In this guide, we cover 6 different ways toget a free domain name , to avoid some of the costs of starting your blog. If you want to avoid as much upfront cost as possible, let's talk about what you can get for free from hosting companies.
Blogging is a great way to start making money, but it's not without cost, which brings us to today's topic: how to get a free domain name . If you want Create a blog and avoid as many upfront costs as possible, you might be wondering what you can get for free.
It makes sense to keep your expenses minimal in the beginning. You may not need to invest a lot of money until you know if it's something you really enjoy or if you can make money doing it.
The good news is that you can start a blog without huge upfront capital, and you can choose to add more expenses as your blog starts to thrive.
Another option is to find ways to avoid costs, such as get a free domain name for your blog .
In this guide, I'll show you 6 different ways to get a free domain name. I'll preface this article by saying that each option has pros and cons. You know the saying “nothing is really free”, and that is also true with a domain name.
In this guide, I'll share what I think is the best option for getting a free domain name, as well as some other options you may need to consider depending on your preferences. blogging goals .
How to Get a Free Domain Name for Your Blog (6 Ways)
What is a domain name and why do you need one?
Before we dive into how you can get a free domain name for your blog, let's first discuss what a domain name is and why it's important for bloggers.
A domain name is the URL that visitors use to find your blog. For example, my domain name here is blogpascher.com .
No one else can use this domain name because it was registered through a domain name registrar.
There are several ways to get a domain name for free, which we will discuss below. In most cases, you pay an annual fee to the domain name registrar to continue to have the rights. If you let your payment expire, then the domain name will become available for someone else to buy. (which would give him the rights to the address).
Choosing a domain name can sometimes be tricky, since many of the ones that come to mind easily may already be taken. That's why it's useful to use a domain name generator to help you find a name.
Get a Free Domain Name with Bluehost (Best Choice)
My number one recommendation for getting a free domain name for your blog is to get it for free through a hosting plan. Bluehost is my top choice for hosting plans.
Ideal for bloggers, Bluehost offers affordable plans, free SSL security, 24/24 support, and a free domain name for the first year. Bluehost is one of the few recommended WordPress hosting plans – they offer 1-click WordPress installation, which makes it easy to get started.
I want to make it very clear here that you will get a free domain name for one year, but you have to pay for the hosting plan to get the domain name. So even if it's free , there is always an expense.
Here's how you can get your free domain name with Bluehost .
1. Sign up for a Bluehost hosting plan
To get your hosting plan, go to Bluehost and click the “ Get Started Now“. From there, select the hosting plan that works best for you. Bluehost offers four plans, but each plan provides a free domain name for the first year.
I recommend the Choice Plus plan because the price includes domain privacy, which protects private information like your name, address, and phone number from public view.
2. Enter your domain name (free)
Once you have chosen your preferred plan, choose your domain name .
If you already have a name in mind, enter it now. If your preferred name is already taken or you haven't decided on your domain name, you can choose to enter it later.
Or, if you want to know if your domain name is available before To start the process with Bluehost, use their domain checker above.
This verification tool lets you know if your domain name (and extension) is available. If it is not available, it will show you something like this:
They will also be able to give you a list of the same domain name with other possible extensions, but I suggest sticking to .com as it is the most common and widely recognized.
3. Create your Bluehost account
After choosing your domain name (or choosing to decide later), the next step is to create your Bluehost account.
Here, Bluehost will ask for your email address, phone number, and address. It is extremely important to enter a real and current email address, as this will be the main means of communication with you in the future.
4. Select your hosting plan
Along with choosing a hosting plan, you also need to agree to a term of validity. Currently, Bluehost offers a 12, 24, and 36 month contract. Each step is a longer commitment, but it's also a cheaper price per month.
The cheapest package is the 36 month plan, which is the one I recommend. You'll pay less overall, and you'll get a lower introductory rate for three years, as opposed to one year with the 12-month plan.
5. Choose your package extras
At this point, you're almost done! Your last step before billing is to select the package extras you want. Of those listed, I recommend choosing Domain Privacy Protection. The rest you can skip.
You will get it for free with the Choice Plus plan. So, if you chose this plan, you won't have to select anything.
As for the other extras, there are plenty of free or inexpensive tools you can use to help you optimize your SEO.
6. Enter billing information
The last step is to enter your billing information. Once you've entered your payment information, remember to agree to Bluehost's Terms of Service.
Now you are done! Congratulations! You have subscribed to an awesome hosting plan. You are now ready to start your new blog, which you can configure, because a Free domain name is provided with your package.
Get a free domain name with Dreamhost (Honourable Mention)
Dreamhost is another hosting plan that I highly recommend. They offer inexpensive plans, they are fast, reliable, and have excellent customer service. Not to mention that Dreamhost offers one of the only real Industry-leading monthly hosting plans that will allow you to pay for your hosting month-to-month as you go.
Another benefit of choosing Dreamhost is that they are carbon neutral, which puts them at the top of the list of hosting companies.Web hosting green.
