Every websites needs a domain name and hosting. The domain is like the address of the house (i.e. 4945 Main St.), it is what is given out to the public to direct them to your website which is stored in your hosting (which is like the actual structure of your house that holds all of your stuff—or the website files, images, databases, etc. that your website is composed of. As you can see both are necessary for the website. Both are generally paid for on a yearly basis (although some hosting companies offer other time frames).
Ideally you want to get a “.com” (known as the domain extension) website name, however these are getting trickier to get because so many are used. It is ideal to get a “.com” as it is most easily remembered by potential customers. However, there are now a large variety of domain extensions available, some suited for specific industries (such as .doc or doctors, or .guru for gurus of a particular field). Most domains are not too expensive (registering a common domain name through Sacred Visions Designs is generally around $25/year). However, there are occasionally prime domain names that have bigger costs. These are ones that are very simple and very popular. They can cost upwards of thousands of dollars. Some tips to help you pick the best domain for your business:
- Pick something that is easy for customers to remember
- Pick something that is easy to spell
- It is great to have a keyword related to your business in the domain
- It is good to register a domain for multiple years. This shows search engines that you are an established business.
- Get a .com if possible. If you think your business name would be popular you might considering also getting other popular domain extensions (such as .net, .org) to protect your brand identity
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For hosting costs, you are basically paying for storage space and internet connection on high-end servers that store and serve your website to the public. There are many options out there for different types of websites, complexity of websites and amount of traffic. Many companies offer a variety of unlimited promises, but often there are still technical limitations that can arise. It’s best to figure out your website needs to find the best service for you. Also, be aware that as your business grows and gains more traffic you may need a more powerful hosting at some point in the future, especially if you have an extensive website.
Contact Sacred Vision Designs today to discuss your website domain and hosting needs. We’ve worked with many companies and can offer great services or help you find the right service for your needs.
