Blog Tipz

There is a myth out there that you have to have a domain to get anywhere in the blogosphere. While partially true, you also have to realize that you have more responsibilities when you place the commitment into your own domain. You have to think about renewing or extending the life of your domain, having enough bandwidth (if you are self-hosting your site), and whether your site is optimized for search engines.

The hassles that come with owning a domain may be too great for some bloggers and website owners, so you might want to stick with a domain that isn’t “completely yours.”

1. When building brand loyalty and recognition throughout the web, there are a number of domains that aren’t that short (containing .blogspot or another domain). It all depends on how you market and promote your site.

2. Not everyone can fork over the $10 domain cost plus hosting if you want to go this route. You can make money to recoup the costs, but if you are planning on making no money from your site, there is no reason to purchase a domain.

3. Search engines no longer favor unique domains, but sites that have quality content and can rank better for their ideas, in a sense. You can have a great domain, but horrible content, and you won’t make it as far as a .blogspot.com domain with excellent content and a developed community.

4. If you are a business, a website is critical, but with the plethora of tools now out there for people to find your contact information, it isn’t completely necessary.

5. Having a domain name means that you have to stick with one URL for a year or more. Likewise, you could be spending time creating more content and seeing the direction that your blog is going before you finally settle on one down the road.

6. A domain name makes your business/website look more professional, but if the domain name is inappropriate for your business, it can be more difficult to brand and promote your business than if you didn’t have a domain/website at all.

7. Having a domain name gives you more opportunities when it comes the time to “sell” your site, but in the meantime, you have some risks, although small, that you are presented with. The account that you have registered the domain with could be hacked, meaning you lose the ability to redirect your domain.

8. The number of great domains left is near zero. You can still purchase branded, developed domains, but they’ll cost you greatly. Likely, it’ll be difficult to find a domain that is still easy to remember and type, at least compared to a recognizable brand.blogspot.com blog.

9. Nearly all the features of having your own domain are available with “free” blog platforms and websites. You don’t have to upgrade at a certain time to a domain, and there aren’t a ton of additional benefits when you simply purchase a domain.

10. Finally, although nearly all “professional” bloggers start with a domain, if you don’t want to go the whole pro route, the cost factor can add up. Changing domains, as previously mentioned, can be expensive, especially if you are involved in a long-term approach (just ten domains at $10 each will run into the thousands of dollars within a decade period).

Conclusion

While there are certainly the benefits to purchasing a domain, the cost can be too high for bloggers on a limited budget and those that don’t necessarily need it. You have to weigh out the options before you go to purchase a domain, even if you do have the required extra income to purchase extra domains.