Creating your website – Domain.com | Blog https://www.domain.com/blog Wed, 12 Apr 2023 12:50:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.5.3 https://www.domain.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/favicon.png Creating your website – Domain.com | Blog https://www.domain.com/blog 32 32 10 Things to Consider When Planning a Website https://www.domain.com/blog/planning-your-website/ https://www.domain.com/blog/planning-your-website/#respond Tue, 21 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=4405 Continue Reading]]> Ready to put your domain name to use and create a website? Great!

Before you start building a site, you need a plan. When creating your plan, think about your purpose and goals in creating a website. Your purpose and goals will influence your site requirements, which in turn, influence your site design and build. Below, we list 10 things to keep in mind when creating your site plan and requirements list.

10 Things to Keep in Mind When Planning Your Site

  1. Be honest with yourself.
    1. Do you have the time and expertise needed to create the site you envision? There are Website Builders you can use to create a site quickly, but if you need a custom-built site, consider hiring an expert.
  2. How many pages will your site need?
    1. Sit down and map out the user experience you hope to achieve. Not all websites need 20+ web pages. If you’re creating an online store, you’ll need things like product landing pages and a Terms of Service page. If your purpose is to create a single landing page in an attempt to sell the domain name attached to it, you won’t need a complex multi-page site.
  3. Site storage.
    1. Your content needs a repository. Make sure you have enough bandwidth for your current needs and for growth.
  4. Details are your friend.
    1. Think about all the ways you want a visitor to interact with your site. Do they need the option to email you or contact forms to fill out? Will you require product listings or transaction tools? Will you provide a map for people to find your physical location?
  5. Plan for a comprehensive online presence.
    1. Your website should have links or integrations to your social media accounts. If you can, include reviews and other types of social proof as well.
  6. Optimize for the device type.
    1. Not everyone navigates the web from their desktop. Make sure your site is built to look good across mobile devices, too.
  7. Security, security, security.
    1. Plan on purchasing SSL and Sitelock to give your visitors peace of mind. A quick way to guarantee poor site traffic is to offer no protection to site visitors.
  8. Build with SEO in mind.
    1. Good SEO gets your site and content discovered in the SERPs. Make sure your strategy is comprehensive and addresses on-page, off-page, and technical SEO elements.
  9. Measure success.
    1. Determine what KPIs you’ll use to measure the success of your site. Will it be by time spent on the page, overall traffic, conversions, or something else entirely? You’ll never know if you’re reaching your goals if you can’t measure performance.
  10. Plan for the future.
    1. Where do you see your online business or blog in 1 year? How about 5 years from now? Are you doing what you need to now so that you can succeed then?

Ready to build a website?

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I Bought a Domain Name… Now What? https://www.domain.com/blog/after-buying-domain-name-2/ Mon, 20 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=4401 Continue Reading]]> Every domain name holds a wealth of potential. How that potential is realized is up to you.

If you’ve registered a domain name only to find yourself asking, “Now what?” then this is the right blog post for you.

After reading this blog post, you’ll gain a greater understanding of all that can be done with a domain. We’ll start by talking about domains, about naming, as examples of linguistic design. From there, we’ll discuss how to best leverage the name you’ve registered according to your personal, business, or brand needs.

Here’s more detailed information on what we’ll be covering in this blog post:

  • What’s in a domain name?
  • Practical next steps for any domain owner.
  • Creating a website or blog.
  • Reselling domains and the domain aftermarket.

What’s in a name?

A quick online search turns up lots of advice on choosing domain names, “Make it short! Relevant! Catchy! Memorable!”

And while that’s great advice… it doesn’t help you think about your domain in the larger context of your business.

Did you know that your domain name affects not just how people perceive your brand but how you should go about marketing it?

You see, domain names generally fall into one of two categories: Discoverable or Brandable.

Discoverable domain names are “real world” names. They’re descriptive and made up of dictionary terms, often including generic keywords someone would type into an online search. That means someone who isn’t familiar with your brand could still land on your site if they’re searching for related keywords or topics; this is called “type-in” traffic.

Brandable names are not made up of dictionary terms. Instead, they’re often made up. These domains are designed to relate to the purpose of the brand in an interesting way, usually tapping into people’s associations or experiences. Sometimes, the name is a metaphor or a compound of other words. Since these names aren’t comprised of keywords that could drive type-in traffic, brands built on them need more comprehensive (usually paid) marketing strategies. You’ve got to work a little harder to make the connection between your name and what services you provide in the customer’s mind, but once you’ve done that, your name has the potential to become iconic in your field (hello, Google!)

Think about the type of name you registered: Does it fall into the category of Brandable or Discoverable? Do you have the resources to create a buzz with paid marketing campaigns if it’s the former? Before building a business on your domain, make sure you have a plan for marketing it.

Practical next steps for any domain owner

Now that we’ve talked about domain name types, let’s discuss the practical steps you can take to secure your name and build a strong online presence.

Privacy and protection

First and foremost, make sure your personal information is protected! Certain personal information, like the registrant’s name and email, is collected whenever a domain is registered. That information is made available to the public through ICANN’s WHOIS database. This database allows anyone to search for a domain and find out who owns it. Unfortunately, a lot of bad actors have figured out how to take advantage of the WHOIS database and scrape it to collect personal information.

If you want to protect your personal information from spammers, telemarketers, and bots, then purchase Domain Privacy + Protection. It masks your personal information while still giving you complete control over your domain.

Simplify domain management

Give yourself one less thing to worry about by enabling auto-renew on your domain(s.) If not, you run the risk of losing your domain name when it expires.

Claim your name

No matter what you’re doing with your domain now, you should be laying the groundwork for the future. Do this by creating social media profiles with your name and acquiring a custom, professional email address. Thinking about brand protection now helps avoid headaches in the future. Also, consider registering misspellings and alternate versions of your domain.

Creating a website or blog with your domain

Ready to do more with your domain? Seeing your idea take flight and succeed feels good.

As a starting point, determine your site’s purpose and goals.

Defining the purpose of your website helps illuminate what your requirements will be. For example, if you intend to start a personal blog, you likely won’t need a site equipped with eCommerce capabilities. If you’re launching an online retail business, you’re going to need eCommerce functionality, Terms of Service, and more.

Once you’ve got your requirements listed, you can think about how they affect the design of your site. Will your needs be met with a simple Website Builder? How about an eCommerce Website Builder? Or should you hire a professional to build a site that meets all your requirements?

Reselling domains and the domain aftermarket

Did you purchase your domain with the intent of reselling it?

Well, you’ve entered the world of domaining. Domaining is the industry term for domain speculation.

Domain speculation refers to the practice of identifying, registering, and investing in domain names with the intent of reselling them for a profit.

Is it profitable?

It sure can be! As with all investments, be mindful of risk and carefully consider your opportunities.

How do you choose what domains to register as investments?

Think about what your budget is and the costs of the domains you want. Different domain extensions renew at different price points, so make sure you’ve got the funds to cover the domain registrations and renewals until you sell them.

Is domaining the same as cybersquatting?

Nope! At the heart of the matter is intent.

Legitimate domainers do their research to make sure the domains they acquire aren’t trademarked. Cybersquatters don’t care. They register, traffic in, and use domains in bad faith so that they can profit from others’ trademarks.

How do I advertise my domains for sale?

Good question! You can create simple landing pages for these domains that include your contact information. If you have any other stipulations for the sale, note them where they’re easily seen on the page. You can also list your domains on sites like Namejet.com, a dedicated domain aftermarket service.

Ready to do more with your domain?

We’re excited to see what you do with your domain name and wish you the best of luck with your business! If you need a hand creating a website, designing and implementing SEO strategies, or have any other questions, don’t be a stranger. Our teams are here to help.

Get online with Domain.com

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Personal Branding Guide https://www.domain.com/blog/guide-to-personal-branding/ https://www.domain.com/blog/guide-to-personal-branding/#respond Sat, 18 Jun 2022 08:15:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=4318 Continue Reading]]> Always be on your best behavior.

Growing up, that was a common refrain in my household. How about yours?

Whether or not we realized it at the time, our parents were the first ones to encourage us to be conscious of our personal brands. They reminded us to be cognizant of our behavior and how we presented ourselves in public because of how others might perceive us (and by extension, them.) We’ve been working on our personal brands from tender young ages and didn’t even realize it. But now, as adults, it’s more important than ever that we be intentional in our branding.

Whether you’re applying to university, looking to start a new career, seeking a change in industries, or are all about reinvention — having a well-developed personal brand gives you an advantage.

In this post, we’re examining what a personal brand is, why you should care about yours, how to cultivate your brand, and most importantly, how to leverage it.

What is a personal brand?

Personal brands are akin to business or company brands. They’re comprised of every public-facing facet of yourself, and inversely, what people think of them.

It’s that special thing that makes you, you. It helps others interpret what you do and why. But most of all, it’s authentic. Personal brands can’t succeed when they’re based on lies and make-believe.

Don’t believe us? “88% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support (with 50% saying it’s very important),” according to data from Stackla.

“But why does that matter to my personal brand?” you might ask.

Because in this scenario, you are the product and the consumer is anyone who could potentially interact with you — future classmates, business partners, even life partners.

No one likes to think of themselves as a commodity, but sometimes in life, you have to help someone buy into you over the other guy (e.g. when there are limited spots in a program or just a handful of open roles in your field). A personal brand gives you that edge; without a doubt, it’s the best tool you have in your marketing arsenal.

Now, let’s not confuse personal brand with reputation: these terms are not synonymous.

Your reputation precedes you, but your personal brand is what you craft and how you present yourself to the world. It’s your website, your social media, the name you go by — it’s everything about you. Your brand is intentionally designed by you, not by the words of others as is your reputation.

