, or nTLD, to create the perfect domain name.

By choosing an nTLD for your domain name, you can get a more descriptive domain name that clearly imparts the purpose of your site and business. Here’s an example of what that looks like in practice.

Gary owns a coffee shop in a small town outside of Buffalo, New York. He loves seeing his customers every morning and afternoon, and business is booming. With such great results at his shop, he decides to take his products online and start selling coffee by the pound.

He searches for his desired domain name: GarysCoffee.com, but alas, it’s taken! Instead of getting discouraged he sees another domain extension, .online, and thinks, “Could this be it?”

He searches and it’s available! What a perfect domain name for him… it has his business name front and center (GarysCoffee) and his selected domain extension (.online) is descriptive of his growing, expanding business and intent to sell online. 

Other great domain extensions to consider for e-commerce businesses are:

• .store
• .biz
• .shop
• .boutique
• and thousands more can be found here.

Need some more convincing?

Top name brands and businesses are getting creative (and memorable) with domain names like kindle.store and alexa.online.

Consider purchasing a premium domain name.

Perhaps when you first searched for a domain name you saw the one you wanted in the results, but it was more expensive than the others. Why is that?

Chances are it was a premium domain name. Premium domain names have been registered in the past. They’re keyword-rich, which can help give your site’s SEO a boost, and they’re often shorter and more memorable. All of these characteristics serve to make them brandable and increase their value.

And if the premium domain was previously used for a website, it may even come with established website traffic which could help any new website owner!

Premium domain names are a great investment in your e-commerce business, so don’t overlook them.

Avoid hyphens and extra characters in your domain name.

It happens all the time…

Someone can’t find their desired domain name, so they decide to add a few hyphens and a couple of numbers, and perfect! Right?

Not even a little bit.

Let’s revisit Gary’s Coffee Shop and see what would’ve happened had he done this when choosing a domain name. If instead of selecting “garyscoffee.online” or “garyscoffee.shop” he’d selected “garys-coffee-736.com,” he would’ve made a big mistake.

Take your customers and site visitors into account when choosing your domain name. The more random characters and numbers you have in your domain, the less likely it is for them to remember it. And that means they could misspell your domain name and end up on a competitor’s site, or assume your website is no longer functioning and you’ve gone out business.

Unless your business name is hyphenated and has numbers, and your customers are very familiar with it, don’t include them in your domain name.

Stop with the unique spelling.

Everyone is unique and so are businesses.

In fact, you must have a differentiator that sets you apart from your competitors. Just don’t make that differentiator a uniquely spelled domain name. You might think that having an interestingly spelled domain means it’s memorable, but that’s usually not the case. Hyphens between every other letter and random numbers at the end of your domain name are difficult to remember.

If you want your domain name to be memorable, make sure it passes the “Radio Test.”

Can you pass the Radio Test?

A lot of domainers will refer to the Radio Test as a way to test the quality of your domain name.

For your domain name to pass the test, pretend that you’re running a commercial or advertisement on a local radio station. At the end of your promo the host reads your domain name aloud and directs listeners to visit your website.

If someone can easily spell your domain name based on how they heard it pronounced, then congratulations! Your domain name has passed the radio test. If not, you’ve failed and should go back to the drawing board. You can try the radio test at home with friends and family. 

There are many letters and combinations of letters that sound alike, like “ph” and “f” — so make sure you’re spelling your domain name in the most common fashion instead of using the most interesting spelling.  

Your domain name should be strong and branded.

Your domain name will oftentimes be the first point of contact someone has with your business and brand.

By making your domain name meaningful and leveraging the 1000s of new top-level domain extensions that exist, you can create a relevant, contextual domain name that drives more visitors and business to your site.

Domain names aid in brand identity and recall, so remember to make yours pronounceable and easy to spell.

Ready to find the perfect domain name and launch your e-commerce business? Get started with Domain.com.