How to buy a domain name from GoDaddy: The complete guide

When it comes to naming a business or website, the choices can be overwhelming. This is where domain registrars like GoDaddy can help you with registering a domain name.

Looking for how to buy a domain name from GoDaddy? Well, you are not alone!

Maybe you are planning to start an affiliate website, and want to purchase domain and hosting. Blogging can even be a hobby!

A domain name is one of the most important and valuable assets for any website. It is also vital to register and buy your domain from the right place.

GoDaddy has been around for a long time and is quite famous. As you have already decided to jump up and make a website online, it is time to buy a personalized domain for your website, preferably a .com one.

To understand what a domain is and how to buy one from the domain provider Godaddy, let this guide help you. I have put up this article all for you!

Not only that this guide will help you purchase a domain name from GoDaddy with ease, but I will also explain how you can get it for 30% off the original price!

What is a domain name?

A domain name is a series of words that people use to find where you are on the internet. So for example, the domain of my website is “https://therestlessguy.com“. You can type it into your browser and this website will show up. Tada!

Domains can be bought or registered from so-called domain registrars. GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Bluehost ( Free domain with hosting ) are some popular providers.

As we were saying, it is like a specific address of the website. The same domain name cannot be used for another business and can be only registered once.

This means that you must be fast enough before your competitor or somebody else registers your domain before you do it.

Why is a domain name important?

A domain name is not important. It is very very very important.

A domain name is like the face of your website, a face on the internet. It helps you and your business stand out from others as well as helps you in gaining trust. It must be memorable, easy to read, and straight to the point.

Would you ever forget amazon.com? Nope, not in this life. This is because of the awesome name they found for their business (named after amazon river, so it is not necessary to be related) which they successfully carved into your head.

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How to buy a domain name from GoDaddy

Purchasing a domain from GoDaddy is easier than you think. In fact, it should be. Just follow the steps I list out below carefully and you are all set to go.

There are two methods to buy a domain from GoDaddy. The first one is the better one in which you get a free domain name for purchasing hosting plans while the second one is on how to purchase a domain separately.

1st method: Getting a free domain with hosting ( Best method )

1. Head over to web hosting page at GoDaddy

First, go to the hosting page at GoDaddy.

The is where you would be selecting the hosting for your website.

Hosting is the process of storing your website’s data so that someone can access it on the internet. Think of it as a warehouse where different resources of your business are stored and delivered.

While hosting plans range from cheap to ultra-expensive, in most cases, you will be good with a shared hosting solution. You can always upgrade later.

2. Choose a hosting plan of your like

GoDaddy has a lot of web hosting plans to go for. To keep it clean and simple, I am opting for the ‘Economy’ plan in this demo.

This is important:

The economy plan costs $5.99/month and comes with a free domain, unmetered bandwidth, and free 1-click WordPress install.

Well, we are always looking to save money, let it be on hosting or pet care. Here is a piece of good news for you:

Do you want to get the same plan, but for just $2.99/month?

3. Type in the domain name you want for free

If you have followed me up to now, you would reach a page with a column at its center asking for you to enter the domain name you want for free.

While GoDaddy offers .com, .xyz, .co, .net, and many other domain extensions of varying prices for free, always go for the .com tail if it is available.

Additional options and add-ons such as an SSL certificate and advanced protection are available at the checkout

4. Finally, checkout as usual

In order to checkout, you will have to signup for GoDaddy (unless you already have an account). You can sign in using Google, Facebook, or just with your email address.

The duration of the domain and hosting you are going to buy is displayed here. Check a period of your choice from the drop-down list. By default, it is 12 months.

You may see that some addons are available when you visit this page. As of the time being, you can check the Full Domain Privacy & Protection box if you have the budget, or just leave it as it is.

A Microsoft 365 starter email from GoDaddy also comes with the free plan with no cost for the first year.

After signing up, you can choose a payment method of your like.

2nd method: Buying only a domain without hosting

1. Go to GoDaddy’s domain page

The first step is to head over to the domain page at GoDaddy’s website. This page may look different for different countries.