Why is it important to have a personal brand?

Humans aren’t solitary creatures. No matter what, you have to work with others and live amongst them, even in this era of digital dominance where you can work and school from home.

Our communal lives may be online more than in-person nowadays, but that only makes it more important for you to cultivate your brand. If someone can’t meet you in person — what do you want them to think about you? How do you want an online interaction with you or site to leave them feeling? Excited? Intrigued to learn more about you? Or, if you have no digital presence, perhaps you’re giving them nothing to think about at all. Out of sight out of mind, as the saying goes.

Having a deliberately crafted personal brand is even more vital for those who want a life in the public eye, like influencers, politicians, or business leaders. If you need to win people over, or simply want to grow your community, it’s best to do it genuinely by showing others the best aspects of yourself. Your personal brand does just that.

Ready to start working on yours? How you build your brand depends largely upon your goal: Is it to land that gig? Enter a new field of work? Land a major investment? It’s an insightful process, and we’ll walk you through it.

As you begin, remember that you aren’t locked into a personal brand. The most authentic aspects of yourself that you’d like to share with others at 20 years old will be vastly different at 40. As you evolve and change as person, so should your brand. It will always remain a reflection of yourself — like a polished, digital reflection — but it should never be left to stagnate.   

Our smart website builder gets your personal brand online quickly and easily.

Creating a personal brand

Crafting your brand is an enlightening process. You’ll learn to see yourself through different eyes, and how others perceive you, in the process. No matter what, keep authenticity at the forefront of this endeavor.

Start building your brand with the following fundamental exercises.

Discover your drive

Begin by asking yourself these questions:

  • What motivates you to wake up and get out of bed each day?
  • What skills and talents are you most proud of?
  • What have you had to work hardest to achieve?
  • What skills would you still like to develop that you don’t already have?
  • What are your natural interests?
  • What doesn’t appeal to you at all?
  • How do you want others to remember you?
  • What do you want others to say about you when you leave the room?
  • Who do you admire? Why?

Understanding what drives you as a human is the first step to developing your personal brand. You can’t communicate what and who you are to others if you’re iffy on the details yourself.

Without insight into what guides you, the way you present yourself may seem erratic and unmoored. Good branding is more than just a great logo. It needs a solid foundation built with brand strategy in mind, or else you’ll fail.

Be honest with yourself when answering these questions. Once you understand where you’re coming from, where you stand, and what areas need some work, it’s time to talk about goals.

Drafting SMART goals

Not all goals are created equal. Some are large, irrelevant, and nebulous. Others are specific, achievable, and time-bound. The latter are SMART goals.

Here’s what that stands for:

  • S: Specific
    • This part addresses all the Ws — who, what, when, where, and why.
  • M: Measurable
    • How do you know when you’ve reached your goal? How is that success going to be measured?
  • A: Attainable
    • Example: No one can lose 50 pounds in a week. Make sure you aren’t setting yourself up for failure by setting a ridiculously unattainable goal.
  • R: Relevant
    • Sure, being one of the first humans on Mars would be nice. But unless you’re Elon Musk, how is this goal relevant to you?
  • T: Time-bound
    • You have to start somewhere and decide where the “finish line” is. This doesn’t necessarily mean you stop working on your goal when you reach that point. Instead, think of it as a pause where you stop to take stock of your performance before re-calibrating and picking up where you left off in pursuit of your goal, truly finishing only when you’ve accomplished it.

What does a SMART goal look like in practice? Let’s say that I’m working on my personal brand to become a well-recognized influencer and earn the trust of larger businesses and corporations that I’d like to partner with. Instead of creating a vague and intimidating goal of “Increase my social media followers,” I’m going to design a SMART goal. It looks something like this, “I’m going to increase my connections on LinkedIn by 25% in the next 3 months by actively engaging in conversations in groups relevant to my field of work.” All of a sudden, I know what I’m working toward and how to do it, and I can pause in 3 months’ time to evaluate my performance.

Define the tangible aspects of your brand

When you think of a quintessential American burger chain, do the golden arches come to mind? Or is it the bejeweled crown? Maybe a bright orange W with stripes behind it?

Well-known brands have recognizable aspects and features that we almost instantaneously recall when we think of them or hear their name in passing.

When someone thinks of you, what part of your brand comes to mind? Is it your winsome smile or cunning charm? Is there a visual aspect to your brand that someone can conjure up in their mind’s eye? If there isn’t, start thinking about how to change that.

We recommend coming up with your own personal brand guidelines. You can decide on an aesthetic, create cohesive social media profiles designed to support it, decide on a (domain) name, and bring it all together with a website, your digital home. You can check out our guide to branding here to learn about deciding on-brand colors, logos, typography, and more, and view this checklist to make sure you’re covering all your bases in terms of visual and website design.

Going public with your personal brand

There’s no point in working on your personal brand if you plan on being a hermit. It’s meant to be seen and shared with others.

And it isn’t just how you want the world to see you, it’s also a practical leg-up over the competition in everyday life. Why should someone trust your recommendation over another person’s? Why should you be given that spot on the team instead of someone else? How do you ensure you’ll land that job? What happens when a potential employer googles you they find nothing worthwhile?

The best way to ensure control over your brand online is by creating your own website. Decide on a domain name that’s reflective of you and build your site to own your digital space. Social media platforms can come and go (like Vine), so you want to make sure you have a solid presence elsewhere.

Personal Branding Additional Resources

Looking for more inspiration and information to build a personal brand? We’ve got you covered. Check out the following resources to craft an intentional personal brand designed to help you achieve your goals.

What are you waiting for? Get started on your brand today!

Build your brand with Domain.com

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Guide to Branding: What is a Brand? https://www.domain.com/blog/what-is-branding/ https://www.domain.com/blog/what-is-branding/#respond Tue, 11 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=4187 Continue Reading]]> No matter what business website, journal, or expert you turn to, they all say the same thing — branding is essential to business success.

Your brand is what makes you and your business unique — if it could be distilled down into something tangible, we’d venture to call it your “special sauce.”

Your brand is a first impression — the first impression that customers and potential clients will have of your business. You don’t get a second chance at a first impression, so make it count.

The good thing is, you don’t have to go at it alone. We’re here to help you understand what it takes to craft the perfect brand and take it to market in our two-part guide to branding.

What Is a Brand?

Your brand comprises many things: It’s your business and website colors, your logo, the products and services you offer, and the way you present your business online. It’s the feeling someone gets when they hear your business or domain name, and it’s what they think of you as they browse your site. And yet, that still doesn’t fully capture what your brand is.

In essence, your brand is the summation of every single touchpoint a person can have with your business and what they think about you. That includes your site, social media, products and services, logos, your business’s mission and values, the way you speak to your audience on your site and in your blog, and how you provide customer service.

You can build and work on elements of your brand to influence it; however, keep in mind that it’s just as much what someone thinks of your business as it is the elements you can control, like your logo and colors. Ultimately, your brand lives and dies in the eyes of the consumer.  

To get a bit more technical, let’s look at how Merriam-Webster defines “Brand.” They say it’s a “class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer, a characteristic or distinctive kind, and a public image, reputation, or identity conceived of as something to be marketed or promoted.”

Why Are Brands Important?

Your brand sets you apart from the competition. When all else is equal, a customer’s brand loyalty is the deciding factor in where and with what business they choose to transact. Jeff Bezos once said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

So, what do you want your customers to say about you? And how can you influence it? Let’s explore different elements of branding that you can work on to craft the perfect brand identity.

Elements of Branding

Your brand isn’t entirely within your control. You see, it’s a living, evolving thing. You set the foundation upon which it grows: Deciding on a domain and business name, your logo, your colors, and your typography. Then, it evolves as people and customers interact with you, get to know your products and what type of service you provide, and when they buy into your mission and values as a business.

Business and Domain Name

Names affect brands, but how?

A good name lends trust and credibility to your business, to your brand. A good name is one of your company’s most valuable assets, and if you don’t believe us, you need only look to one of the largest businesses of our time, Starbucks, to find out why.

Starbucks co-founder, Gordon Bowker, tells us how Starbucks got its name in an interview with The Seattle Times. He says, “We were thinking of all kinds of names and came desperately close to calling it Cargo House, which would have been a terrible, terrible mistake. Terry Heckler [with whom Bowker owned an advertising agency] mentioned in an offhand way that he thought words that begin with ‘st’ were powerful words. I thought about that and I said, yeah, that’s right, so I did a list of ‘st’ words.

Somebody somehow came up with an old mining map of the Cascades and Mount Rainier, and there was an old mining town called Starbo. As soon as I saw Starbo, I, of course, jumped to Melville’s first mate [named Starbuck] in Moby-Dick.”

There you have it — Starbucks was named, in large part, due to the perceived strength of the “st” sound that begins its name.

“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

Jeff bezos

Words can indeed cause people to feel different things depending on the sounds in the word. Christopher Johnson, Ph.D., a verbal branding consultant known as “The Name Inspector,” discusses these sounds or “rhythmic contrasts” in words in his book MICROSTYLE The Art of Writing Little.

Did you know that business names can be thought of as either feminine or masculine depending on the sound or rhythm of the word?  He uses the examples of Chanel, a “feminine brand name”, and Black & Decker, a “masculine brand name”, as explained below.

The name Chanel is an iamb, meaning it consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one (shə-NEHL or chaNEL.) “Iambs tend to sound lighter and softer,” Johnson writes, while “… trochees tend to sound heavier and harder.” Black & Decker is an example of a trochee; those consist of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (BLACK & deck-ER.) He notes that “Most people ‘feel’ this difference even if they find it hard to pinpoint.” Keep in mind that means people will feel a certain way about your business name, probably without realizing it, so put some extra thought into naming your business.

