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Registering your name as a website has many benefits, including protecting your reputation and establishing an online presence.Read more about this popular trend.
Key takeaways:
- Registering your name as a website allows you to maintain control over your digital identity. Having this website makes it possible for you to do many things down the road.
- You can register your legal name, a nickname, or any number of other things.
- It’s often wise to register your name as more than a .com. There are many other top-level domains (TLDs) you can get as well.
Why Is It Important You Register Your Name as a Website?
While each person has a different list of reasons for doing this, the following are some of the most common:
- Prepare for the future: If you ever become famous ― even locally well-known ― it’s best to have control over your name. Registering this domain name now is a simple and affordable way to ensure you always have control over this important piece of your digital identity.
- It’s fun: It can be enjoyable to have your name registered as a website. Whether you decide to blog about your life or put up some basic information, it’s something many people love.
- Protect your reputation: It’s almost inevitable potential employers, business partners, romantic interests, and friends do a Google search on your name. If you have a website with your name as the URL, that will most likely be near the top of the search results. This allows you to control what people find when searching for you.
- Great for search engine optimization (SEO): You can use this site to link to your business website or other important pages, which can help boost the web traffic of those sites.
- Central hub for your activities: You can use this website to share information about the various things you’re involved in. It can be almost an online resume ― you can even have your resume on the page. Listing the businesses you own or work for, clubs you’re involved in, and other things can be helpful.
Registering your name as a website makes sense for various reasons and can provide important benefits in the modern world.
Should you register different versions of your name?
If possible, make sure you own at least your legal name ― first and last. If you use another name, such as Mike, rather than Michael, get that website as well.
Registering multiple versions of your name costs more but gives you much greater control over your digital identity. In addition, when you work with a good domain name registration company, buying several domains is inexpensive.
You can have all the different versions of your name point to the same website as well, so you don’t need to make a separate page for each one.
When Should You Register Your Name as a Website?
If you want to register your name as a website, it’s best to do it as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more likely someone else will buy the domain. This is a typical issue for people with more familiar names.
The benefits of owning the domain of your name are becoming so significant that many new parents are even purchasing their child’s name as a domain when they’re born. This helps to ensure their children always own their name as a website in the future.
How Do You Register Your Name as a Website?
Registering your name as a website is simple and affordable. First, find a reputable domain name registration company. Once there, do a search for your name to see if it’s available as a .com website. If it is, go through its checkout process to purchase the domain.
If you want to buy multiple versions of your name, you can do so all at once and buy it as more than just a .com option. You can purchase your name as a .com, .net, .org, and many others.
Note when you’re buying a domain name, it’s for a set amount of time — typically one to five years — unless you’re getting an unstoppable domain. After that time, you need to renew your purchase to retain ownership.
Where Can You Register Your Name as a Website?
If you want to register your name as a website, find a trusted domain name registration company or hosting company to work with. If you publish a website on your name’s page, you also need a web hosting account setup.
There are hundreds of domain name registration companies from which to choose. You can either register your name as a website through a company that only offers domain name registration. Also, you can usually register it through a top-rated web hosting company.
The easiest way for most people to do this is to find the best web hosting company offering domain name registration services as well. Once you buy your domain, you can publish a simple website to share with the world.
What if Your Name Is Already Taken?
If your name is unavailable as a website, you have several options:
- Add your middle name to the domain if you can’t get your first and last. It’s a longer website name, but that isn’t a big problem.
- Consider getting a domain with your last name followed by your first name rather than vice versa.
- Add a prefix, such as “Mr.” or “Mrs.,” before your name in the website address.
- Register your name with a TLD other than .com. While .com addresses are the most popular, you can consider hundreds of options.
- Consider buying from the existing owner if the current website using your name doesn’t look regularly updated, You can often buy rarely used websites at affordable prices.
- Register a nickname or other variation of your name that people may use. Search engines are good enough to help people find your site when looking for anything similar to your regular name.
FAQs About Registering Your Name as a Website
What do you need to know before registering a domain name?
What are the rules for a valid domain name?
Does it matter where I register my domain name?
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