Buying a website

27 · April 3rd, 2008, 01:39 PM

A friend of mine wants to buy a domain name.
She knows it's possible to lease one for a length of time (e.g. 2 years) but would rather buy it forever and ever. Is this possible?

Also, does she have to pay a fee for every email address she attaches to the website (e.g. info@website.org, sales@website.org etc) or can she add as many as she likes when she owns the domain name.

Much love!

jkrohn · April 3rd, 2008, 02:09 PM

Different registrars have different registration options for domain names. You will have to check with reach registrar to see what lengths they offer. Honestly I wouldn't go for a "life" option. It will probably be quite pricey and not worth it. 10 years ago I paid $45 a year for a domain name. Today like $6.

As far as email addresses go, it depends how she will handle the email. You register an MX record that points to a mailserver configured to receive email for you. If you have your own mailserver then it is obviously free to add more addresses. If you are using your hosting company then you would have to check with them.

Google/Gmail will do it for you as well for free, but I don't know how many addresses you get.

Jkrohn

27 · April 3rd, 2008, 02:46 PM

If she were to lease the site, would she get the option of renewing the lease before some other rats got their greasy paws on it.

jkrohn · April 3rd, 2008, 03:04 PM

You can extend the renewal period pretty much at any time.

**RicheemxX** · April 3rd, 2008, 03:21 PM

Buying a domain, and getting a site are two different things.

Buying a domain name is just that, it usually cost anywhere from $6-15 dollars per year and you get just the name.

If you want a site then you have to buy the domain and pay for hosting, most hosts have a package deal where you get at least one free or at low cost when you buy hosting. But that price can go anywhere from $5 up, per month.

Most hosts with a basic package give you a ton of space, 5, 10 or even a 100gigs or more, with almost unlimited emails, (I've got the option for 100 or more) as well as loads of bandwidth (the amount of transfer from your site). Then you need to look for whatever features you need, ie blogging, sql, php ect.

TrendyMartini · April 3rd, 2008, 05:00 PM

Try checking out Netfirms or GoDaddy. There are a million and one hosting companies... be sure to compare them before making any decision.

sr71000 · April 10th, 2008, 02:30 PM

haven't used netfirms but i'd recommend 1&1 over godaddy any day! make sure you go through richeemmx post...He clears up a lot of misconceptions you seem to have about designing webpages.

EXreaction · April 10th, 2008, 04:42 PM

For most small sites 1&1 would be fine for hosting. Just make sure you have some other company register the domain. Never, ever, ever, have your hosting and domain registrar company be the same. I use godaddy for a domain registrar, but would never again go near them for hosting.

sr71000 · April 11th, 2008, 12:20 AM

why not use the same for hosting/domain registration?

EXreaction · April 11th, 2008, 12:53 AM

If your host decides to have a problem with you, you will not lose your domain. With frequent backups, the loss of all of the data is no problem compared to somebody locking your domain, which would be damaging to your business and require a lot of time to repair.

$10 a year extra is well worth it to save yourself from any potential problems.