Choosing the right domain name should be part of the process of selecting your business name. Both will support your brand, and for consistency, they should be as similar (if not exact) as possible. Successful businesses in this day and age require having an online presence, so a website (and therefore, domain name) is a must.

Here’s what else you should keep in mind when deciding on the perfect domain name for your brand:

  • Does it pass the radio test?
    • If someone were only to hear your domain name in passing on the radio and never see it written out, could they navigate to it? If the answer is no, consider going back to the drawing board and choosing another name.
  • Avoid unique spelling, punctuation, or excessive numbers.
    • For starters, it won’t pass the radio test. Do you really expect people to remember that instead of the letter “I,” you use the number “1” in your domain name? Or that you have approximately five hyphens and three numbers in your domain? No, you can’t reasonably expect that. And if people can’t remember or spell your domain name, the chances of them getting to your website are slim.
  • Make it memorable.
    • Try to keep your domain name short. The longer it gets, the more chances people have of mistyping and never reaching your site.
  • Buy alternate misspellings of your domain name.
    • This helps in two ways:
      • If there are common misspellings of your domain name, purchase them to ensure you get any traffic from people who mistyped your correct domain.
      • It prevents competitors from purchasing misspellings of your domain name. If your competitor owns those misspelled alternates of your domain, they can redirect traffic from there to their own site.
  • Consider a new domain extension.
    • Is .com really king? It’s well known, and people recognize it, but nowadays, there are thousands of domain extensions that can help you get the perfect domain name.
    • Starting an online store? Try .store. Opening a yoga studio? Try .yoga. There is a domain extension for just about everything, and these TLDs can help add context and memorability to your domain name.

Find the perfect domain today.

Humans are visual creatures, so hook their attention with a good-looking logo.

Why are logos important? Just like with domain names, a good logo is a calling card for your brand. Your logo should be memorable and unique enough that when people see it, they instantly think of your brand and don’t confuse it with another.

There are various types of logos, ranging from strictly visual (think abstract logos like Chase Bank) to mascots (used by many sports teams), emblems (law firms or universities), and lettermarks and wordmarks (like CNN or Google, respectively.)

Domain.com uses a variety of logos, like you see below, to help support our brand. 

Domain.com primary logo.
Domain.com primary logo with tagline.
Domain.com stacked logo.
Domain.com icon logo.

When designing your logo, keep the following tips in mind:

  • Leverage white and empty space. 
    • Your logo doesn’t need to look “busy” to communicate your brand.
  • Rely on your business’s color palette. 
  • Where will your logo be displayed? 
    • You’ll likely need different versions or sizes so that it looks good on your website, in your emails, and on social media. 
  • Relevancy is key. 
    • Your logo is representative of your brand, don’t forget that. 

With Domain.com, it’s easy to create a professional logo to support your brand. All you need is a name, and Domain.com’s LogoMaker will instantly create hundreds of logo options for you to choose from. Then, you can customize everything from colors and fonts to icons and more. 

Sign in to your Domain.com account today and select “Business” at the top of your control panel to leverage the power and design capabilities of LogoMaker. 

Design a logo with LogoMaker.

Color Psychology and Branding

Designing a website can be a lot of fun, especially when you use a tool like WebsiteBuilder, which does all the heavy lifting for you. That gives you more time to focus on the creative aspects, like the color palette your business and site uses. 

Your brand’s color palette can affect the way people interact with you. This is due to color psychology, or “the study of hues as a determinant of human behavior.”

Certain colors lend themselves to specific associations. In Western culture, we say that green is the color of envy and think of blue as relaxing and meditative. The color black, for example, is believed to represent wealth and prosperity in Eastern cultures and is foreboding and threatening in Western cultures. 

Domain.com’s primary color is Carmine Red, as you see below. We chose it to help us create a strong, bold, and energetic brand expression that helps us stand out and build recognition. 

From there, we selected an accompanying functional color palette — one that’s monochromatic and leverages greyscale to add a stark contrast to our primary color. 

Go into your color selection with an idea of what you want those colors to exemplify. For Domain.com, we embrace a minimal and clean color palette to allow for deliberate emphasis on bold visual elements. Our colors are meant to inspire and drive action, to help the Doers out there get more done. 

Font and Branding

A successful brand understands that different fonts send different messages to their audiences. So choose your fonts carefully — no one wants to send the wrong message to their audience accidentally. 

There are hundreds and hundreds of fonts available to you, some you can find for free, and others require purchase. However, most of the fonts you’ll want to use fall into the following categories:

  • Serif
    • Serif fonts are distinctive due to the flourish or decorative stroke at the end of the letters (both horizontally and vertically.) These fonts generally give your site and brand a more formal tone. 
  • Sans 
    • Sans fonts add no serifs, or decorative strokes, to their letters. In fact, in French, “sans” means without. These fonts give off a modern and straightforward vibe. 

Domain.com uses Lato for its branding, choosing it for its flexibility and bold, modern style. 

What are you thinking about using for your brand? Why? Let us know in the comments!

Customer Service, Values, and Branding

A consistent customer experience is at the core of your brand. To put this into perspective, let’s look at Starbucks again to see what they’re doing right. 

Whether or not you’ve had their coffee (and with over 28k locations, we’re betting you have), the odds are good that you’ve heard of Starbucks. How did they get to be so big and such a well-loved brand?

The intelligent minds at Starbucks realized that their brand, their business persona, was in the hands of their customers. Understanding that, they’ve since done everything they can to enhance the public’s perception of them positively. 

Starbucks trained its partners (what they call their employees) to greet you when you walk in the door and know that it should only take 3 minutes from that moment until you get your drink. I don’t know about you, but a cheerful greeting and expedient service are likely to make me think more fondly of a business.

Starbucks provides a consistent experience. You’ll find similar menus across most of their locations, all of which are easily identifiable by the green siren logo. Not to mention, that logo is one of the world’s most recognizable logos. Their locations are comfortable, inviting, and positioned as a “third place” — a place between home and work that’s welcoming and relaxing.

Starbucks’ mission statement is, “To inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” They live this mission in their stores, and it’s reflected in the materials they choose to share on social media. They do such an excellent job of living their mission statement, and so it’s how their customers think of them — it’s the heart of their brand.

What would happen to the Starbucks brand if they decided to double all their prices, increase the wait time for drinks, and hire only surly service workers? Those wouldn’t be changes to the material goods they offer, but changes that affect the customer experience. Their brand would undoubtedly suffer because it lives in the eyes of the consumer.

Have you ever been to the Starbucks website? In our original definition, we said that “Your brand is the summation of every single touchpoint a customer can have with your business and how they think about you.” Websites are customer touchpoints, and Starbucks’ site is designed to reflect their commitment to their mission statement and ease of use.

We understand that you may not have a Starbucks-sized budget to run and market your business, but you can still cop a few of their tactics to grow your brand. Put your customers first, provide a good and consistent experience, and live your mission statement.

A Successful Brand Is a Successful Business

Take the time to focus on building and crafting your brand before launching your business in the market. 

Structural elements like your logo, color palette, and typography and fonts keep your brand consistent and robust. These core pieces work together to make your brand recognizable wherever it appears. 

Once you’ve nailed your structural elements, you can approach your brand’s more flexible and creative elements, like selecting what photography and illustration to use on your site. All of these things help communicate a broader range of emotions, showcase your products, and create clear points of view for your customers. 

Ready to work on your brand and bring your business to life? Domain.com has all the tools you need, so get started today. 

Build your brand with Domain.com.

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Solopreneurs: Use These Tools to Start and Build Your Business https://www.domain.com/blog/online-tools-solopreneurs/ https://www.domain.com/blog/online-tools-solopreneurs/#respond Wed, 20 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=3928 Continue Reading]]> Congratulations on finally deciding to start your own business! 

Now comes the hard part (as if leaving behind the security of your regular job wasn’t hard enough). Along with the thrills of being your own boss comes the burden of having to manage everything on your own. 

Suddenly, you’re a CEO, a designer, a social media manager, a customer service representative, and an office administrator. Throw in client meetings and chasing vendors for payments and you’re cruising toward burnout.

The good news is you don’t have to do it all on your own. With the help of technology, you can take your mind off mundane tasks and get some free time to focus on making your solopreneurial venture profitable and scalable. 

Online Tools for Solopreneurs

Here are some tools you need to make your solo journey a smooth-sailing one.

Create a Website 

First of all, you need a website to create an online presence to help prospective clients or customers find you and connect with you. 

Creating a website doesn’t have to be an expensive affair but it’s definitely one that needs thorough research and attention to detail. Start by thinking about what purpose you want it to serve and then assemble the tools you need to get it up and running.

If you find the prospect of creating a website intimidating, relax. Creating a website is an easy process when you use WebsiteBuilder. To start, answer a few questions and Domain.com’s AI-powered WebsiteBuilder will select the right layout, along with initial images and content for your site. If you’d prefer to work with a professional to create your site, Domain.com can help with that, too. 

Website Hosting

Domain.com offers powerful and reliable hosting plans ranging from your basic hosting to more complex plans for eCommerce and high-volume sites. Additionally, they offer WordPress hosting, which is among the most versatile tools offering various templates for different kinds of websites. 

Domain Name

Next, you will need to register a domain name that people can use to find your website. An ideal domain name is:

  • Similar to your company name so as to strengthen your online branding.
  • Short and simple enough to be memorable and easy to type.
  • Indicative of your industry or nature of business.
  • Creative enough to stand out from competitors.
  • Readily available to use and free of trademark protections.

