How To Buy A Domain Name And Start A Website

OK!

So as the old year is drawing to a close and the New Year is about to reveal itself, you may have started asking yourself whether that 9-5 soul-crushing job that is slowly draining the life out of you is the most optimal way to exist.

Or you are thinking that perhaps, it is time to showcase those beautiful artworks that you designed and that has been hidden in the attic for years.

Or maybe there are those experiences you know that others might benefit from and you need to share them with others online.

Or maybe, maybe you have has that brilliant business idea or game-changer floating around in your head for quite a while and you know that it is time to finally do something about/with it.

Whatever the itch might be, there is one thread that runs through them all.

And it is that you need a place to host your idea online in the form of a website or blog so that others will experience it.

Web Hosting Magic makes it easier to host and manage your domains in a single place once you have a cPanel hosting account.

Whatever it is that you want to do online, we have a service that is designed to meet that need.

Whether it is to host your website or blog online or gain more customers via website or search engine optimization, you will see a partner you need to get that accomplished in 2cPanel.

1st Step: Acquire a domain name.

To host a website online, you need an internet domain name. This is the unique name that appears that identifies your website. It typically takes the form of a standard Internet suffix, such as domain.com or state.org.

This lets users access your services or business websites at easy-to-remember addresses such as mail.domain.com, www.domain.com, or simply domain.com.

You can use a domain name that you already own.

Or you can purchase a domain when you sign up for 2cPanel services.

Your domain name is the exact string of characters you purchased. You cannot change it once you have registered it.

So choose this name carefully as it becomes the main brand for your services and you can’t change the name later.

In fact, one might even go as far as to say that choosing your domain name is you can make as an individual or an organization.

Great new domain name extensions are still been registered every day but it involves some element of creativity, originality and common sense.

When choosing a name, it is important to consider the purpose of a domain name and it is simply (in most cases) to provide an easy way to reach your website.

The best domains always tend to have the following characteristics:

they are short: people don’t like to type! A short domain name is easier to type, read, and remember.
they are meaningful – a short domain is nothing without meaning. 34i4nh.com is not easy to enter or to remember. Select a domain that relates to your site in a way that people will understand.
they are clear – clarity is important when selecting a domain name. Avoid a name that is difficult to spell or pronounce.
they are likely to gain exposure – names that are short and easy to remember are an asset. In addition to visitors, also consider search engines. Search engines index your site and rank it for relevance against the terms people search for. In order to maximize your site’s exposure, consider including a relevant search term in your domain. Of course, only consider this if it still maintains a short, clear and meaningful domain name.

Tips for Choosing a Domain Name

Name your brand: the first thing you should do is consider what URLs are available to you – then choose your brand name accordingly if you can. Be creative–do your research and see who else is using that name or anything similar. Be original, exciting and innovative when naming your brand–the same way you should be with your product.
Tie your brand to the domain name: your domain name should match your brand. Always choose one that doesn’t need an explanation. Here’s a list of twelve domain name helper tools.
Don’t choose a domain-based just on keywords in the URL: main keywords are not the key for high ranking in your domain name, although this is a factor. Think out a memorable, brand-related and available domain name, but don’t get obsessed with it. And keep it short and simple if you can, like JANE. One of the biggest problems with buying domain names is domain abuse. Existing backlinks in Google (“link:www.yoursite.com”) should always be checked beforehand (Wayback Machine is great to ensure clean domain names).
Keep it simple: forget about hard-to-spell, long and clever words or anything too complex–unless you want to make it hard for people to remember your URL. Do yourself a favor: dump the cutesy names and don’t use numbers–they won’t help. Best practice? A name with only one possible spelling.
Define your target demographic: if you are targeting a specific geographical location, choose a country or region-specific TLD and it will be easier to get found on search engines.
Be mindful of the extension:
choose a generic TLD that is specific to your niche or industry such as .bikes, .design or .fitness. That way, it will fit and resonate with your overall branding message.

A domain extensions are the suffixes or the last part of a domain name – the letters that come after the dot to the right of any domain name. For example, most URL addresses end with .com – this is an example of a domain extension or TLD.

Do be careful because while some domain extensions might be cheaper than others, they might be the ones normally associated with spammers. And this will harm your budding reputation.

The creative process of choosing a name for your website is just as important as choosing a design for it. Just as you need a rational, strategic way to run your business, finding a memorable and successful name for your website requires that same rational strategy.

Purchasing a domain name:

Once you have decided on what the domain name would be, it is time to check if it is really available.

Ideas tend to come to people at almost the same time and that is why it is very important to act when a burst of inspiration hits.

To do this, visit our domain name checker and type in the domain with the extension.

I have a domain that I want to use.

In that case, you have two options:

use the domain when creating the account but keep it where it is without transferring it.
transfer the domain to 2cPanel Domain Services for easier management.

If the first one, you don’t really need to do anything as that option will be presented to you during the initial hosting package domain configuration.

If the second one, all you need is the domain’s EPP code.

EPP Authorization Key is a domain transfer secret key or code granted by all the domain name registrars for various gTLDs and possibly some ccTLDs, including .com and .net domains. This code is used as a protection mechanism, to ensure that only the rightful domain owner can control the transfer of the domain registration. Domain names are valuable and important, and theft has been a problem.

