Everything You Should Know Before Buying a Domain
Choosing a domain name is only the first part of the process, and, with regards to purchasing it, it’s critical to look past a simple web address and consider more elements.
Your domain name will become the homepage of your brand, and once it’s established, you can’t really go back. But apart from getting and purchasing your perfect domain name, what do you need to consider?
This is what we’ll go through in this complete guide. Let’s dive into the subject from what to check before buying to the unwritten rules of NFT domains.
Why a Domain Name is Important
First things first, let’s elaborate on why you need a domain name for your business. There are other utilities other than simply replacing your crypto address with your NFT URL when it comes to blockchain domains.
A domain name, or more specifically, a website, is what makes your brand stand out from the competition and where you showcase your products or portfolio.
While Google doesn’t currently index blockchain domains, they will be in the future, and you should be prepared for what’s to come in the near future.
What are Registrars?
Before discussing all the details of buying a domain, let’s elaborate on the registrars’ essential part of the game.
The registrar of a domain name is an organization that handles reservations of these domains. Registrars have to be accredited by country code top-level in order to execute their function. In plain words, registrars store domain names, and this is where users go to purchase or rent them, such as Cloudname.
What You Should Know Before Buying a Domain
There are several factors to consider before jumping in a buying your domain name. From renting or buying a domain to your registrar’s settings and more, let’s go deep into the details.
Renting or Buying a Domain
Of course, the first thing that comes to your mind is whether buying or renting your domain name is the right option. Price is the most crucial part of any purchase, and when it comes to NFT domains, it can get high pretty quickly, hence why many users decide to rent it.
In terms of NFT domains, will you buy a domain that will be yours for life? Or would you instead rent it and pay renewal fees each month or year?
While buying a domain can seem costly at first, it can undoubtedly prevent you from paying expensive renewal fees each year. In addition, these renewal fees might increase over time, and what will happen if you miss a payment in the future? These are some elements to consider with your registrar when buying or renting a domain.
Lastly, something to keep in mind is the gas fees which are common in the NFT and blockchain world since they have to be paid for each transaction. You will need to pay gas fees when purchasing a domain name and any other potential transactions.
Your Domain Should be Easy to Remember
Before purchasing your domain name, you should always make sure that it’s easy to remember. Whatever your domain name is, one that is easy to read and remember will go a long way in terms of reputation.
Also, when using your NFT domain as your crypto address, you’ll want people to recognize you immediately rather than mistaking you for someone else.
To give you an idea, you definitely don’t want to choose a domain name with several same letters, such as “llll.wallet”. This is easy when copying and pasting, but it gets very complicated when typing it manually.
A Shorter Domain Name is Better
Choosing a short one will make your life easier when you run a business or use your NFT for private purposes. Of course, as mentioned above, keeping it easy to remember is great. But keeping it short rather than long is a massive bonus.
Consider Your Registrar’s Customer Support
Something else to consider is the customer service offered by your registrar. For instance, at Cloudname, we always make sure to reply promptly so that our customers feel confident in us and trust our services.
While you don’t always need a 24/7 service, it will undoubtedly come in handy if you have any issues in the future.
Apart from that, checking the reviews of the registrar, you’re planning to use is essential. You can also try contacting their customer service before purchasing or renting your NFT domain to get an idea of the treatment you’ll receive.
Check the Crypto Wallet Compatibility
One of the reasons users buy an NFT domain is to replace their crypto wallet address. Because of this, you will want to check the compatibility with your cryptocurrency platforms like Coinbase or MetaMask. You might not make use of this for the moment, but it will be very nice to have if you decide, one day, to replace your crypto address.
After all, if you purchase an NFT domain, it makes sense to use all of its functionalities.
Consider Different Domain Extensions
While .com is the world’s most used domain extension, it doesn’t mean that other extensions are not appropriate for business or private purposes.
In the NFT world, the extensions are much different from regular ones, and they include:
- .x
- .coin
- .wallet
- .bitcoin
- .zil
- .nft
- .dao
- .888
As you can see, these are much different from standard domain extensions like .net or .info, but they will get much more common in the future.
It’s worth noting that the price of these extensions vary, and you’ll want to compare the price of each before proceeding to pay.
The Compatibility of Browsers
While most browsers do not natively support NFT domains and websites, alternative solutions are coming to the market. The 2 browsers that natively display NFT domains are Brave and Opera.
However, other mainstream browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and mobile devices are releasing extensions and plugins to support these new domains.
To sum up, while there are indeed plugins to display your future website, this is one of the elements to consider before paying.