Registering an internet domain name for your new venture is one of the most important steps you’ll take. It’s your business’s internet address and it’s how people will find you online, so you’re encouraged to take as much time as you need to find one that ticks all of the boxes.
The challenge, however, is finding a name that isn’t taken. It’s going to take quite a bit of creativity on your part, as the most obvious names for things have already been registered by other people.
The actual registration process is quite straightforward, and we’ll take you through that shortly. We’ll also give you some tips to keep in mind, as well as provide a few mistakes to avoid.
It’s actually just a 5-step process, consisting of:
- Choosing a domain name
- Checking that it’s available
- Choosing where you’ll register the name
- Payment and registration
- Renewing
Step 1: Choosing a domain name
Since your internet domain is going to be reflective of your company name or brand, your most desirable option is just to use YourBrandName.com. If it’s not available, you have a few options: change it up with a .co.za address or a location like YourBrandNameSouthAfrica.com.
We recommend getting together with all of the relevant stakeholders in the venture and having a brainstorming session over coffee (or other, more “inspirational” beverages if you like). Come up with a bunch of options, and vote on them to be sure that the names that end up on your list are names that everyone is happy with.
If you get stuck, you can always use an online tool to suggest made-up words; the Panabee and Wordoid websites are great for this.
You’ll be checking those names against what is already out there in the next step.
Tip: You don’t have to use .com as the suffix for your website. Today, you have nearly 1600 options to pick from, and most of them are cheaper than .com. We’re quite fond of .africa, and .nexus sounds pretty cool, but these are just the tip of the iceberg. To explore all <1600 options, click here. Just be aware that not every registrar supports every extension.
Step 2: Checking availability
There is a wealth of online tools that can help with this. Every domain registrar out there will let you check if your desired domain name is available, and all you need to do is punch it in, see if it’s taken or not, and repeat the process until you hit the jackpot.
At this point in the process, it doesn’t matter which tool you use as they all do the same thing – check your desired name against all existing websites to see if it’s available.
To do this, simply Google “domain name checker” and go through the options that come up until you find one you like.
Step 3. Choose where you’re going to register the name
This is the toughest step in the process, as it can be very difficult to choose who to go with as you have plenty of options. You’re also weighing up international companies vs local ones; our advice here is to go with something local – for starters, all of these companies do the same thing, but if you go with a local one you at least have access to live support during South African work hours, and you pay in rands.
Here are some of the most popular options:
- Google Domains
- Shopify
- GoDaddy
- IONOS
- Domain.com
- Afrihost.co.za (South African)
- Xneelo (South African)
- Cloudflare
If you want a recommendation from us, Xneelo is who we’d choose. They’re affordable, their service and support are excellent, and their infrastructure is top-notch.
Step 4: Pay and register
This is the easiest step by far. Specify the domain you want, choose the time frame you want to have it for, pay, and you’re done.
Step 5: Renewing
This step is where people often trip up.
Registering a domain buys you access to it for a set time; it’s one (1) year by default but most registrars will give you multi-year options as well.
Some sites we’ve seen (looking at you, GoDaddy) like to lure you in with a very low initial price, and every year after that the price can go up, sometimes even double. In GoDaddy’s case, we could register a .co.za website for R99 for 2 years, but it jumps to R369 per year for every year after that.
Just make sure of the pricing beyond the first year before committing, and you won’t fall into this trap.
The other trick is to make a note of when your domain expires and be sure to renew your access to it before that time. There’s nothing worse than having your business’s entire online profile hijacked by someone who bought your domain the second it expired; these people often want money before they’ll give it back to you, and there’s nothing you can do about it if the expiration is your fault.
How long till it’s live?
Once you’ve done all this, it can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours before the registration takes hold. This is reliant on the Domain Name Service records for your site replicating worldwide, and it’s not something you can make happen faster.
Domain Registration ≠ Website Hosting
Registering the domain name for your new website is not the same as choosing where it’s hosted.
That’s an entirely different animal, but what you need to know about it right now is that you don’t absolutely have to register your domain with a registrar that also does hosting.
You could register your domain with Google Domains, for example, but still host your site on Xneelo’s infrastructure.
And you’re done!
And that’s all there is to registering a domain name for your latest venture. If you ever get stuck, or you have a question, most of the registrars that offer the service will have some form of support that you can lean on, so chances are good you’ll succeed.
All the best with your new venture! May the internet gods ever be in your favour!