Do you have your own domain name for your blog?Stacie recently set up her blog as SimplyStacie.net. I haven't taken that step yet, I'm still KellysLuckyYou.blogspot.com but I have purchased my name and intend to switch over sometime after Build A Beautiful Blog Week is over.
Why purchase your own domain?
One reason is for the initial impression of your blog. Having your own "dot-com" or dot-net" will instantly give your blog a more professional appearance and improved credibility.
A second reason is that it is easier to remember and people can find you faster. We all hope that people will remember our blog name, but the "blogspot" can be difficult and make non-bloggers eyes glaze over.
When you have your own domain name, you can also have your own email address. For example, you can have Kelly@KellysLuckyYou.com instead of a hotmail or gmail account.
How much does it cost?
Buying a domain for your blog is easy and if the name you want is available, it is cheap to do. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out just how little it cost! When Stacie went to buy hers, the .com was already taken, so she chose the .net. I thought for sure it would be some big expensive process, but nope it's not. You don't have to set it up on your blog until you are ready.
Now that we have you convinced, where do you go to buy a domain name?
Stacie recently polled her Facebook Page and asked where other bloggers bought their domains and these are some of the spots they said to check out:
Netfirms (This is where Stacie bought her domain.)
Domain.com
Godaddy
Basic Networks
Dreamhost (This is where I bought mine)
Bluehost
Blogger
The prices change and they offer specials, so if you are looking for the best deal, it's worth it to shop around.
If you have your own domain, where did you buy yours?
I recently thought about switching mine but am wondering if all of the comments disappear. I heard that a lot of the time they do but then most of the time they come back. And what is the difference between the different hosts?
ReplyDeleteI've heard of comments disappearing when you switch from blogger to wordpress, but I haven't heard of a problem when you switch to your own domain name. Yikes! I'm definitely going to wait until I don't have any ongoing giveaways, that could be a disaster.
ReplyDeleteDifferences? I found this comparison of hosts http://hosting-review.com/?gclid=COrOvMWU9aECFRA35wodyGkyGg They reviewed based on: price, sales index, uptime speed, customer reviews and editor reviews.
To follow up on this post. I use Host Gator and they are fantastic. They have 24/7 live chat help which I have used a lot. They are very cheap and I have never had a problem with it.
ReplyDelete