Consider using new domain extensions that can not only be more affordable but can also make your domain name more meaningful and contextual. For instance, you can use .store for an online store, .tech if you are a coder, programmer, or web designer, .online if you are going to take online classes, or .space if you need an online space to display your art.  

Analytics

You will also need tools to provide data that measures the success of your website in terms of the traffic it is receiving from different sources, conversions, and bounce rates. Google Analytics is a free tool that offers most services that a solopreneurial venture would need, but you can also opt for paid tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush that can provide more complex data such as in-depth competitor analysis and backlink monitoring. 

Task Management and Communication

Being a one-person army is never easy. You need tools that can help you plan and organize your tasks, track workflows, track the amount of time spent on different jobs, and set up reminders. Fortunately, there is no dearth of online tools to help you in this department. Here are some of our favorites.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 offers all the tools you know and love to help you establish and run your business. Need to reinforce your brand with a professional email address that matches your domain name? Microsoft 365 has you covered. They also offer the tools you’re already familiar with, like Outlook, Word, Skype, and more. From cloud-based document management to virtual meeting software, you have everything you need to manage your business when you use Microsoft 365. 

Google Workspace

Stay on top of all your tasks with Google Workspace. Whether you need to stay in touch with your customers and clients or share documents with partners and employees, you can do it all with the tools they offer. And there’s no need to worry about confusing set up, domain verification, or toggling between Domain.com and Gmail. Google Workspace is completely integrated with your Domain.com control panel, allowing instant access so you can get down to business, fast.

Todoist

Todoist offers a host of features for different types of workers from creative professionals to freelancers to techies to business owners. It allows you to list and prioritize tasks and subtasks, segregate them into different categories, and set deadlines and reminders. You can also track your progress through productivity charts and earn points for completing tasks. 

Monday

Monday can easily be integrated with other apps such as Google, Dropbox, and Slack to set up automated workflows and help you save time. It also offers different viewing styles such as kanban, graphs, and charts so you can pick the one that you find easiest to read and understand.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is particularly useful for freelancers as it also provides tools for managing finances, time-tracking, and setting up estimates and timelines for projects. The invoicing tool ensures that you get paid on time while its collaborative project management tool makes it easy for clients to share feedback, so you can be on the same page at all stages of the task.

Accounting and Invoicing

Managing your business accounts can be the most daunting task for solopreneurs, especially if you’re not from a finance background. Hiring a bookkeeper may not be within everyone’s budget. But there are a number of online tools, from simple to complex, that you can use to take the load off your hands and learn a thing or two about accounting. 

Wave

This free software offers simple yet useful money-management solutions, making it ideal for small solo businesses. Its best feature is easy-to-create invoices, but it also helps you visualize your cash flows and stay on top of payments. If you want to manage your credit card payments through the app, it charges you a basic fee of $3-4 per transaction.

Xero

For more complex accounting needs, especially for those pertaining to online stores, Xero offers all of the services that Wave provides along with seamless integration with other apps that can help you automate workflows. Other useful features include inventory tracking, bill payments, bank account connections, tax calculations, financial reporting, and file sharing.

Social Media

As a solopreneur, you may not have a big marketing budget, but you can harness the power of social media to build your brand, connect with your audience and even sell your products. However, managing multiple social media accounts is no mean feat. 

That’s the reason why big companies have teams dedicated purely to social media. Not only do you need to understand the platforms well, but you also need to know your audience behavior, post on multiple accounts, and have the design and writing chops to create beautiful creatives and catchy captions. Sound intimidating? It doesn’t have to be, we’ll explain below. 

Analytics Tools

The best part about using social media platforms is that you can use their native tools (Facebook Ads Manager, Instagram Insights, and Twitter Analytics) for gaining useful target audience insights, such as demographic information, learning when they’re most active, and to discover how they’re engaging with your posts. You can even estimate the reach of your ads based on the cost and the time frame of your posts. 

Social Media Management Tools

Instead of setting up multiple reminders for posting on different accounts, you can use apps such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Buffer to run multiple accounts from a single platform, schedule future posts and receive advanced analytics.

Content Creation Apps

Social media is nothing without stunning visuals, but don’t fret if designing isn’t one of your strong points. You don’t even have to enroll yourself in an online Photoshop or video-editing course (although those skills are always useful in the long run). With the help of apps such as Canva, Wordswag, and VSCO Cam, you can create beautiful content with pictures, text, and other design elements to take your social media game to the next level. 

Start Your Solopreneur Journey Today

Don’t let the burdens of being a solopreneur dissuade you from taking the journey. Armed with the right tools, hard work, and willpower, you can enrich your life with meaningful work that resonates with your passion, reap the benefits of well-deserved rewards, and live life on your own terms. 

Author Bio

Alisha is a Senior Content Marketing & Communication Specialist at Radix, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .STORE and .TECH. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter

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How to Start a Beauty Blog https://www.domain.com/blog/start-beauty-blog/ https://www.domain.com/blog/start-beauty-blog/#respond Wed, 13 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=3905 Continue Reading]]> The barriers to getting online and starting a blog are lower than ever. 

There are millions of published blogs — over 570 million, and that number keeps growing. And nowadays, it’s easy to start a blog with no technical knowledge. 

If you have a passion for beauty, skincare, and appearance, then creating a beauty blog is a great outlet for you. With a blog, you can share your passion with the world, earn income, and potentially make a name for yourself in the industry. 

The beauty business is booming and is anticipated to grow annually at 5.1%. The sooner you get started and make your mark, the better your chances of establishing yourself as an essential part of the industry. 

Today, we’re talking about how to create a beauty blog. From planning, creating, branding, building, marketing, and best practices — we’ve got you covered. 

Keep reading to learn how to start a beauty blog step-by-step. 

Start a Beauty Blog

Beauty blogs are popular and there are quite a few out there you can look to for inspiration before starting your own. 

Why do people start beauty blogs? There are many reasons, but here are some of the common ones:

  • Connect with a wide audience of other beauty aficionados.
  • Provide tutorials on how to achieve the perfect look.
  • Build a brand.
  • Become an authority in the beauty industry.
  • Earn an income doing something you love.
  • Inspire confidence in others.
  • Access to exclusive or limited edition merchandise and samples.

What is your motivation to start a blog? Your reasons and motivations will help inform the type of blog you ultimately create and the audience you target. 

How to Create a Beauty Blog

You wouldn’t build a house without a framework, and the same thing is true for your blog. Now that you’ve had some time to think about your motivations and reasons for starting a blog, it’s time to plan. 

There’s no right way to plan your blog — some prefer good ol’ pencil and paper and others prefer to keep their plans online. If you choose the latter, consider using a tool like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Both offer the ability to create, edit, and track documents from wherever you have an internet connection. Your plans are your blog’s roadmap, so you’ll want to keep a record of them to refer back to and make adjustments as your blog grows. 

What kind of planning is needed to start your beauty blog? Let’s look at what it takes. 

Decide on Your Audience and Niche

We see a lot of first-time bloggers fall into the trap of thinking that they’ll make waves and draw lots of visitors by creating a broadly generic blog that “appeals to everyone.”

But here’s the thing… nothing appeals to everyone. 

If you want to establish a well-known and trusted beauty blog, start small and identify your niche. Doing this allows you to define your target market and create content for your blog that resonates with your readers.

Let’s work on defining your niche. Your niche is “the industry or genre that you specialize in and the types of products or services you offer.” 

Beauty is a great place to start, but it isn’t your final niche. Think of beauty as a large, overarching category comprised of many subgroups. 

Are you an expert on eye makeup? Is your take on beauty inspired by your culture or how you identify?

Representation is important, so for example, your blog could focus on “Indian beauty” or “Trans beauty.” Even those niches could be further refined. Perhaps your beauty blog isn’t about everyday looks and instead focuses on extreme makeup tutorials. The more you narrow your niche, the more your blog will benefit. 

What Are Your Goals?

What do you hope to accomplish with your beauty blog? Take some time to think about your goals and how your blog can support them. 

Want to make revenue? That means you’ll need a hosting plan that offers eCommerce functionality. Just hoping to make connections in the biz? A more basic hosting plan could do the trick. 

At this point, it’s okay to keep your goals high-level. However, as you work on your blog you’ll want to create smaller S.M.A.R.T. goals to keep you on track. 

Building Your Beauty Blog

So, are you ready to turn this blog idea into a reality? 

To create a tangible blog you need two core things:

  1. A Domain Name.
  2. Blog Hosting and Building. 

Domain Names for Your Beauty Blog

Ever heard the saying, “The first impression is the last impression?” Your domain name is the first impression someone will have of your blog, well before they ever land on one of your posts or makeup guides. 

Now, we’re going to hazard a guess and say that, as a beauty aficionado, you understand a thing or two about appearances and impressions. Don’t you want your first one to be good?

With that said, let’s explore some domain name options. 

You really have two choices when it comes to a domain name for your beauty blog:

  1. Purchase and own your domain name. 
    1. Example: yourblog.com or beauty.blog
  2. Use a free subdomain that belongs to a larger business. 
    1. Example: yourblog.othercompanyname.com

Of those two options, which do you think is the better choice for making a good impression? The one that emphasizes your blog and your brand — or the one that advertises for another company in the domain name? 

Obviously, we think the first option is the better choice for anyone looking to establish themselves as an authority in the beauty blogging sphere. 

When you register your domain name, you’re its sole owner for the duration of your registration period. Domain name registrars offer multiple-year registration lengths, and good domain registrars offer a way to auto-renew so you never lose your domain name. 

Getting a free domain name sounds too good to be true… because it is. 

