Regardless if it’s your first website or your 10th, you will always consider if there’s a better domain name search and registration out there. One thing you’ll notice with web hosting providers is that many offer deals like one-year domain registration with the hosting.
Moreover, you can always add new domain names through the web host. Is that the best option though? In this article, we will take a stab at this argument.
What is hosting compared to domain registration?
As stated, you can get the two through the same company, though not necessary since each one is a separate piece of data for your website. When getting web hosting, you’re essentially renting a server space to store your website’s files.
Your domain name, on the other hand, is the address you will use to access your website. However, a different domain registrar can simply point your web address to the server your files are stored in.
This lets you purchase your domain registration and web hosting from different entities and still make them work together.
Now let’s check the pros and cons of using the same provider for your domain name and web host.
Pros of Registering Domains With your Web Host
Here are a couple of reasons you should take advantage of that free one-year domain registration with your hosting package
Simple startup
It’s straightforward to register your domain name with the same company that hosts your website, which is the very reason many hosts offer this service. Benefits include not needing to change nameservers – which is a tricky thing if you’re not tech-savvy. Registering your domain with your host means you don’t need to wait to transfer nameservers and its redirect, meaning your site can go live quicker.
Sheer convenience
Simplicity is convenient, and so is having your site’s data in one place. Registering your domain name through your host means there’s only one account you need to access and use login credentials – no need to remember multiple passwords for different accounts.
From purely personal experience, it is much easier to have all domains and hosting information in one place.
Cons of Registering Domains With your Web Host
In all honesty, I never really thought there would be cons if you store all of your website data in one place. It’s easy and convenient. However, there’s a fair amount of argument here as well.
It’s harder to transfer your domain
Let’s say you hate the host you signed up with, but want your domain name to stay with you. If it’s registered with that host, you’ll undergo a time-consuming process of domain name transfer before you can leave your web host.
Your web host may own your domain
Some hosts will sneakily register the domain name on their own instead of yours when you buy a web hosting package. The package includes rental of the server space with the domain name but not the actual ownership of the domain.
This is not something you need to worry about if you’re signing with a reputable company. Just ensure that you read the terms and conditions of any web host you’re planning to sign on with to avoid this dilemma.
So, which are you choosing?
Now that you know a fair bit about domain name registrations and hosting providers, you can make a smarter choice. But before anything else, you need to accomplish domain name search, which is offered by many web-hosting providers, making it easy to find, register, and host the domain name you want.
Let us know if you’ll choose to register your domain name through your web host or not in the comments below!