Concentrate on the task and look for just domains.

2. Search for the domain name you want on the domain search bar

You have already decided on the domain name, right? If not, it’s time to. After coming up with a nice and catchy one, search for ‘yourdomain’ in the domain search bar as shown in the picture.

To aid you step by step, I will be showing you how I am going to register a domain
” testingbrine“.

As you can see from the image, I have searched for testingbrine:

The columns shown in the orange box include hosting. If you don’t have any plan on hosting with GoDaddy, click ‘continue cart’ for only buying the domain name.

3. Choose the domain extension you need

When it comes to a domain, a lot of extensions are available to choose from. Some popular ones are the .com, .net and .org extensions.

While .com is the most popular one, it is up to you to choose what your website will need. Prices vary for different domain extensions. But more on that later.

In my case, I favor a .com extension. Thanks to GoDaddy you can get a .com domain for just $2.99 for the first year and $18.99 afterward.

4. Complete the order

This is exactly the same as how we did it last time.

You can tick the addon boxes if the budget tells you to, or if you don’t have enough money to cover the expenses, just leave them as it is. In case you change your mind later, there is always a door to buy them later.

There is even a free-to-start website feature that is offered by GoDaddy(even though I don’t recommend it).

You can complete the domain purchase by signing in and then paying with any one of the payment gateways available.

Cheer up.

You just learned how to buy a domain name and/or hosting on GoDaddy!

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More on GoDaddy

You might already have heard of GoDaddy a million times before. Originally launched as a marketplace for domains, now they not only act as a domain registrar but have become a source for almost all sorts of internet business solutions.

GoDaddy’s features include email marketing, website hosting, dedicated WordPress hosting, web security service, and much more.

Domain prices at GoDaddy

Prices start at:

• .com at $2.99 for first year
• .cloud at $4.99
• .org at $9.99
• .biz at $7.99
• .xyz at $0.99
• .io at $39.99

Benefits of buying a domain name from GoDaddy

GoDaddy has benefits that make them a valuable company. I list out here what I think personally are some pros on using GoDaddy as your go-to source for online business:

Demerits of buying a domain name from GoDaddy

As the saying goes, nothing is perfect in life. And so is GoDaddy.

GoDaddy has its own demerits and negatives when compared to other competitors in the industry.

Some of the cons of using GoDaddy include:

Again. these are just my personal opinions. It is always up to you to decide whether GoDaddy is for you or not.

Things to remember while choosing a domain name

Now that you have the knowledge on how to buy a domain name from GoDaddy, let’s come to what you should note while purchasing a domain.

As we already noted, a domain is the face of your website. You don’t want it to look ugly.

Here are some best practices to follow when naming your website:

Read in detail: Best practices on buying a domain for your website

You have bought a domain name. What next?

The answer is simple. A hosting!

Unless you already bought a hosting plan from GoDaddy by following the first method, you will have to host your website somewhere else.

Remember that hosting is as much as important as a domain name. You should not go loose when it comes to this part.

My personal favorite and strong recommendation is Cloudways. Fastest, reliable, affordable, completely on the cloud, and even dedicated support staff to completely do all the work for you.

If you are a bit tight on budget, Namecheap is your best bet. With plans costing around just $1.5 a month, they have one of the most efficient servers in the world. You get everything you pay for. It’s that simple!

To wrap things up

That was a long read. Cheers for keeping up with me.

By now, I am sure you are confident and know how to buy a domain name from GoDaddy all by yourself. We also looked at the different options we had and what suits whom.

Coming up with a good name is not an easy task. You want to make sure that you are getting a good one so that it will not be difficult for potential customers to remember and find your site when they search online.

I have also provided you with some tips on where to look when searching for domains, how much they cost, and what features are common in these top-level domains. Feel free to go back and make sure you follow those.

There are many ways to get a domain name, but registering it directly from GoDaddy is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways.

That’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I did writing it for you.

Let me know in the comments what is your opinion about GoDaddy and about purchasing a domain and hosting from them.

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