So, what about having a "vanity" domain, versus using a "free" service for the Universal Resource Locator (URL), the web “address” that folks use to locate your site in the web, of your web presence? For example:So, what about having a "vanity" domain, versus using a "free" service for the Universal Resource Locator (URL), the web “address” that folks use to locate your site in the web, of your web presence? For example:
The most common “extensions” for artist/company domains are .com and .net. (That’s for the US. There are other extensions, e.g., .co.uk for United Kingdom/Great Britain, commonly used for businesses in other countries.)
If you do decide on using a vanity domain, it is in your best interest to register the domain yourself (or ensure it's registered in your name, not in a developer's name or service provider name). Too many people have "lost" their domain because someone else registered it and then went out of business or disappeared. And not having it registered yourself can cause a lot of problems if you decide to change your WSP when the original WSP registered the domain. (Some WSPs may give you a discount for transferring in an already registered domain rather than going through them to register a new domain.)
Pros of hosting site on "vanity" domain: Usually shorter URL (i.e., mystudioname.com compared to www.isphostname.com/username/studioname/). Identification of domain with your studio/company. Often easier to remember URL. A longer term of registration of domain (i.e., five years or more) does improve search result ranking on some search engines. Even if you change service providers, customers don’t have to change their bookmarks so you don’t loose them in a move. Cost is considered a business expense. Avoiding limitations from service providers on how and what information is presented (e.g., prohibition on sales/commercial pages; limited to specific templates for format; disk and bandwidth limitations; embedded advertising at the header and footer of each page).
Cons of hosting site on vanity domain: $5-50 annual fees to have domain registered (depends on length of ownership of domain name and which registrar is used). Plus the free-$100/month in fees to a WSP.
When registering a domain, some entities have an “enticement” to register a domain with them (i.e., “free” registration, but $100 monthly fee as a WSP). Others will have “buy more save more” pricing (e.g., one year $20; five years $10/year rate).
The full list of authorized domain registrars can be found here. And here are some reviews of registration companies. (I personally deal with an industry leader, Network Solutions.) Before selecting a company to deal with, check out their policies on transferring domains (i.e., changing the Domain Name Server (DNS) settings to point to a new WSP) and transferring domain registration to another registrar service. There is one company I do not recommend, even though they appear on the surface to charge the least to register domains, advertise heavily and are very popular; here's one reason why.
Domain registration is a “public” thing and your registration information is available online. Some registrars allow for protection/privatizing of contact information (i.e., putting anonymous email address that filters out SPAM) for an additional fee.
Once you have a vanity domain, pay attention to expiration/renewal dates as someone could “buy” your domain should the registration lapse by not renewing it before expiration.
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