If you run a quick online search for “free blogging platforms” you’ll see a plethora of results. These services are great for the casual blogger who doesn’t intend on growing their blog into their own business or brand. When you create an account with one of these services they offer a free domain name, but be aware that what they’re giving you is really a subdomain. It’ll look something like this: yourblog.bloggingservice.com. 

Why is that an issue? Well, if you want to move your blog to another service, you don’t get to take that domain name with you. That means you’ll have to start from square one all over again. 

And what if you want to monetize your blog by running ads? Most free blogging platforms don’t give you an option to do that or they might give you a small percentage of the profits from the ads that they run on your blog. Doesn’t sound like a fair deal to us. 

Tips to Choose a Domain Name

When it comes to choosing a domain name, you can get as creative with it as you can with your makeup. 

While it’s true that .com is the most popular domain name, it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wide array of available domains. It’s also notoriously difficult to get the .com you want because it’s been around so long that many highly desirable .coms have already been registered. 

So what are these other domains you should consider? For starters, there’s .blog. That one seems pretty straightforward. Is your blog going to focus on tutorials and makeup guides? There’s .academy, .camp, .expert, .guru, and .info, and we’re only just beginning

No matter what domain name you choose, keep the following things in mind:

  • Make it memorable. 
    • Keep it short and don’t get unique with your spelling. 
  • Think about keywords.
    • Your readers will likely find your blog via an online search. Help those search engines know you exist by targeting the keywords your desired audience would use.
  • Pass the radio test. 
    • If someone were to hear your domain name on the radio and never see it written down, could they make it to your blog? Keep the hyphens and irrelevant numbers out of your domain name. 

Your blog is an investment in your future. While searching for the perfect domain name, you might come across some domains that are more expensive than others. Those domains are probably premium domain names. Premium domain names have already been registered, but whoever owns them has made them available for purchase.

Premium domain names are often short, memorable, and keyword-rich, and are perfect for brand-building. While they may cost more upfront, they’ll renew at regular rates, just like the average domain name, and they’ll only grow in value. 

Once you’ve selected your domain name go ahead and register it. There’s no “holding” or “dibs” on domain names — what’s available today may not be available tomorrow. 

Blog Hosting and Building Options

You can build and host your blog without any technical knowledge, we promise! If you want to build your blog by coding it, that’s an option, too. 

WordPress

WordPress is an immensely popular choice for building websites and blogs. It’s a free open-source software that can be used and edited to build your site, and it powers 39.5% of all websites

Depending on your skill level and technical know-how, you can either work directly with the WordPress code to build your site, or you can customize a WordPress theme. WordPress offers a great deal of flexibility and customization options, so even if you use a popular theme, your blog can differentiate itself from the rest. 

At Domain.com, we offer a few different WordPress hosting plans for your beauty blog. 

WP Live

If you’d like in-depth guidance and one-on-one support while working on your WordPress blog, our WP Live plans are the perfect fit. With WP Live, you get unbeatable WordPress help from experts who customize sessions based on your needs. Live screenshares and step-by-step walkthroughs make it easy to follow along and solve issues fast.

And we don’t stop with set-up assistance. When you use WP Live, you’ll receive the following features:

WordPress Hosting Plans

Want to use WordPress but don’t need as much assistance as our WP Live plan offers? We’ve got you covered. 

Domain.com offers two WordPress hosting plans: WP Starter and WP Essential, both of which offer unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage, a customized control panel, and a plethora of pre-installed themes and plugins. 

Our hand-picked selection of popular WordPress themes are sure to start your blog off right. With a multitude of customizable options, you can edit these themes to build a beauty blog that reflects your brand. And to optimize your initial setup, we automatically install and configure your WordPress website with some of the most helpful and widely-used plugins.

WebsiteBuilder

Getting your beauty blog online has never been easier. With Domain.com’s WebsiteBuilder, you can build your blog in minutes. 

How does it work? 

No time to waste wading through hundreds of templates? WebsiteBuilder has you taken care of. Our intelligent technology starts your blog design for you. Answer a few quick questions and our AI-powered builder will select the right layout, including images and initial content, for your site.

There’s no need to fret with code when you use WebsiteBuilder. Its mobile-responsive templates offer built-in design protection to help ensure your blog’s look stays consistent and professional across desktop and mobile devices. 

Did we mention that it’s just fun to use? Our drag-and-drop functionality and image library (over 550,000 images for you to freely use!) make editing enjoyable. Or you can also upload your own images and logos to make your site completely personalized. We’re pretty serious about security though, which is why every WebsiteBuilder plan includes an SSL certificate to ensure your data stays safe. 

And if you want to grow your beauty blog into an eCommerce site where you can sell your own makeup line (dream big, amirite?), WebsiteBuilder is there for you, offering everything you need to scale your online business. 

Beauty Blog Content and Marketing

Once you’ve built your beauty blog, it’ll need some content. 

Content is what engages your audience and keeps them on-site and interacting with you. As a beauty blogger, your content opportunities are as endless as your creativity. 

It’s a best practice to create a content calendar, somewhere you can track all created and upcoming content to help you stick to a schedule. When you post consistently, your readers take note and will come back to your blog time and time again. Search engines are also fond of a regular content cadence or content updates. 

Consider using cloud-based software, like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, to create and maintain your content calendar. This way, you’ll have access to view and edit it wherever you are and can share it with others if need be. 

Beauty Content Ideas

What type of content should you create? 

Blog posts are essential to success, but don’t stop there. Multimedia content is your best friend in such a visually-driven niche. Videos, infographics, GIFs, tutorials, and guides all appeal to your audience. 

Here are some suggestions to spur your imagination:

  • Product Hauls
    • What are you shopping for? Share your latest finds with your audience and give them all the deets — where’d you get it? Why? What does it do?
    • There are many ways to frame your haul, from seasonal hauls to specific-look hauls, your options are endless. 
  • “Get the Look”
    • “Get the Look” type makeup tutorials are immensely popular! How many times have you seen a celebrity or influencer and thought, “I wish I could do my makeup like that,” or “I wonder how they get such clear skin”? If you haven’t, your audience certainly has!
    • Not sure what looks to cover? Engage your audience by asking them and give the people what they want. 
  • Product Reviews
    • Pretty self-explanatory. Buy a product, use it, and review it. 
    • Be helpful above all else. Sure, you can take two seconds to tell someone you did or didn’t like a product, but how does that help them? Tell them the why behind it. Did it make your skin super oily? Did it cause a breakout? Hard to blend? As you provide more information, your audience can make more informed decisions about what they purchase, and they’ll thank you for not wasting their time or money. 
  • “Empties”
    • Okay, so why on earth would you want to share empty and used-up products with your followers? Because there’s no better testament to how much you loved that product! 
  • Recurring features
    • Monthly favorites
    • Weekly steals
    • Recurring features lead to recurring visitors, so give them something to expect and look forward to on a regular basis.

Content Marketing

There’s one thing to always keep in mind when marketing your beauty blog: You are your biggest champion

Want people to share your posts and tutorials? Ask them. Need subscribers? Ask them.

Your beauty blog is only part of your brand. We recommend supporting it with social media accounts where you can share your content, connect with like-minded individuals, and grow a larger audience. You don’t need to have a social media presence on every platform, but make sure you’re present in the channels that your audience uses. Instagram immediately comes to mind as a great option since it’s such a visually-forward platform. 

Pro tip: Your social media handles should match your domain name for branding consistency. 

Email marketing is another great way to keep your audience engaged. Include an email sign-up form on your blog so that you can share new blog posts or recently-published content with your subscribers. 

And last, but certainly not least, focus on your SEO!

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it’s essential if you want to be found via online search engines. Now, it may sound counterintuitive, but SEO isn’t about optimizing search engines. Instead, it’s about optimizing your site so that it performs well in search results. We put together an SEO cheat sheet so you can create perfectly optimized posts, check it out here

Monetize Your Beauty Blog

You’re putting a tremendous amount of thought and hard work into starting a beauty blog — why not make some money from it?

Remember, this isn’t usually possible when using large, “free” blogging services. If you’re hosting your blog and own your domain name, it’ll be a lot easier to monetize your blog.

To start, consider including ads on your blog. You can do this either by working directly with advertisers or by creating an account with Google AdSense

If you choose the former and want to work directly with advertisers, then make it easy for them to contact you. Create an Ads Page on your blog that details important information for advertisers like your site traffic, views, and demographics, and mention what ad spots you have available. Don’t forget to include your contact information. You can then share this page with your desired advertisers while pitching your blog. 

Start Your Beauty Blog Today

Ready to create your beauty blog? We’re excited to see it.

Once you’ve created your blog, drop a link to it in the comments below. We’d love to hear about your process and learn more about your experience. Don’t hesitate to share any tips or tricks you learned along the way, too. 

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How to Start a Fashion Blog https://www.domain.com/blog/start-fashion-blog/ https://www.domain.com/blog/start-fashion-blog/#respond Fri, 08 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=3891 Continue Reading]]> Fashion sense: Some of us have it and some of us don’t.

If you’ve found this post because you’re thinking about starting a fashion blog, we’re betting that you know a thing or two about the art of dressing. Want to share your style and expertise with the world? We support you, and we’re here to help.

Follow along with us as we discuss what it takes to create your fashion blog. We’re starting with how to identify your ideal audience and niche, we’ll talk about branding and owning your content, different website and hosting options for your blog, and dive into marketing and monetization.

Starting a Fashion Blog

We hear a lot of people say that starting a blog or site is intimidating. “I don’t have the technical know-how,” and “I don’t have the time to devote to building a blog,” are two common refrains.

Well, folks, we’re delighted to break it to you: Your blog can be up and running in half an hour. The tricky part is learning how to grow, market, and monetize your blog so that you see a return on your efforts. And we’ll address that, too.

