Anyone planning to setup a blog or run a website will soon realize there are quite a few things you need: a domain name, web hosting, as well as some basic skills such as design, online marketing and writing. The costs are very different depending on your needs and wishes, but there are certainly some things you can get for free.

Why You Need Web Hosting for Your Website

What is web hosting? Briefly, web hosting is the place where all the website’s files are a stored. While it is possible to do this using a private computer, it is always easier and much more affordable to use the services of a web hosting company.

A website hosting company essentially lends server space so that website owners can store their files. These companies also offer a range of other services, such a free domain name, hosting for email addresses associated with your website, different kinds of marketing tools, apps and plugins that would make a webmaster’s life a lot easier, especially if you are a novice to website building.

Web hosting is usually purchased in the form of a package deal. Various features and services are included in the price, depending on the package. For example, large businesses expecting a lot of traffic on their website may require a dedicated server host, a large number of email accounts, unlimited bandwidth. Smaller business might get by fine with shared hosting, lower bandwidth, and fewer email accounts.

The Importance of Domain Names

Another thing you need when starting a website is a domain name. This is essentially the home address for your website – the string of characters that people will have to type in their browser in order to get on your pages, read your content, see your products, etc.

“Easy as pie”, you might think. You may have a few sweet names for your website, ones that are memorable too. But, things are not as easy as you might initially think. You cannot just type in a name and use it. There is a registration process you have to go through.  As each domain name has to be unique, you must first check the availability of a domain name, then use the services of a domain names registrar company.

The good news is that domain names can often be purchased alongside web hosting from a single company. You also have the option of purchasing them from two separate providers. However, a wide range of web hosting companies offer a free domain name when bought together with a web hosting package.

Free Domain Registration with Web Hosting

If you do a bit of research, you will see that most web hosting providers offer free domain registration in most of their package deals. There used to be a stigma associated with a company offering a free domain name, as they used to hold ownership over the domain name rather than transferring ownership over to the website’s owner. This is one of the things to check, as you certainly want to be the owner of your website’s domain name.

However, nowadays the majority of top web hosting companies will include free domain registration as part of their web hosting packages to entice new customers. The domain name is yours to use for the duration of the contract you signed up for. Contracts typically last for one or more years, after which they can be renewed, usually for free as part of your hosting package. Another aspect to check before choosing your web hosting company and registering your domain name through them are renewal prices, both for the domain name and for the web hosting services.

A word of advice: always remember to renew your domain registration. Otherwise, after some leeway time, it will be released back into the market for registration, meaning someone else could register your domain name. This could be disastrous for your business, especially if you have already built a reputation for your brand and have massive traffic to your website. A mere oversight may put you in the position of having to pay massive fees to buy back ownership of a domain name you previously owned for free.

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