How to get a domain name for a website?

Self

[Pocketdoor]

I'm trying to buy / register a domain name for a new business. I've been stumbling around the web and when I type in the www.address its says not secure and I see go daddy says its parked for free. They say its taken but want a brokerage fee to I guess "try" and get it. I know there are tons of Freepers on here with experience in this. So Im asking for a simple how to on getting my domain name for a future website. Thank you.

[Pocketdoor]

I want the dot.com I just dont know if GoDaddy “hides” the actually owner. I highly doubt if I pay Hover to buy it from GoDaddy that it would be any cheaper... but I don’t know... I’d probably pay two commissions.
What do you suggest? Go with Hover or straight to godaddy?
I kindda feel like Im getting somewhere.. thank you.

[Angelino97]

If GoDaddy owns it, I'd buy it from GoDaddy. You can always move it to Hover afterwards if you want.

Most registrars give you discount pricing when you move a domain name.

You can buy from GD for one year, then shortly thereafter move the domain to Hover for however many additional years.

[Chuckster]

I have been using Network Solutions. Domain names, web site hosting, email etc. Click the link and have your domain name in five minutes. I have been doing biz with them for decades. Very satisfied.

[Pocketdoor]

does it look like a DG place holder to you?
If I had a domain name thru GD, would it show my Name or GD?

[Angelino97]

If they sold your domain while it was still yours (before expiration), you can probably win a lawsuit if you're willing to pay for a lawyer.

I think GoDaddy and Network Solutions now sell "domain expiration protection," meaning that they hold it for you even after your domain expires (at least for a while), so you don't lose it.

Hey, that's a nice domain you got there. Be a shame if you lost it. Sure you don't want to buy some "protection."

[stars & stripes forever]

I have used Network Solutions for years and had no problems with them.

[Angelino97]

I've used both Network Solutions and GoDaddy. NS is one of the more expensive registrar/hosts. Partially because for a time they held a legal monopoly on the business.

NS is good, but pricey.

[Angelino97]

If would show your name unless you paid GD extra for privacy. In which case, it would show GD's name.

Registrars can make your domain "private" for an additional annual fee. They say it helps prevent identity theft and domain theft.

I dunno. I can see the benefits of people knowing the domain belongs to me, and not to GD.

[powerset]

Try https://lookup.icann.org/en/lookup, they’re the policy setters “above” the registrars.

[LegendHasIt]

If someone owns the name you want, you are going to have to pay to get it. And if it is for sale with godaddy brokerage, you pretty much have to go through them, unless you can track down the actual owner and convince him (her, them) to de-list it with godaddy and deal with you direct.

However you can negotiate with the GD brokerage. A couple of months ago they were trying to buy one of my (idle, but really good) domain names. I got them to offer 4X their original offer, but it just wasn’t worth enough for the tax problems it would cause me.

I won’t do business with godaddy anyway... Used them for years for hosting several websites, but last year they broke all the contracts we had, so I quit using them.

I highly recommend http://enom.com/ for a registrar if you do end up getting any domain. Not only are they relatively inexpensive, they won’t hold your domain hostage like most hosts will if you register and host the domain with them.. I’ve used enom for 25 years without a hitch.

Good luck

[politicket]

I want the dot.com I just don't know if GoDaddy “hides” the actually owner.

The registered owner can hide their identity easily. It's a real possibility that the owner of the domain may not want to sell it.

I have people inquiring about one of my domain names all the time - but I wouldn't part with it for less than $50,000. It has too much personal value to me.

[powerset]

We use Network Solutions, LLC, IANA ID 2, because they are OK and we don’t want to risk losing the “Creation Date: 1995-04-20” entry (which predates Google) by moving to another registrar. They aren’t the cheapest, but their policies allow me to do everything myself: I run our web server, our mail server and even our DNS server. (I started writing code before Unix was developed, so I’m incurably DIY.)

[powerset]

Don’t worry that “when I type in the www.address it says not secure”. All that this means is that the current temporary hosting is not secure, not that the name itself is defective. The reason for this is that it costs a bit more to secure the hosting, and it’s not worth it when there is nothing of real value at that web address. (It’s sort of like a For Sale sign on a car — you don’t bother to insure the sign.)