The official domain contact information is sometimes not current or correct or maybe privacy-protected, but in any event is not very useful to control transfers because the administration of domains is done remotely, via the Internet. The code is officially called an AuthInfo Code and an Auth-Info code by ICANN and registry operators. It is alternatively called an auth code, a transfer key, a transfer secret, an EPP code, EPP authentication code, or EPP authorization code.

Transferring your domain:

First of all, perform a WHOIS search on the domain name you wish to transfer.

If you are on Linux or Mac, you can simply pull up Terminal and type in:
```
			whois domain.com
		
```
You can also use ICANN WHOIS search page.
Look at the registrar field. This WHOIS field will list your current domain name registrar.
Simply check any help or knowledge base available on your current registrar’s site and then follow these instructions listed below for that particular registrar to obtain your domain name’s authorization code.

If your registrar doesn’t have an article on Authorization Codes or Auth Codes, email your existing registrar’s customer support from the domain’s administrative contact address and request your Authorization Code or Auth Code for a particular domain name.

Registrars are contractually required to provide auth codes upon registrant requests. If you are told that the domain name does not have an authorization code, take it up with them (unless it is a .jp domain and ones like it). Be persistent!

And if you still can’t get anywhere with your current registrar, just let us know.

To transfer your domain to our services, please make sure you have ticked all these below before submitting this domain transfer form.

Make sure the WhoIs information is up-to-date.
Make sure you have access to the email address stated in the WhoIs Information.
Update name-servers to the 2cPanel name servers prior to initiating transfer (see below for our name-servers).
Unlock the domain.
Retrieve the EPP Authorization key from your current registrar.
Fill out the 2cPanel domain transfer form.
Please ensure that the domain is at least 60 days old.
This process can take up to 7 days, so please allow plenty of time for your previous registrar to approve the transfer.

To minimize the possible downtime during the transfer please point your DNS Records to before initiating any transfer:

cloud-dns1.cpanelcontrolpanel.com – 18.223.236.229
cloud-dns2.cpanelcontrolpanel.com – 34.208.113.109
cloud-dns3.cpanelcontrolpanel.com – 18.214.204.225
cloud-dns4.cpanelcontrolpanel.com – 35.177.106.246

What do I do if my domain transfer fails?

There are two settings that must be correct on your domain, or the transfer will fail. Please check these two things before submitting a transfer request.

Incorrect Email Address: You must check to make sure the email on your domain is correct and working. Once you start the transfer, the current registrar is going to email this address asking for permission to move the domain. If the email listed isn’t your email or doesn’t work, you can’t respond to this email and thus the transfer will fail.
Locked Domain Prevents Transfer: You must make sure the domain isn’t locked. If it is locked, even if you agree to the transfer, the transfer will fail. Confirm with your domain Registrar.

To get any of the above to change, you must contact the registrar (the company where you bought the domain), and ask them to make the necessary changes. Some registrars let you make these changes yourself from within their control panel. Others may insist on doing it themselves.

2nd Step: Get the website online.

Purchasing a domain is one of the first steps in setting up your online presence.

So what do you need to do next?

Well, once you have a domain, it’s time to start working on your website, your brand, and your online audience.

We provide many simple solutions to get your business online, and even for services that we do not provide, we partner with companies that provide them.

With the help of our support team, you can build a website, set up custom email, and grow your online audience efficiently and effectively, without any technical know-how.

Each 2cPanel account allows you to manage multiple domains from a single hosting account.

If you or your organization owns or will own multiple internet domains, you can add these to your 2cPanel account at no extra cost.

It is important though to point out that while you’ll have plenty of help along the way, it’s important to have a basic game plan that helps you meet your goals.

Here are some tips for how to move forward and make the most of your new domain:

Find time to create a website with that domain:

An un-hosted domain is like a property in a prime location that has been over-run with runs and trash.

A hosted domain (no matter what it is called) adds value to itself as each day passes.

And the truth is that you don’t need to hire a website developer to have a beautiful, professional website that reflects what you offer.

While paying $5000.00 for a world-class website might help, there are several ways that you can achieve something close to that without breaking the back.

So beyond the fact that we provide almost 450 web applications and website builders that you can use to install anything you want to build online in minutes without any technical or design experience, you can hire from our steadily growing pool of web designers that forms part of our web designing team with as little as $300.00, you can get a website that is as good as any you will find online.

Each of these available options has different costs and once you purchase a web hosting package, you can browse the various options and get started with the one that feels right for you.

3rd Step: Create a custom email

Once your hosting account is ready, you can start the initial branding.

It is safe to say that branding is all about building credibility and recognition.

And one of the ways to do this is by using a custom email that includes your domain name, like name@domain and info@domain.

Each web hosting package comes with custom email hosting for free.

You can use our simple interface via any browser to create unlimited custom email addresses names manage, and delete email accounts.

To start making the most of your domain, head over to this page to get a cPanel hosting account and take the first step in your project or business.

4th Step: Let the world know about it:

There are several ways to let people know about the new thing in town.

From advertising to social media marketing, there is no shortage of options that will be available to you as a website owner when it comes to driving traffic to your website.

With Facebook ads, Google Ads, Twitter Ads, Reddit Ads, Bing Ads and, others, you can target your audience based on factors like location, age, gender, and interests or when they search on search engines for what you have to offer.

With word of mouth, you can leverage your social connections to make sure that the website is known.

We hope you can go forth and start a website to make that dream a reality today.