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What is the true cost of Free Domain Names?
The true cost of free domain names is that firstly you do not get a top level domain name that is dot com, dot net, dot org. The second cost is that the domain name that you register is likely to be unmemorable, and difficult to brand. Free domain name providers tend to charge for premium names for example, hosting.abc will cost between US$10 to US$1000.
And quite rightly so free domain name providers are not charities even if they appear to be. A visit to free domain name providers site reveals an enthusiastic attempt to up sell, this may be premium domain names and hosting services.
Before you sign up for a free domain name ask yourself these questions?
We all love a bargain particularly if it is free and it can be difficult to think through hidden costs that you are likely to have when you get a free domain name - like time and reputation exposure these may be hard to put a price tag on.
- How is the provider of the free domain name benefiting? Does the provider insert adverts on your website?
- Does your domain name extension carry the right image? Traditionally top level domain names are widely accepted as authoritative that is, .com. net, .org, .info and country specific domain extensions are expected for a local online presence - anything outside these parameters is treated with suspicion.
- How many other websites are using it? What is the feedback from current users?
- What kind of support is available? Is it via telephone, email or web chat?
- How credible is the company? Who owns it? If the provider of the free domain name went out of business or closed it's service how would that affect you?
Advantages of Free domain names
- No cost to user
- Website design relatively easy as templates used.
- Quick and easy to set up
- Can be used as web redirection
Disadvantages of Free domain names
- Not all domain names may be free, providers may charge for premium domain names.
- Free domain names may be for only free for a limited time.
- Having a free domain name may also means that the server provider will place adverts on your site and you do not get revenue from adverts placed on your site.
- Free domain name registrars may discontinue their services without warning
- Because website design is template based this might limit creativity
- Limited or no support offered
- Users may perceive site as less inferior to its .com and .net counterparts.
- Limited features, for example, you might not get email, spam protection, cpanel
There are essentially two ways of getting a free domain name
- Sign up with a hosting company as they generally will offer free domain registration for the life of the hosting plan.
- Signing up with free domain name provider.
Free domain name registrars
The most well known free domain name registrars are
1. CO.cc
2. DOT.tk
3. FREEDOMAIN.co.nr
CO.cc
.cc is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Cocos Islands, is a territory of Australia.
Features;
CO.CC offers the following services -
- Has more than 4 million registered users
- Free DNS Service like TLD domains
- Free site builder tool.
- Domain Name Redirection and
- Online marketing
DOT.tk
Dot.tk .tk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand located in the South Pacific.
Features;
Dot.tk offers the following services -
- Has more than 15 million registered users
- Dot TK recently provided .tk websites the option to join a network called TiKinet, a close-knit network that links sites to each other based on key words called TiKilinks.
- when you create your free domain name you can "tweet" it to Twitter, and Facebook where you can rename yours and your friends' Facebook account pages with a .tk name.
- Paid domain names start at US$19.90 for the first two years
- Free Domain Name Redirection
Note: Sites not visited at least 25 times in consecutive 90 day periods are automatically cancelled to avoid the domains being unavailable to more active websites.
FREEDOMAIN.co.nr
Dot NR Freedomain.co.nr top level domain name is a ccTLD (country code top level domain) for Republic of Nauru, .NR ccTLD is operated by CenpacNet Inc.
Features;
Freedomain.co.nr offers the following services -
- Free Redirection services or which is also called as Domain Forwarding.
- Service also offers Free URL cloaking or URL masking services along with Path Forwarding.
- There is also a Favicon and Meta Tags support.
- This service requires a button link on your website back to freedomain.co.nr.
All said and done you need to think long and hard before taking a plunge into the world of free domain names. Whilst the domain names may be free on paper they come with an inherent cost which may make it worthwhile to register with traditional registrars.
How to register free domain names
Everyone loves a bargain and a free domain name is no exception.
The big question is can you register a dot com domain name for free?
The straight forward answer is no!
Sorry to burst your bubble. At the time of writing this article there are no domain name registrars offering free top level domain names with 'no strings attached'. You can however register free domain names in extensions that are not very well know.