We’re confident that you can launch a successful fashion blog and stand out among the 600 million blogs published online. Use the following tips to craft an exceptional blog.

  • Identify your niche
  • Choose the perfect domain name
  • Select your hosting provider
  • Decide what to include in your blog
  • Create your content and content schedule
  • Market your blog
  • Monetize your blog

Identify Your Niche

Fashion is a broad term that means different things to many people. Someone who’s into a post-punk look might not find a preppy style fashionable and vice versa.

The more you’re able to narrow down your niche, the better your chances are of connecting with the right audience. 

Think of fashion as an umbrella term. Where do you fit in? Are you an expert in grunge? Maybe haute couture? Once you’ve condensed your aesthetic to its core style, look at other blogs similar to what you want to create. 

How is your sense of style different from those bloggers — what makes you stand out? That’s your unique twist and something you can capitalize on to differentiate yourself from your competitors.  

Search engines, especially Google, want to serve people with the best and most helpful result for their inquiries. So, if you’re a cottagecore enthusiast, use that term to describe yourself and your blog. As tempting as it may be to say you have a “country and farm-inspired style” to cast a wider net and get more visitors, it’s a tactic that will end up backfiring when those visitors bounce from your site. And search engines will take note of that, deeming your blog less helpful than others and potentially lowering your position in search results.   

Once you’ve distilled your fashion sense into your core style and identified your unique interpretation you can create targeted content and messaging that appeals to the right audience.

“Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercourse.”

Francis Bacon

Choose the Perfect Domain Name

You’re into fashion, so you know presentation matters.

Think of domain names as a representation of your brand. It’s the first impression someone will have of your blog, before the page loads and they see your stylings. What do you want that impression to be?

If you want to be seen as legitimate, own your domain name. 

Owning your domain name gives you credibility and helps you brand yourself. There are plenty of sites that offer free domain names when you host a blog on their service, but spoiler alert: When your domain name starts with the name of another company, it’s not really yours. 

Your domain name is a brand asset, why use it to advertise for someone else?

The best thing you can do for your blog is to plan for its growth, and your domain name is a small investment in a big future.

It all starts with a great domain.

Here’s how to choose the perfect domain name for your fashion blog:

  • K.I.S.S. – Keep it short & simple.
    • Your fashion might be memorable, but long and convoluted domain names aren’t.
  • Avoid unique spelling, hyphens, and excessive numbers.
    • Your domain name should pass the “radio test.” If someone were to hear your domain name on the radio and never see it written down, could they find your blog?
  • Be descriptive.
    • Your domain name speaks to your blog and what type of content people will find there. A relevant, descriptive domain name can capture your desired audience’s attention.
  • Get creative.
    • Have you heard that .com is the king of domains? It’s an incredibly popular domain extension and likely the one you’re most familiar with. But familiarity doesn’t necessarily equate to “best fit.” If you’re dead set on acquiring a .com domain name, be prepared to invest in it as it may already be registered to someone else.
    • There are thousands of domain names that you can choose from that are relevant to your blog. Some to consider are .blog, .fashion, .style, .clothing, .art, .shop, and .online. You can find hundreds more here.

Select Your Hosting Provider

Once you’ve registered your domain name it’s time to find the right hosting provider for your fashion blog.

With a variety of hosting options available, it can be hard to determine what works best for you. Should you get a free domain and hosting from a blogging service? Do you purchase your own hosting? Here’s what we think of the former option: 

Pros:

  • Free.               

Cons:

  • The domain isn’t yours, you have a subdomain that belongs to the service.
  • Can’t control ads shown on your blog.         
  • No customization beyond a selection of templates.
  • Difficult if not impossible to monetize.

If you’re hoping to monetize your blog and potentially earn a living from it, find a hosting provider and self-host your blog. Many blogging platforms won’t allow you to put ads on your blog; instead, they run ads on your blog and you don’t see a dime of that money. 

Do you really want your hard work lining someone else’s pockets, just to save a few dollars upfront? Let’s look at some self-hosted options.

WordPress Hosting

WordPress hosts about 60 million blogs and is an authority in the blogging sphere, so, naturally, you’d be interested in learning more about it.  

At its core, WordPress is a platform for creating and managing all kinds of websites and blogs. They’re known for providing free, open-source software that can be installed on any hosting platform and entirely customized to suit your needs. It’s a great solution for people of all skill levels because you can either build your blog working directly with the code or by customizing an existing WordPress theme.

Here at Domain.com, we offer two WordPress hosting plans to help get your blog up and running quickly. 

These hosting plans are designed to make blogging easy and come with pre-installed plugins for optimal functionality, curated selections of mobile-friendly themes, and a customized, user-friendly control panel.

And right now, you can even get a free domain name for one year with the purchase of a WordPress hosting plan. For more details and a coupon code, check out our WordPress hosting plans here.

Website Builders

Blog creation doesn’t have to include the whole blood, sweat, and tears thing, so let’s finally do away with this pervasive myth that building a site is difficult.

If you’re short on time or don’t consider yourself technically savvy, website builders are the perfect solution as they’re engineered to be intuitive and user-friendly. You don’t have to worry about code when your builder offers a plethora of customizable features and drag ‘n’ drop functionality.

Whether you plan on creating a simple blog or want to include a store so people can shop your styles, we’ve got you covered. 

Domain.com offers three WebsiteBuilder plans to suit your specific needs.

Begin by answering a few questions about your blog and our AI-powered builder will start your site, including initial images and content, and then customize it to make it truly yours. And don’t worry, our built-in design protection makes sure that your blog always looks professional across different devices.

“Fashion is part of the daily air and it changes all the time, with all the events. You can even see the approaching of a revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes.”

Diana Vreeland

What Pages to Include in Your Fashion Blog 

After settling on your blog’s domain name and where to host it, it’s time to build your fashion blog. As with any project, it’s best to go in with a plan, so let’s discuss the different pages and elements your blog should have.

About Page

Every good blog includes an about page. No need to be bashful, this is where you get to tell your readers all about yourself to build credibility and relationships.

Use this page to tell people about what inspired your style, how you got into fashion, share your values, and let them get to know the person behind the screen. If you want to set expectations about what people will find on your blog, do it here. 

Contact Page

Dreaming about becoming the desired influencer that brands and fashion houses want to work with? Make it easy for them to contact you by including a form that can quickly be filled out. If you choose, you can also include your email address and other contact information. 

Homepage

When people find your blog through search results, they’re likely landing deep in your blog on a post page. But that doesn’t mean you can neglect your homepage. Your homepage should make clear what your blog is all about and support your branding. If you’d like, include some links to your most popular posts on this page.   

404 Page

No one enjoys clicking links only to land on broken pages, but instead of losing your readers when that happens, turn it into an opportunity. By creating a custom 404 page, you can educate your customers on what to do or include a selection of popular posts to keep them engaged and on-site. 

Gallery

If you’re going to start a fashion blog, you need somewhere to showcase your looks. In addition to including your stylings in blog posts, consider creating a gallery where people can quickly find and view your aesthetic. 

Privacy Page

This page exists to inform people about the data you or 3rd parties may collect on your site and how it’s used. There are many free privacy policy page generators online, or you can take a look at privacy pages on other well-established blogs and use them as a guideline. 

eCommerce Shop Page

Want your readers to shop your looks? You can send them to external retailers or keep them on-site by creating an online store. (It’s easier than you might think if you use a website builder and dropshipping model.) This leads us to the next must-have page…

Terms of Service

If you sell goods or services on your blog you’ll need to include a Terms of Service page. Just as with privacy pages, you can find templates to help you craft your Terms of Service. Keep in mind that this is a legal document, so you may want to seek professional legal help in drafting this page. 

Content Pages

Your content pages are the heart and soul of your fashion blog. Here is where you get to share your two cents with the rest of the world, exemplify the ins-and-outs of your aesthetic, and really build relationships with your audience. 

Creating Content and a Content Schedule for Your Blog

It’s time to write another blog post… about what?

Searching for blog topics every time you need to create a post is exhausting — you can spend hours perusing competing blogs or scouring through your blog to find topics to expand upon. 

Add that to the other hats you wear as a blogger: editor, SEO researcher, social media manager, graphic designer, and marketer, and you’re likely to become overwhelmed before the first word hits the page.

The biggest favor you can do for yourself is to sit down and create a content calendar before starting to write any posts.

For a basic calendar, all you’ll need is a list of blog topics and the dates you intend on publishing them. However, we recommend including additional information such as targeted keywords so that you have the information at hand when you’re ready to write.

To make your posts as SEO-friendly as possible, check out our complete guide to blog post SEO below.

Consider including other types of content in addition to blog posts. You can create online quizzes to help your readers determine their personal style, or design infographics explaining how to put together the perfect outfit. Many free online tools can help like Canva

“I firmly believe that with the right footwear one can rule the world.”

Bette Midler

Marketing Your Fashion Blog

What good is a blog without readers?

Marketing and promoting your blog is essential to growing your audience. Here’s what you can do to increase awareness and readership of your blog:

  • Include links to your blog in your social media profiles.
  • Share blog posts on your social channels.
    • Don’t share it just once and expect big results. Test sharing posts at different times of the day and different days of the week to see when your followers are most engaged with your content.
  • Make blog posts easy for your readers to share by including social share buttons.
  • Perform a technical SEO audit
    • Odds are good that most of your readers will find you via an online search. Make sure your website is SEO optimized to give yourself a better chance at ranking high in search results.
  • Create an email newsletter.
    • Keep people coming back to your site by notifying them when new posts go live.

Monetizing Your Blog

Including ads on your blog posts is a great way to earn money from your blog. You can do this by working directly with advertisers or by creating a Google AdSense account.