[minnesota_bound]

Try BlueHost. I had zero issues with them. I had switched over from another company and had the email and website setup in an hour. Their chat support is very good.

bluehost - located in Florida. I see they handle 2,535,922 domains.
https://www.bluehost.com

I have my primary site and 2 Addon subdomain sites. This way I pay for 1 site when I renew. The other two sites people will see the other site names and not the primary name/ other name. It appears I have 3 domains but I pay for 1.
Domain Name Registration 1 year 29 March 2024 $19.99
Domain Privacy + Protection 1 year 29 March 2024 $15.00

How many subdomains can I have Bluehost?
https://www.bluehost.com/blog/domains-by-bluehost
Unlimited Domains
Host as many domains as you want from one Bluehost account, including primary domains, parked domains, add-on domains, and subdomains.Feb 1, 2019

What Is A Subdomain And How Does It Work? How To Create A Subdomain
https://www.bluehost.com/help/article/subdomains
_______________________________

Do a search separate from a registrar. Type in the name you want to see if others have it. Next go to say “bluehost” and register it.
https://whois.domaintools.com

I tried GoDaddy and as others have stated they try to get you to sign up for other features and make it confusing and I might add only really support Microsoft Outlook and not pop3 email accounts. I had my email go thru GoDaddy and it was very very slow. It would time out. I went thru several sessions of their support and found out they prefer Outlook so I suspected they deliberately mess with pop3 accounts.

[SPDSHDW]

I use namecheap.com and have for over 10 years.

10 bucks a year for a .US domain.
godaddy is expensive. insanely so.

.com will be more expensive, and more likely to be taken.

you can use www.abusinessname.us as opposed to abusinessname.com, as long as there is no copyrights on the domain. plenty of other Top levels domains to select from besides these two. I only know .US because it can be used for business as long as its domiciled in USA.

[SuperLuminal]

Lots of sources...
Just Google it...

[Gideon7]

I’ve been using directnic.com for my domains for over 20 years. Reliable, simple, cheap.

[Pocketdoor]

thanks for the help..... I went ahead and click the GoDaddy set up... and im at this stage in emails...

Welcome to the GoDaddy Domain Broker Service - my name is Justin Day and I’m here to help you successfully negotiate the domain name, **myname**.COM, at the best price.

The GoDaddy Domain Broker Service is a “white glove” service where we will do everything necessary from start to finish, so that at the end of this process, *myname*.COM may be acquired safely and securely in your GoDaddy account.

The way the service works is that we reach out to the current owner of the domain name with varying offer amounts, through multiple channels trying to compel them to enter into a negotiation over the 30-day term of the Domain Broker Service process. I am going to get started on your claim and will be back in touch as soon as I have any updates for you or if I need any additional information. In the meantime, my contact information is listed in my email signature, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

I feel like im getting screwed. :(

[Gideon7]

Last time I checked the GoDaddy Domain Broker Service wanted a 20% cut. It might have gone up since then.

What I do is just use the WHOIS domain contact and negotiate directly. If the domain ownership is private I contact the pseudonym email address listed.

I never offer above $595, explaining that $600 or more requires that I file a 1099-MISC to the IRS and that I will need their Social Security number and mailing address. That usually induces them to accept my asking price :-)

Pro tip: First sign up with the registrar that holds the domain to make the transfer as hassle free as possible. Inter-registrar transfers are a pain.

[Openurmind]

“I read that with some web registrars — GoDaddy among them — if you search for a domain and don’t buy it, then come back later, you’ll find that it’s taken because the registrar bought it. Because if someone searches for it, their computer figures it must have value and so buys it.

Don’t know how true this is.”

It’s true, I had it happen a couple times when searching at the official ICANN site it’s self. I pointed it out to them and it turned out to be the Google services they use. They say they fixed it, so ICANN is the direct resource that goes around all the scam 3rd party brokers.

https://lookup.icann.org/en