Domain registration fees vary depending on the extension, where you register, and what promotions maybe going on at any given time.
A global top level domain registration (such as dot com) will typically run $10-15/annum, while some of the new specialty domains run all the way up to $150/annum.
There are however ways to get free domain name registration, typically by bundling your domain with hosting. Assuming you plan to use the domain then this is a great way to get the domain registration fee covered.
You’ll need hosting anyway, so using a WordPress host that provides a free domain name registration is a no brainer way to save a few dollars.
Where to Get a free domain name
- Siteground – Siteground is a good choice if you are looking for easy website management, and they say that they offer their clients reliable web hosting. They are ideal for small and medium-sized sites.
- GreenGeeks – GreenGeeks is a great choice if you are looking especially for an Eco-friendly host, plus you can save on the domain name registration.
- BlueHost – BlueHost is a very popular option with bloggers in part because they were an early pioneer in the bundling of a free domain name with their entry level hosting packages.
All these hosts offer great packages suitable for bloggers and small businesses so saving on the domain name registration fees is a nice bonus.
Disclosure : We are affiliated with the hosts above so if you click through and purchase we will get a commission. This is at no extra cost to you and helps us maintain WP Dev Shed as a resource for all webmasters.
Have we missed any other hosts that offer free domain registration? Or do you know of other ways to get a free domain? Leave a comment and let us know.
How to Get a Free Domain Name Using Bluehost
Bluehost is easily one of the best places to get a free domain. As well as a domain name, you will also need to host your site online.
These guys are one of the best web hosting providers, which means that you will struggle to find anything else out there that comes close.
When you sign up for hosting your website through Bluehost, you will receive a free domain. This means that you are essentially getting two jobs done at the same time, and the best part is that one of those jobs is completely free.
Let’s take a look at the step-by-step process of obtaining a free domain name with Bluehost.
Visit Bluehost.com
Of course, the first thing that you will need to do is visit the website. When you arrive there, you will see a few options on the menu. Of these options, you will see something that says ‘domains’.
Do not go to this page. If you go this route, then your domain won’t be free. Instead, select the ‘hosting’ menu.
With Bluehost, you can benefit from three different types of web hosting. The first is shared hosting, the second is VPS hosting, and the third is dedicated hosting.
All of these have the benefit of a free domain that will last for one year. We think that for the vast majority of clients out there, shared hosting is your best bet.
This is particularly true if you are trying to develop a website from the ground up, and you are literally starting from scratch.
Other hosting types out there are going to cost you more money, and they will also provide you with resources that are unnecessary at this stage.
Select Your Web Hosting Plan
Now, you need to choose the right hosting plan for your needs. Bluehost has a number of different hosting plans that you can choose from, so let’s check out the varying price points for these packages.
Now we are going to breakdown these packages, so that you get a good idea of the features that come with each one.
Basic
- Allows you to host one website, and it comes with 50 gigabytes of storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free SSL certificate
- 25 subdomains, as well as 5 parked domains
Plus
- Allows you to host an unlimited number of websites, with unlimited storage
- Subdomains, parked domains, and unlimited domains
- Spam professionals
- Free Office 365 for a month
Choice Plus
- Unlimited storage and websites
- Protection of domain privacy
- Robust website backup
Pro
- Unlimited storage and sites
- 2 spam professionals
- High level of performance
- Dedicated IP address
Our recommendation is the basic plan. We think that it is going to be more than enough for the majority of people reading this article right now.
Plus, you can always upgrade to another package further down the road, as you continue to scale your website.
Remember, you will receive a free domain name for a year, regardless of the package that you go for.
Choose Your Domain Name
Once you have selected a hosting plan, you will be taken to the following page.
Here, you’ll have the choice of creating a completely new domain, using one that exists already that you own, or creating one at a later date.
If you already know the domain name that you are looking for, then you can search for it in the search box that you will see on the left side of your screen.
Bluehost offers website domains with the majority of popular extensions, including .site and .com.
For the majority of you out there, we suggest that you use a .com domain. However, there are two reasons why you might want to go for an alternative extension for your domain, and these are availability and price.
Most people in they world of website technology know that using .tech or .site is going to cost them a lot less than using .com. However, this is almost irrelevant, as you are receiving it for free for the first year anyway.
If you take the price out of the equation, .com domains usually do better over time anyway. Another reason why people might consider an alternative to .com as if the domain they are looking for has already been taken.
Instead of using another extension entirely, we suggest that you make the most of the recommendations you will receive below the notification you get that will tell you that that domain name isn’t available.
This way, you can stick to .com, and be a lot closer to your website goal, even if you have had to compromise on a couple of the keywords.
Create Your Account
Once you have chosen a domain name that is available, you will then be asked to create a Bluehost account. As we mentioned previously, you can skip the registration of your domain for now and move directly to this step.
When you eventually register, you will still receive your free domain, so there’s no rush. When it comes to creating your account, it is about as simple and easy as it gets.
All you need to do is fill out the form that you’ll see on your screen with the standard information.
Again, this is all pretty standard, but this is also a good time for us to remind you that you won’t be able to receive your free domain without creating an account with Bluehost, so this is definitely a step that you won’t want to skip.
Decide on Your Billing Terms
Now that you have registered with them, it is time to choose your plan. Bluehost offers a number of different terms when it comes to their contracts, and they start at 12 months, and go up to 24 months, and then 36 months.