If you choose to work directly with advertisers, you’ll need an ads page that includes information about your blog (traffic, views, demographics) and that details what ad spots you have available. We advise including your contact information on this page so that advertisers can quickly get ahold of you. 

Ready to launch your fashion blog?

Blogging is a fun hobby with the potential to become so much more. With careful planning, you can grow your fashion blog into a business that helps support your dreams.

Once you’ve launched your blog make sure to share it in the comments below, we’d love to see what you create!

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Top 5 Things to Know When Starting a Website in 2021 https://www.domain.com/blog/top-5-things-to-know-when-starting-a-website-in-2021/ https://www.domain.com/blog/top-5-things-to-know-when-starting-a-website-in-2021/#respond Thu, 05 Nov 2020 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=3711 Continue Reading]]> Let’s state the obvious…

Creating a website today is rather easy.

You have the website building toolkits, hosting services taking care of all the server management, and useful guides and walkthroughs to get things done. All of this information overflow can make your head spin. So, what should you focus on first?

Let’s look at the top 5 things you should know when starting a website this year.

5 Things to Know When Starting a Website in 2021

1. Choose Your Domain Name Wisely

According to Wikipedia, “a domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control within the Internet.”

Keep in mind that your website’s domain name is the first thing that your visitors will see. Pick something that reflects your site’s purpose, that’s easy to remember, and preferably short. If you already have a business name in place, then use that with a combination of a domain extension.

Most domain names consist of two major parts; top-level domain and the second-level domain. For example, on our website Domain.com, the “..com” is the top-level domain, and the “domain” is the second-level domain. The most popular top-level domains, according to Wikipedia, are .com, .net, .org, and .info domains.

You might find that the major top-level domains are unavailable with the second-level domain name that you desire. In this case, try to pick something else that makes sense or make creative use of another top-level domain. Instead of using a .com domain (f.e. ordervegetables.com), you can use an .online domain (f.e. ordervegetables.online).

You can find out which domain names are available for you through our domain name search.

2. Research the Best Website Layout

According to internetlivestats.com, there are over 1.5 billion websites live today. You can guess how hard it is to make your website unique and different from others. It’s also essential to have your site looking modern and up-to-date.

There are ways to build your website as user friendly and conversion oriented as possible. Color psychology, eye movement theory, and top-notch copy, among other things, are all there to assist you in creating a website in 2021. You can find many guides and applications to help you when you start building your site.

Also, make sure your webpage is accessible by the majority of devices. The easiest way to achieve this is by building your webpage in HTML5 markup language. HTML5 supports most of today’s popular devices and browsers, and there are tons of guides and step-by-step tutorials out there. From an HTML5 Periodical Table by Website Setup to a full course from Codecademy where you can Learn HTML.

Before you delve into theories and practices, you should know what your website is going to be about. In other words, what do you want to say to your visitors? What are the most important aspects of it? And what do you want them to do next?

3. SEO Matters

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is making your website relevant, authoritative, and up-to-date in the search engines’ eyes. In simple terms, SEO makes your site attract more visitors.

According to internetlivestats.com, there are over 40,000 Google searches every second. Can you imagine that? And there are more than a few popular search engines out there, although none of them as popular as Google.

There is a lot of competition around keywords that attract the most number of visitors, and nowadays, almost everybody is focusing on SEO. But, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t focus on optimizing either. At the very least, we recommend putting in the effort so that people directly looking for your brand or company can find you.

Of course, you can go further than that and add a bunch of neat tricks and tips that you can find on the Internet. You can start from Google Adwords’ built-in keyword research tool to get a sense of the keywords in your space.

Going further really depends on your budget. You can create your copy and webpages targeting specific keywords, or hire an SEO specialist to help you. However, one thing is clear; in 2021, it doesn’t hurt to know a thing or two about SEO.

4. Get a Fast and Reliable Hosting Service

It’s no secret that your webpage’s loading speed affects your visitors’ bounce rate. A study lead by Google found that if your webpage takes more than 3 seconds to load, then the bounce rate will increase over 50% compared to the loading time of under 3 seconds. That’s huge!

Apart from the speed and uptime, you should also consider different hosting options from shared hosting to dedicated servers. Your hosting choice is very dependent on your budget, potential traffic, and the planned size of your website.

Make sure that your hosting plan supports your ideas for the website; WordPress, advanced databases, root application development, or anything else.

Check out Domain.com’s Shared Hosting plans.

5. Don’t Forget the About Us and Contact Pages

Apart from your homepage, your visitors are most likely going to look at your website’s profile and ways to contact you. Even if your main page contains the same information, these pages help to create trust in your visitors. This holds especially true when you’re a company providing a service or selling goods.

However, don’t overthink it too much and keep them looking professional and on-point. There’s no need to quote the entire history of your company or list every employee’s contact information unless there’s a reason for it.  Usually, some clean copy and a call-to-action will suffice to make these pages work for you.

There are tons of guides and tips out there for building those pages, but make sure you pick out the ones that resonate with your website the most.

Ready to Build Your Website?

That’s it, the top 5 things to focus on first when starting your website. Focus on these tips first, and you’ll have a strong base for your website this year.

What else should we know when building a website in 2021? Let us know in the comments.

Author Bio

Gert is a professional copywriter and mainly works with digital marketing companies in the US and EU. You can reach him on LinkedIn.


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What is Dropshipping? A Beginner’s Guide https://www.domain.com/blog/dropshipping-ecommerce-beginners-guide/ https://www.domain.com/blog/dropshipping-ecommerce-beginners-guide/#respond Mon, 02 Nov 2020 07:00:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=3848 Continue Reading]]> You’ve seen the headlines and heard the reports: Brick-and-mortar businesses are struggling.

2020 wasn’t kind to traditional retail models — malls and main streets have seen declining foot traffic for years, and the Coronavirus pandemic isn’t helping.

So, what’s an aspiring business owner to do?

Luckily, brick-and-mortar isn’t the end-all-be-all of business models. Instead of investing in a physical property, consider taking your small business dreams online.

Today, we’re taking a deep dive into dropshipping. It’s a great way to start your online business both quickly and easily. In fact, with dropshipping, you can start your business for as little as it costs to create and host a website.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the following questions and topics:

  • What is dropshipping?
  • What are the pros and cons of dropshipping?
  • How do I find a dropshipping supplier?
  • How do I determine what products to sell?
  • What kind of website do I need for dropshipping?

What is dropshipping?

As you begin researching how to start an online business, you’ll come across the term “dropshipping.” But what does it mean?

Dropshipping is “a streamlined form of retail business wherein the seller accepts customer orders but does not keep goods sold in stock.” That may seem a bit confusing at first… how are you supposed to sell products when you don’t have any inventory? Is it a scam?

Hardly.

The dropshipping eCommerce model takes the fulfillment of customer orders out of your hands. Instead of paying for an inventory that may not sell and the storage fees to house it all, you’ll get your customers’ orders fulfilled at the source. This is usually done by a wholesaler, manufacturer, or 3rd party vendor (i.e. – “dropshippers”), who’ll manage packaging and shipping the product to the customer. 

Dropshipping example

Renata is a makeup artist living in New York City. She wants to grow her career in her industry. In addition to teaching people how to enhance their natural beauty, she wants to provide them with the makeup and tools they need. As she researches how to start a business, she realizes she has a big problem. Where is she supposed to store all the goods in her 300 square foot apartment? Property is expensive in the city, and she can’t afford to take out a new lease for storage space.

Enter dropshipping. All Renata needs is an eCommerce website where she can adopt a dropshipping model. She selects the products she wants to sell, and every time someone orders makeup or tools from her site she passes that order along to the dropshipper. They then package and ship the item to the original customer. In this scenario, Renata never touches the product (and this process doesn’t have to be disclosed to the end buyer, so they’ll be none the wiser.)

The pros and cons of dropshipping.

Dropshipping, as convenient as it may be, isn’t for everyone. If you’re trying to determine the best eCommerce model for your online business, consider the following pros and cons. 

The benefits of dropshipping.

  • There’s a low barrier to entry — all you really need is a website.
  • When you choose to pursue dropshipping, you’re freeing yourself from the worries and obligations of manufacturing, inventory, fulfillment, leasing space, and staffing, thereby saving yourself from those substantial expenses.
  • You have a greater ability to test products in the market. Since you aren’t buying products in bulk to store and sell, you can quickly adapt and change your offerings depending on market interests. If something isn’t selling, switch it out!
  • It’s almost like having a passive income stream. In a traditional retail model, you’re responsible for every aspect of the transaction. With dropshipping, you can focus on other aspects of your business, like marketing, while customers shop your site and a 3rd party fulfills it.
  • Work from anywhere when you dropship. Want to work from the comfort of your couch? Go for it. Prefer a typical office environment? You can do that, too. Like working from exotic locations? That’s doable as well. You can be anywhere in the world and rest assured that your products are reaching your customers.
  • No issues with logistics. Worried about having too much inventory to move? Or not enough in stock to meet demand? You don’t have to worry when you dropship — these issues are all taken care of on your behalf.
  • You only pay when your customer does. With dropshipping, you only pay for products that your customer has already ordered and paid for, so you’re not losing money on stuff that doesn’t sell. 

The cons of dropshipping.

