Ever had an amazing idea for an online business or a startup but couldn’t come up with a decent name for it? Or, maybe, it was the other way around and you’ve thought of a quirky website name that would drive tons of traffic and is super easy to remember? Whatever the case, getting a domain name is easier than you think. The whole process won’t take longer than 10 minutes if you follow these easy steps:

● start with the desired name for your website - it can be your name, brand or just the words you like;
● check if it’s available and which domains you can choose from - even if you can’t buy the .COM, there are lots of alternatives;
● pay for your domain name registration;
● link the domain name to your site.

We’ll walk you through some of these steps in more detail to give a better idea what’s going on and what options are available. 

Local and General Domains

A great place to start is choosing your domain. It can be .COM, .US or another domain. COM domains, also called Top Level Domains or TLDs, are usually in high demand due to their popularity. So, don’t worry if some of your top of mind ideas appear taken or unavailable at the moment. There are lots of .com alternative domains to choose from. You can always try and get an even better one at any time. For example, Country Code Domains like .us or .рф are more flexible because: 

a) there are LOTS of countries to choose from;

b) ccTLDs can have special characters or even Cyrillic in them.

And if that’s not enough, try cool new domains like .COFFEE or .AGENCY. The list is constantly expanding and you can definitely do better than site.IO. Don’t try web.SITE or talk.SHOW, though - those are taken too. 

Domain Registration Services

Second, choose your service provider. There are three main registrars for domain names and you might have heard some of their names: GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Bluehost. Each has its own pros and cons. In general, GoDaddy is user-friendly, Bluehost is reliable, and Namecheap does wonders if the value is what you’re looking for. 

Domain Name Alternatives and Generators

Third, choose the domain name you’ll proudly use for the next year or more! If you are having trouble with ideas or need alternatives, try looking up other domains like .CO, .AL, .ORG, .NET, etc. But if that doesn’t work, bring the artillery and use the Beast mode of a name generator embedded into Namecheap, for example. It is the tool to transfer your wildest dreams into domains! You can also try third-party services like NameMesh or Lean Domain, whichever works best. Even Shopify can help you with brand ideas, as well as domain and eCommerce availability for them.

And that’s basically it. Fill in your contact information for the WHOIS database or use a privacy feature to hide those details from public access, provide a valid credit card for payment, and you’re good to go. There’s a thriving aftermarket where great domain names are always in high demand. So, in case something changes, you can always sell your domain name later.