Are There Really Free Domain Names?

Most of us, at one time or another, have landed on a webpage in which we have seen advertisements for free domain names. If you are shopping around for a domain registration service, you may have even wondered how a company can offer free domain names without some kind of catch being involved. The truth of the matter is that, while these companies offer a free domain name, which they will give you, they bundle the offer with other kinds of services for which you will have to pay for. Let’s take a closer look at why a company cannot give a domain name in the true sense of for “free”.

First and foremost, domain names and their registrations are regulated by ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Whenever a domain registration company issues a domain name to a customer the company has to pay ICANN a $0.20 fee and a maximum of $6.86 to VeriSign for that domain name. As should be obvious a company giving away “free” domain names would lose money unless they were able to make up for that loss in other ways. The way they do that is to bundle the free domain name offer with other services.

Other Services

Many domain name registrars will bundle a free domain name offer with their hosting service. A web host allocates space for subscribers to exhibit their websites on the server of the hosting company. Hosting services can vary from company to company, but are generally anywhere from $7 to $10 US dollars per month. What some companies will do is offer a free domain name with the purchase of a year hosting subscription. Those companies that offer a free domain name bundled with hosting services still make a profit after paying ICANN and VeriSign their fees.

Many domain name registration companies offer free extras when you sign-up for both a domain name and their hosting services. Some of those extras are web design tools, marketing web tools, and administration web tools, to mention a few. These little extras can be quite handy when fine tuning your website, marketing it, and maintaining it.

Whenever purchasing a domain name registration bundle you want to make sure you get the most value for your investment. This requires that you know what services you need as there are numerous service options. As you shop around for a domain registration company read the details about what each of their packages provide and compare those plans with the services of their competitors. Most domain name registration companies will be more than glad to help you and your business determine which of their bundle packages will best suit your business needs.

When you are interested in signing up for a free domain name know that the domain name itself may be free, but it is usually only when you sign up for a bundle package service. It’s the extras you are paying for so be sure you know what you are buying before signing up for a plan.