DOMAIN NAME FOR A BLOG: WHEN TO THINK ABOUT IT?

Should you buy a domain name for a blog? Should we wait for a blog to have some success before investing? What should you know before choosing a domain name? So many questions that beginners on the web can ask themselves.

Why have a domain name for your blog?

Build your visibility over time

By having your own domain name, you can build up a lot of capital on your name, regardless of your technical choices.

You develop your notoriety, your reputation, your natural referencing (through the links that your domain name receives, etc.). If you make the choice, at some point, to change the blogging platform, to complete your blog with a site, to change host, you do not lose your name and on the contrary, continue to develop its visibility.

For example, a blog that started on a free platform like Blogger but having its own domain name can then migrate to a WordPress blog hosted by a host: the name remains the same, the notoriety capital is therefore preserved (and referencing can also be if the URLs do not change or if we set up permanent redirects from old addresses to new ones).

To be taken seriously

Having a domain name is sometimes a requirement if you want to initiate partnerships, register on certain affiliate platforms. First, because it allows a brand / a partner to say to themselves that they are investing in a site that has a "gable on the web" and not in an anonymous platform behind anyone can hide and disappear overnight. next day.

Then, because it allows them to derive benefits in terms of SEO. When you are on Blogspot for example, you are on blogspot.com… like thousands of other sites. For a brand, it is more beneficial to get 100 links from 100 different domain names than 100 links from the same site, Blogspot.

Take you seriously

Many bloggers see the purchase of a domain name as a "step" to take when they start to take their blog seriously, to think about it "in the long term". Investing is sometimes a personal motivation to give momentum to your project.

Have a personalized email address

Having a domain name for your blog means being able to create e-mail addresses like [email protected]. This is sometimes a good way to avoid being filtered by spam emails (for example, on No Tuxedo, it's common for people who comment with Hotmail addresses to not receive notifications when I reply to them. message).

It can also appear as a guarantee of seriousness in your discussions around the blog.

It's not expensive

A .com domain name, the most common extension, generally costs around € 12 including tax per year. It's a really minimal budget given the benefits it can bring (especially by allowing you to build your visibility over time).

Where to buy a domain name for your blog?

A domain name is bought from a registrar. Most registrars are web hosts at the same time, but you can buy a domain name without necessarily buying hosting at the same time (for example at OVH, at 1 & 1, etc. Web Hosting in Lahore.

To know about extensions

The extension is the part of the domain name that follows the period: .com, .net, Paris, .biz are extensions. Not all extensions cost the same. If a .com domain name costs only a dozen euros per year, you have to pay around 50 euros per year for a. bah name (Brittany, you win!). A registrar can offer promotions.

You can buy your domain name for a year or longer. You can also activate automatic renewal to avoid omissions. Forgetting to renew your domain name can indeed have serious consequences, I talked about it in this article.

Some extensions impose conditions (for example, for the famous. bzh, you must have a postal address in Brittany or create a site whose main topic is Brittany).

And whatever happens, you must provide your real contact details when registering (this is a legal obligation). Since the entry into force of the GDPR (law on the protection of personal data), these coordinates will be hidden in the WhoIs for individuals, allowing you to remain anonymous.

Put all your eggs in the same basket (or not)

For my part, I have been choosing for years: that to distinguishing between hosting and buying the domain name, using two different providers (at the time of writing this article, o2switch is hosting the site, takes care of the domain name).

I separate the two so that the name of my sites always remains completely independent of my hosting choices. You can be dissatisfied with your host. We can decide to change it. Having a domain name that is independent of the hosting ensures that the name never ends up in the balance if a conflict does arise.

When I started on the web, we heard a lot of stories about people losing their names following a dispute with a web host (or a web host who was shut down). So I got used to separating things and I still do it today. In the event of a problem, all you have to do is point my domain name to the new hosting and that's it!

Do I need a separate domain name for my blog?

If your blog is linked to a website, you may be considering having two separate domain names, one for the site and one for the blog. You may be thinking to yourself that this is a way to maximize your visibility (two sites, twice as much visibility!). In reality, it is better to bring together a blog and site on the same domain name, for example by having the blog in a blog.monsite.com subdomain or a dedicated directory (my site.com/blog).

Thus, if your blog receives links, that its articles are shared on social networks, that you publish there more often than on your site, this visibility will benefit your entire domain (site included).

Which extension to choose for the domain name of a blog?

Google has repeatedly asserted that there is no difference in treatment between a .com domain name and other extensions. Other studies suggest an SEO bonus in certain cases. Digital Marketing Services.

For my part, I think that the choice of the extension must be guided above all by common sense: taking an "original" extension for the sole purpose of having an original extension can harm you if it is difficult for your visitors to remember.; conversely, it can also become a strong element of your brand. And whatever happens, it is above all the quality of your blog that will determine your performance.