Of course, how much you pay for the plan depends on how long you plan on being signed up for it.
The basic 12-month plan is going to cost you $5.95 a month, the basic 24-month plan is going to cost you $4.95 per month, and the basic 36-month plan is going to cost you $3.95 per month.
Just keep in mind that these rates are only applicable to your first contract. Once your contract renews, it will be a little bit more.
As you can see, you will get the best rate with the 36-month contract, but the only downside to this is that you are required to pay most of it upfront when you first register. This means that it all comes down to personal preference.
Of course, some people would rather pay gradually, and then others would rather pay more upfront so that they can avoid being committed to a long-term contract.
Pick Your Add-Ons
Before you finalize your Bluehost contract and enter your payment details, there will be a handful of extra features that you might want to think about.
We highly recommend that you go for domain protection and privacy. Without this, your personal information is going to be listed on a public database, and there’s no telling what it could end up being used for.
Of course, when we say personal information, this means email address, mailing address, phone number, and name.
This means that anyone that comes along with ill intentions can use it maliciously, but when you have domain protection and privacy, all of your information is hidden from public view.
Keep in mind that all other add-on features are completely optional. Bluehost does come with daily backup options, but don’t feel pressured to do anything right now.
Another popular feature is a security feature that covers blacklist monitoring, malware protection and file-level scanning. Again, you can get all of these added layers of security at a later time, so don’t feel pressured to sign up for anything right now.
Of course, the final step is going to be entering your payment details. You can either pay with PayPal, Visa, American Express, or MasterCard. Once you agree to their terms of service, they will switch your hosting account up, and you will receive your free domain name for a year.
One thing that we love about this particular company is that they come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
This means that you will receive a full refund on your hosting costs, if things happen in this time and you change your mind about your domain.
FAQs
How Do I Receive a Free Email with My Domain Name?
Bluehost, among other popular free domain websites out there, offers clients a free email account with a matching email address and we think that these guys offer the best deal, which includes free business email addresses with their low plan of only $2.95 a month.
It also offers clients a lot of money-saving extras, including a free domain name, as well as free SSL certification.
How Can I Get a Free Website?
There are a number of other ways to get a free website as well, including WordPress and we think that to be honest if you are trying to build a professional business website, WordPress is going to be the best solution.
Not only is it free to use, but it lets you connect a custom domain, with third-party web hosting.
There are also free subdomains out there like Wix that can help you create your website, and the best part is that you won’t have to pay anything for your domain.
However, they are going to put their website name at the end of your URL, which is just the price you pay for a free domain. Of course, this option isn’t ideal, because no credible website has a domain like this.
The only time that we recommend this method to get a free domain as if you are just playing around with free features when it comes to the website builder.
But when it comes to long-term development and strategy for your website, we don’t think that this is a good choice. This is because you want your domain name to be memorable and short.
When you use a sub-domain, you don’t get the benefit of either of these things. You just get another generic domain, that includes a bunch of letters that your potential clients have to try and remember.
It also shows people that you aren’t willing to invest any money into your website, so they aren’t going to be motivated to go and visit.
If you are running a personal website, or a small blog, then you can use the sub-domain, but in general we don’t suggest it.
Pay for a Site Builder Plan
Of course, you do have the option of bumping up to a premium package with any of the companies that we have talked about already, but this is of course going to cost you a lot more than free.
The other catch with this is that it’s only free for the first year. For some people, this might not seem worthwhile.
Shelling out for a premium site-builder plan is only worth it if you are setting up an Ecommerce website, or another kind of website that is going to require advanced features at some point that you plan on doing really well with.
If you are prepared to pay premium right now, and you aren’t worried about how much about it’s going to cost in the long run, then we just suggest that you think about what the renewal rates are going to be.
As you saw from Bluehost, while the first year might give you a good deal, it could actually end up costing you quite a bit in the long run.
At the end of the day, you don’t want to get stuck with a deal you want to get out of that is going to totally eradicate your savings for the first year and end up ultimately being more expensive than your budget allows for.
Can I Get Free Domain Name Registration without Hosting?
In short, no.
There are real costs involved in handling a domain registration for any company so the only way they can offset the cost for consumers is to bundle the registration with the purchase of some other product, usually hosting.
Many domain registries will run periodic sales and offer very cheap domain registrations, I’ve seen them as low as $4.99, but these are usually just for the first year and regular pricing kicks in on renewal.
If you see a “free” domain name registration without being charged for anything at all – it’s either a scam or there will be hidden methods involved in recuperating their costs.
Save yourself the hassle and get yourself a free domain name with some superb hosting.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately as you can see, we think that Bluehost is the best way to get a free domain name. All you have to do is sign up for their web hosting plan, and you will receive a free domain name that is going to last you for a year.
We have discussed other ways that you can avoid paying for a domain name, and one of these is using a free sub-domain. However, we don’t really suggest an option like this, for the reasons that we’ve discussed above.
We also don’t suggest going for a company that claims to offer really good deals but doesn’t seem to offer the kind of long-term plan that is going to sustain your website over a long time.
The long and short of it is that you need to check out Bluehost, or any of the others that we have briefly covered above so that you can make the best choices for your website right now, and have it pay off in the long run.