  • There’s a low barrier to entry — all you really need is a website. This looks familiar, we know because we also listed this as a “pro” for dropshipping. Since the barrier to entry is so low, many people can start a dropshipping eCommerce business. If you’re using the same dropshippers and selling the same goods as everyone else, it’ll be difficult to stand out and succeed.
  • There can be quality issues. Take this “con” with a grain of salt. If you don’t do your research and choose a poor dropshipper with a less-than-stellar reputation, you’re likely to have issues with your products. This issue can be avoided by researching your suppliers before entering into any agreements with them.
  • Your products can change, and you’ll be none the wiser. Your supplier may decide to start using cheaper materials to craft products, or different packaging materials, and you’re likely not to know about it until a customer complains or asks about the change.
  • You bear the brunt of customer returns. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to handle customer complaints and product issues. If someone decides to return a product, they aren’t sending it back to the dropshipper, they send it back to you. You’ll be responsible for providing any refunds unless you have a no-refund policy (n.b. — that might not sit well with potential customers.)
  • Shipping times can be lengthy. Amazon Prime, Instacart, and many other services offer near-immediate gratification with super fast shipping. Consumers understand that they may not get the same lightning fast shipping with a small business, but if your dropshipper is located on the other side of the world it can take weeks for products to arrive. Either choose a dropshipper with faster shipping times or be very transparent about shipping times prior to purchase. 
  • If you’re selling the same products as everyone else, you may end up paying more for your SEO keywords to try and get a leg up on your competitors. 

How do I find a dropship supplier?

As with most things nowadays, an internet search is a good place to start. If you aren’t finding many options by searching “dropshippers” try going beyond page one of the search results, or expanding your search with other terms like “supplier” or “eCommerce distributor” along with terms relating to the products you’re interested in selling. 

Take time to review the dropshippers you find — have other customers left reviews? If so, do they trend positively or negatively? Find out what their average shipping time is, and always, always read any contracts thoroughly before signing. 

Can’t find what you want on the Internet? Don’t fret — just contact the manufacturer of your desired goods directly. Those manufacturers can provide you with information on their vendors and dropshippers, and perhaps even set up a connection. And then there’s always the possibility that they’ll work directly with you, so don’t hesitate to ask!

If you really want to make sure you’re choosing a reliable manufacturer and dropshipper, consider ordering some of your potential products for yourself and testing them out.

What kind of products should I sell on my eCommerce site? 

Want to know what kind of products you should be selling on your eCommerce website? Well, it depends on your market and more specifically, your niche

You aren’t going to succeed trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. Amazon and Walmart already exist, and as a small business owner, it’ll be hard to compete. 

Do your research instead of allowing your personal passions and interests to dictate your products. What does your ideal customer look like? By targeting a niche and understanding their spending habits, along with other demographics, you can cater the perfect selection of products to entice them into purchasing from your site. 

Another big thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t be thinking in terms of your own pocketbook. Just because something may seem a little too expensive for you, doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there willing to pay that amount. This is why market research is vitally important to your success. 

Need some ideas to start identifying products you can sell? Take a look at the following suggestions. 

  • Items geared toward hobbyists. 
    • Hobbyists and side-hustlers are booming right now, and there are many who’d pay a pretty penny for a desirable item in their niche. 
  • Clothing and accessories. 
    • People purchase clothing at unprecedented rates. If you’ve got an eye for style and trends, and know your market, this can be a lucrative path to follow. 
  • Repeat purchases or subscriber products. 
    • What’s better than making a sale? Making multiple recurring sales. If you sell subscription products or products that need to be replaced often, you’re in a good position. 

What kind of website do I need for dropshipping?

Wondering what kind of website you need so that you can start your business? You’ve come to the right place, we’re experts on websites (and domains, obviously.)

When creating your website, you need to build it with the future in mind. If your thought process is something along the lines of, “I don’t have any customers yet, I’m going to get the most basic thing I can find,” then you’re not planning for your business growth or your future. 

If cost and pricing worry you, they shouldn’t. You can create great websites for less than the price of a couple of coffees. 

Here are things to consider when planning and creating your website:

  • What is my domain name going to be? 
    • Your domain name is like the digital address for your site, and oftentimes the first impression someone has of your site. 
    • A good domain name is short, memorable, and relevant. Too many hyphens and random numbers, and no one will remember it meaning they won’t get to your site. 
    • Maybe you’ve heard that .com is king, but that isn’t necessarily true. A key tenant of a good domain name is relevance, so perhaps consider a .store or .shop for your eCommerce site. 
  • Can you sell products with the plan you select?
    • Not all quick website creation plans offer the ability to sell goods and services online. Make sure yours does. 
  • Hosting and bandwidth. 
    • As your website grows and gains more online traffic, you want to make sure everyone visiting your site has a good experience. If you don’t have great hosting or enough bandwidth for your visitors, it can make for a poor experience. (Think slow-loading pages and pages timing out.)
  • Do I want to create it myself or hire someone?
    • At Domain.com, we offer a smart WebsiteBuilder that helps you get online with ease. Answer a few quick questions and our AI-powered builder will select the right layout (including images and initial content!) for your site. Don’t waste your precious time wading through tons of templates — let us help. 
      • It is important to compare the features and select the plan that best fits your needs, however for anyone intending to create an online store, the eCommerce Plan is going to be ideal. Not only does it include everything needed to sell goods, services, or even downloads of digital goods online, but also priority support to help ensure any issue you experience is resolved as quickly as possible.
    • Would you rather someone help you through the process of creating your website so you can focus on other aspects of your eCommerce dropshipping business? We can do that, too. Our experts can build you a beautiful site from start to finish, provide a strategic marketing plan that’s tailored to your needs, and teach you how to manage your site for long-term success. 

Ready to launch your eCommerce business?

We’re excited for you! We hope you’ve found this guide to dropshipping helpful, and let us know in the comments below if you have any questions. We’d also love to hear about what has and hasn’t worked for your eCommerce site so we can all learn from it. 

We wish you the best of luck and let us know if you need any help with creating your site — we’re here to help!

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Why a Premium Domain Name Makes Sense for Your Business https://www.domain.com/blog/why-a-premium-domain-name-makes-sense-for-your-business/ https://www.domain.com/blog/why-a-premium-domain-name-makes-sense-for-your-business/#respond Mon, 27 Jul 2020 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.domain.com/blog/?p=3748 Continue Reading]]> The Internet is a busy landscape. As of January 2020, there were more than 1.74 billion live websites.

While every website needs a domain name, not every person who registers a domain name actually builds a site and uses their domain. So, it’s safe to say that there are far more than 1.74 billion registered domain names. 

It’s been over 35 years since the first domain name was registered in March of ‘85, and it’s become harder and harder for people to find the exact domain name they want. Many have already been registered, especially if they’re composed of words found in the dictionary and popular extensions.

So what’s a person to do?

First things first, just because a domain name is already registered doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to be unavailable for your use. There’s a big market of people who buy, sell, and invest in domain names that have already been registered, and more specifically, in premium domains. 

Premium domains have already been registered and are considered valuable — they’re shorter and keyword-rich, and that’s often reflected in their cost. Despite the initial investment, they could end up saving you marketing dollars over time as you won’t need to spend money slinging a second-rate domain name. 

But what other advantages do premium domain names offer? 

The benefits of using a premium domain name for business

Premium domain names give your business an advantage over the competition. Let’s explore how and why that is. 

Branding & Recognition

Branding your business is essential, and there’s a lot to a brand, including your domain name. Consistency is essential to your brand, and that includes having a domain name that speaks to what your business and site are all about. Premium domain names like food.com, cars.com, and vacation.com are all great examples of this, and put your business’s specialty and focus front and center. 

Marketing 

A great premium domain name gives your marketing efforts a boost. Since premium domains are often shorter and contain keywords, they’re easier to remember than a subpar domain name that’s riddled with hyphens and numbers. 

This all works in your favor when it comes to marketing, like word-of-mouth marketing, because your customers will have an easier time recalling your domain and sharing it with others. It also helps people retain and remember your domain name when they see it printed on materials, like business cards or flyers. In the long run, a premium domain name can save you money because people are wont to remember it — you won’t waste funds on constantly getting your mediocre domain name in front of peoples’ faces to try and cajole them into visiting your site. 

Credibility & Authority

In business, credibility is vital. In today’s digital age, a domain name is oftentimes the first interaction someone has with a brand. Your domain name can make or break someone’s first impression of your business and site. 

Let’s set the scenario: You’re looking to buy a new car and want to take out a loan, but you’re not sure who to work with so you hop over to Google and run an online search. Now, you’re going to see a TON of results — but what will you click on — a search result with a domain of loans.com, or a search result with a domain like car-loans1135s.com? 

When it comes to first impressions, premium domain names give you credibility and authority over the competition. 

Website Traffic

Premium domain names are more likely to get you direct, type-in traffic on your website. 

What this means is that people are typing your (short & keyword-friendly) premium domain name into the URL bar to search those keywords instead of using a dedicated search engine. And voila! They land on your site because your premium domain matches their search terms. Direct website traffic is a boon for your business — in fact, direct traffic is known to have high conversion rates

SEO Benefits

SEO can seem mystifying — is it a science? Is it some kind of wizardry? SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of optimizing your website so that it performs better in online search results. 

The whole point of SEO is to make sure that the sites that are most useful and relevant to the end user’s query surface first in the results. 

If your domain name is shorter and key-word rich, like with premium domains, it’s more likely to appear higher in the search results. Now, granted, you have to actually have a relevant website, too. Long gone are the days when just a keyword could grant you top placement. But if you have those keywords in your domain name and have a good website, your SEO potential grows drastically. 

How to purchase a premium domain name

Ready to make an investment in your business and website with a premium domain name?

You’ve come to the right place. You can purchase a premium domain through a domain name search on Domain.com, and we also recommend our sister company, BuyDomains.com, that specializes in premium domains. 

When you purchase a premium domain name you’re investing in so many aspects of your business: marketing, branding, SEO, and more. So what are you waiting for? Get a leg up on your online competition with a premium domain name today

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