Like Bluehost, they are also recommended by WordPress and are one of the oldest hosting providers on the internet. When you choose Dreamhost, your domain name is free for the first year, making it one of the best options for getting a free domain name for your blog.
Get a Free Domain Name with a Website Builder (Next Best Pick – Not Recommended)
Another way to get a free domain name is to pay a plan with a blogging website that offers a domain name as part of their plan. A few website builders that include a free domain name with the purchase of one of their premium plans are:
These website builders offer a free domain name, but you'll still pay for a plan to reap the benefits. While this is one way to get a free domain name for your blog, it's not the one I would choose for beginner bloggers or experienced.
Website builders certainly have their advantages: they're easy to use, everything is included, and no coding experience is necessary. Many bloggers choose Wix or WordPress.com so they don't have to deal with backend work.
The appeal of website builders is obvious, but I wouldn't personally recommend them over WordPress.org. In case you are unfamiliar, there are two versions of WordPress.
WordPress.com is a hosting service that uses the wordpress software to create a blog or website. WordPress.org is a free CMS that powers blogs and websites.
Other website builders may be easier to get started than WordPress.org, but they lack the customization and freedom you get with WordPress. WordPress is free and lets you do almost anything you want with your blog.
With thousands of themes and plugins available, you can do exactly what you want with your blog without being held back by a third-party app.
Although WordPress has a bit steeper learning curve than Wix or Squarespace, it's still very accessible to the novice blogger and you won't need to understand coding or difficult technology to get started.
Not only that, but there is a wealth of resources online to help you with any questions you might have when working with WordPress.
Get a free subdomain (Not recommended)
Some website builders offer a completely free version of their software. These free versions are much more limited than their premium counterparts, but they give you the ability to start a blog with no upfront cost.
Some website builders that offer a free version are:
These free website builders also offer a free subdomain with their plans. Getting a free website plan and a free subdomain is a plus, but these plans offer very little compared to premium plans.
You will also have to support their advertising on your site. Additionally, a subdomain places its brand next to your name in the URL. For example, in a typical domain name (not a subdomain), the address should be YourName.com , like here on blogpascher.com.
With a subdomain, it would look more like this:
www.blogpascher.wordpress.com
This makes your URL look less professional overall and makes it harder for people to remember your site address in the future.
Domain Registrar Adware (Bad Option)
Another way to get a free domain name is through adware programs. There are two main ways to get a free domain name this way.
The first is to pay for a domain name by posting ads for a domain name registrar. In exchange for a free domain name, you agree to serve ads on your page.
Another is to display referral ads on your page. You can earn your free domain name by referring other people to their site.
The main reason why I consider this a bad option is the little return you get on these ads. Yes, you save a few bucks, but ad space on your blog is valuable. If you plan to use advertising, it's much more cost effective to choose an ad network that pays more than the $12 a year you would pay to get a domain name.
Use a free domain name registrar (ccTLD services) (Worst option)
In some cases, you may be able to obtain a free domain name through a ccTLD (Country Code Top Level Domain) depending on where you live. When people register for a domain name, they must do so through a registrar.
A top-level domain (TLD) refers to the extension at the end of your website. Mine is .com, but there are many other extensions available such as .org, . Edu ou .net.
There are also country code extensions (cc). You might have seen this when you visited an official government website. For example, here is the French public service website: service-public.fr
You can see that the extension at the end is “.fr” and not “.com”.
Some country code extensions are available for free. This list includes the following extensions:
- .tk – Tokelau
- .ga – Gabon
- .ml – Mali
- .cf – Central African Republic
- .gq – Equatorial Guinea
The purpose of country extensions is to show the geographic location of certain websites. However, since these extensions are offered for free, many websites that use them are not related to these countries in any way.
According to hosting service Ionos by 1&1 :
“The .tk domain ending is a special case when it comes to national domains. More than 30 million websites use this ccTLD, even though the island state of Tokelau, which officially presides over this domain extension, has less than 2 million inhabitants. The mass registration of .tk websites can be attributed to the fact that previously it was completely free to secure an Internet address with this ccTLD. Even now, website owners with a .tk TLD can run their sites without paying a penny for the first 12 months after signing up.
That's why I consider this the worst option on the list. You get a domain name for free, but you'll get an extension that most people won't recognize that will make your website very untrustworthy.
Another reason not to use this free domain name is that people who have used the free extension report that their domain name has been spontaneously deleted. It also runs the risk of ranking lower on a Google search because the extension is less recognizable.
It's not a reliable way to get a domain name, and just not a valid way to save money on a domain name.
Which free domain name option is right for you?
After reading this guide, which option do you think is best for your blogging strategy ?
Do you think you would like to try to get a free domain name through a hosting company, or would you rather run ads on your blog in exchange for a free domain name?
Maybe you'd like to pay the normal price for a domain name and find other ways to save money on your blog.
My top choice for domain name registrar (if you don't get your domain name for free through Bluehost) is Namecheap . They are inexpensive, reliable and very easy to use.
And you? Do you know of any other ways to get a free domain name that isn't on my list?
Do you have any other ways to save money as a blogger?
I look forward to hearing your ideas in the comments section below.
