Free domains: All you need to know before you acquire a free domain

When setting up your own web site, your first step is to own and register your own Domain Names. A domain name is a name that refers to your web site; "www.xyx.com" or "www.thexyz.com".

There are many reasons to have a domain name if you're a business or website owner. Having a domain name gives your business credibility. Registering your own domain name doesn't have to be expensive and many times you can find companies that specialize in free domain name registration and free domain hosting but are they really worth what they claim to be?

Opting for a free domain name or a free web hosting company can be a solution for beginners that want to have their own domain name as well as get their company visible on the web. Many companies that are strapped for cash tend to turn to free domain name hosting companies for various reasons. Usually free domain names are used for personal use, and don't hold much credit for companies. You can usually find many free domain name hosting companies that are reputable, but free usually has its drawbacks.

Security issues usually are a major concern with free domain hosting. Trust is another issue. If the company is not financially set where they can pay for their own web site and provider; this is usually perceived as amateur business image. Do you really want your company labeled this way? A smaller company however that is just starting out is usually more tempted to use free web hosting and can be a good place to start on a small budget. My advice to this is as domain hosting with a reputable company doesn't need to be expensive, as soon as your company gets off the ground, transfer your free domain name to a paid registrar.

Most of the time free domain hosting companies requires you to include a web host name into the domain name. This makes it seem as though you really don't own your own domain name, but are just a co-owner. Not only that, but this could shorten your chances of people remembering your domain name.

There are many choices for domain names, but not all are free domain names and this can limit your choices for acquiring the domain name of your choice. You may find that the domain name you had in mind is already taken or not offered as a free domain name. You may even start looking through the expired list of domain names by doing a WhoIS search. This may help you narrow down any domain names that you may want to register regardless of whether you go with free domain name hosting, or paid services.

Many providers however will expect their company name advertised in your domain registration to pay for the service and this is something you will have to decide whether it matters enough to you or not.

If you decide that free domain hosting is the right thing for your company, make sure to research any company that you may be looking into for free domain names or free domain name registration. Make sure to do some research before buying any domain name or free domain hosting services.

source:Tanya Smith
Contact Tanya Smith for domains & other domain registration or web hosting queries at http://www.ballisticdomains.com