Creating a website is not enough to establish a web presence. You also need to find a place where you can host your website. For example: http://www.mysite.com. To do this, you need to purchase a domain, which we like to call the virtual address of your business on the web! In this article, we will teach you how to check if it is available (because, just like with physical land, there can't be two houses in exactly the same location) and also show you how to purchase it!
1. What is a domain name?
A domain name is the digital address of your website. For example, at Digidop, our domain name is digidop.com. This domain name is unique. This address allows us to host the code of our website, enabling our clients, partners, or readers, like you today, to access our content! Now comes the question... But where can you safely purchase a domain name?
1.1 Platforms to purchase a domain name
There are many platforms that allow you to buy and host your domain name. Domain names have a purchase cost and then an annual cost for hosting. Here are a few platforms offering this service:
- Google Domains (our favorite tool, the easiest to use with the best value for money ❤️)
- OVH Cloud
- Gandi.net
- Ionos
- Wix
⚠️ Some domain names may be more expensive than others. Why? Because it is possible to resell or transfer a domain name. There is thus a speculative market for some domain names that have good marketing/product commercialization potential.
2. How to choose and purchase a domain name on Google?
Do you think you have found the ideal domain name? Here are the 2 steps to follow to check its availability and then obtain your domain name.
2.1 Check the availability of your domain name
URLs are unique. Therefore, there cannot be two domain names with the same name. The first thing to do is to check the availability of your domain name.
Follow these 3 steps to easily and freely test the availability of your domain!
- Visit the site Google Domains
- Enter your domain name in the search bar
- Click on check
You can check the availability of your domain name under different "levels". Here are a few examples of levels: .com; .fr; .eu; etc....
If the domain name is not available, a gray information icon will appear.
2.2 Purchase your domain name
Once you have checked its availability, you can now purchase your new domain name.
- Select your domain level (Example: ".fr")
- Click on "add to cart"
- Click on "View cart"
- Click on Pay
And there you go, you have purchased your domain name! You are now the owner, and all that’s left is to connect and register your website with the DNS settings to bring it to life on search engines like Google.
Conclusion on purchasing web hosting
It is essential to purchase a domain name in order to host your website and make it visible on the internet. The domain name is like the physical office address for a business. There are several platforms to buy a domain name, and the one we prefer and recommend is Google Domains because it offers the best value for money: simple, secure, and fast. Additionally, Google can assist you for free in your process.
You can now connect your Webflow project to your domain name!
