Are you planning to own a startup or expand your existing business? If so, a website is essential to make your business successful. The online marketing, which is predominantly used by most businesses today, is essential to have a strong online presence. This asks for a website to register domain name to be identified by the customers online.
To register your domain, you have to approach domain name registrars, which are businesses that facilitate people and organizations to register domain names. The domain registrars are authenticated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to register your website under a domain name. Every registrar has different and unique offers, features, pricing, and security protocols. Therefore, it is important to choose the right service provider to register your domain. Some of the key factors to consider while choosing a registrar are:
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A registrar should be able to provide the desired domain name
While choosing a service provider, make sure that the registrar you choose provides you with the right and desired name. Many service providers do not have access to top-level domains such as ‘.com’, ‘.io’, ‘.biz’, ‘.net’, and so on. A reliable and professional registrar must have the right domain name search tool to find out the right name for your domain. They should be able to suggest a good name that is suitable for your business or service.
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Reasonable pricing
Most registrars give eye-catching offers and plans that may find very attractive. Before deciding to buy a domain, read the fine print very well. It may have hidden charges and extras, which may be unreasonably expensive. Some registrars may ask for extra charges for features such as publishing your information in ICANN’s WHOIS registry. You can avoid such service providers.
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Should not ask for transfer fees
After 60 days of registration, you can transfer your domain to other registrars if you are not satisfied with the current registrar. Generally, it does not cost much, but some registrars may impose heavy transfer fees to prevent clients from transferring their domains. This may put you in a difficult position and to continue with the same registrar unwillingly. So, choose a registrar that either has a very minimal transfer fee or has none at all.
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Check expiration grace time
To avoid expiration, you can choose an auto-renewal service with any registrar. If you have not opted for such a service, you can renew your domain before it expires. However, check for a grace period for the expired domain names, which the registrar offers. This can help you if you have missed the expiration deadline. Choosing a service provider, offering a sufficient grace period is vital for customers to ensure that they do not lose their domain. This is one of the important features of a genuine registrar who does not capitalize on expired domains.
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Check add-on requirements
If you are not approaching a separate web hosting company to host your registered domain, then check for the add-ons such as web hosting, email hosting, private domain name registration, SSL certificates, and web designing the domain name service company offers. You can use a single account for all these services, which are easy to manage under one account.
The features outlined above are worth considering while selecting a domain name registrar.
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