If you run an online business or have a website or blog, you may have also come across the term “custom domain name.” Most of us prefer to publish content using free sites such as WordPress, Blogspot, Medium, and other related platforms when starting out. This is still a good place to begin, but as someone looking forward to creating a career out of a personal or business page, this is a big mistake.
When you sign up for WordPress.com or BlogSpot, you’ll get a domain like:
- Yourblog.blogspot.com
- Yourblog.Wordpress.com
But if you want a professional-looking website, that kind of domain is horrible. Hence, a custom domain name.
What’s a Custom Domain?
A better solution to remembering and identifying websites, domain names are like home addresses for websites on the Internet. They tell people where different sites live, so they can quickly locate and get back to them.
To get visitors to your site and keep them coming back, you need a domain name that is unique, short, and easy to memorize and spell. Luckily, you don’t have to leave this to chance. Instead, you can buy and register a personalized domain for your website.
Where to Get Your Custom Domain
You need to purchase one before you can configure a domain name to point to your website.
The cheapest way to buy a custom domain of your own is to select one that isn’t taken yet. All domain registrars where you can purchase a custom domain name can provide you with a search feature to do this.
Namecheap is one of the most popular and well-known domain registrars where you can search and buy a domain name.
Namecheap: Perfect for Beginners, Basic Websites
Most people recognize Namecheap as domain registration and management service, but they also provide web hosting services. Established in 2000, Namecheap started providing value-for-money domains and outstanding customer service. Today, they have more than 3 million customers and manage more than 11 million domains.
In addition to domains and complete web hosting bundles, Namecheap offers SSL certificates, privacy services, and more. Since Namecheap believes it’s important to provide an Internet presence for everyone it offers inexpensive access to everything you need to operate a website.
Namecheap’s hosting plans provide fast, reliable service with a 100% uptime guarantee. If you need to create a website, you can do so quickly with one of Namecheap’s many site-building tools. If you have a current website, Namecheap will transfer it to you free of charge.
In addition to a solid information base, if you need assistance, Namecheap provides 24/7 chat support. You may also submit tickets for review.
How to Configure Your Custom Domain
Once you have purchased your own custom domain, you do need to point it to a web server where your actual website is hosted.
To do this, log in to your Namecheap account and find the DNS management settings for that domain. This will take you to an area where you can change your domain’s “custom name servers”.
Nameservers are servers (usually provided by your web hosting company) to which the domain registrar can refer web browsers if someone enters your custom domain into their web browser.
The name servers of the web host manage to route traffic to the right domain that hosts your website. How are you going to find the right name servers for your web host? You will find them by signing in to your web hosting account and navigating to the admin panel where “Site Information” is found.
Just search for the IP and Name Servers tab and see the names of the two name servers of your web host. Make a note of these two name servers, then go back to your domain registrar account and enter them into your domain’s custom name server fields.
Save the updates, and you’re finished.
Changes to the name server typically do not take place automatically. In reality, it can take up to 24 hours before the updates disperse across the Internet. You can use a tool like whatsmydns.net to search whether your domain’s IP address and DNS record information have scattered across the internet.
After this process is finished, every time you enter your new custom domain into your browser’s URL field, the browser will be guided to your web server where your website is hosted.
Why Choose Namecheap
Outstanding Starting Plan
Namecheap’s basic plan is a true gem. It will cost as little as $2.88 a month and allows three websites to be hosted.
Any other providers customize plans ideal for a single website and nothing more, which makes the Namecheap offering useful and unique. Given all the features offered in the Namecheap plan, it is a fantastic choice for people who wish to host two or three small or medium sites.
Free Migration and More
Namecheap provides free migration. If you have an established cPanel website somewhere and plan to move to Namecheap, the steps are quick, clear, and entail very little involvement on your behalf.
You just need to give your new cPanel access to the Namecheap web hosting technicians, and that’s it. They’re going to work their magic without any further intervention and certainly without any downtime. And if there is one, it won’t take longer than 15 minutes.
This is when it really gets interesting. In the event that your site’s downtime reaches the quarter-hour threshold, you are entitled to free hosting equal to your original order. In other words, if you buy a hosting site for one year and are dissatisfied with the way your site is migrated, you will end up with a whole year of free hosting.
Fair Pricing Strategy
Unlike several other hosts who dramatically boost prices once it is time for renewal, the Namecheap renewal price does not increase. This is refreshingly honest, as the scandalously low fees of certain companies are in the long run, unrealistic.
Owning a website is not a short term venture. It could be something you’re going to be paying for decades if the site is going well. GoDaddy and HostGator enjoy the strategies of a low promotional offer and a significantly higher renewal fee. Even SiteGround, an otherwise free and straightforward company, is adopting this marketing strategy.
The fees at Namecheap meanwhile, stay the same.
Free Backups
All Namecheap plans include free backups. Only the biggest of them enjoy daily backups, but even twice a week is respectable provided that they are free of any extra costs.
We live in a modern era that makes data loss an imminent part of our lives. This is especially valid when it comes to blogs when several instances involve the use of a healthy backup.
Site upgrades, plugin malfunctions, and hacking are among the most common reasons why backups are so great. Take my word, regular automatic backups are great.
Excellent Area for Users
The Namecheap Control Panel is superb. It’s very tidy and uncluttered, but it reveals a lot of details at a glance.
Navigating through a range of choices is simple and smooth, and product management is very straightforward. There are almost no upsells, and connectivity to all – billing, domain control, hosting – is as simple as it can be.
You can also improve the security of your Namecheap login area with 2-factor authentication and safeguard the credibility of your account for good.
Good Status Page
It’s very clear to see if Namecheap is down or has scheduled maintenance.
The status page is very comprehensive and descriptive. News regarding maintenance, service upgrades, server migrations, network status, emails, and domain resources can be seen there.
Overall, Namecheap provides the best options for newbies in particular. It’s a perfect place to start when you’re easily confused, giving you a lot of fun and reliable features to start with.