Are Domain Names Free? - Domain Facts

byRikaSF

3.2K followers

Updated 4 years ago

When you want to build a website you need a domain name. Are domain names free? The answer is YES and NO.

Here at Wealthy Affiliate you get 2 free subdomains on the free membership option. As a premium member you get 25 free subdomains and you can host 25 of your own domains. This gives you a total of 50 websites you can build as a premium member at Wealthy Affiliate.

Subdomains are Free

Wealthy Affiliate is not the only place where you can get free subdomains. Nearly all hosting companies and blogging platforms offer free subdomains.

A subdomain looks like this: yourwebsitename.siterubix.com instead of yourwebsitename.com.

Advantages of Subdomains

Unfortunately the advantages of a subdomain are less than the disadvantages.

• You can start a website without paying anything at all.
• Subdomains are great to test the waters first. Some people are not sure if the niche they choose are a good fit for them, especially if you are new to this.

When you are completely new to website building I personally recommend starting with a subdomain. Luckily you can transfer your subdomain to your own domain with the click of a few buttons here at Wealthy Affiliate.

Disadvantages of Subdomains

• Subdomains are not your property which means it does not belong to you.
• Google is not as fond of subdomains as normal domains. With that said I noticed a couple of people ranking in Google with their subdomains.
• If you ever decide you want to move to another host, you cannot take your website with you.
• Subdomains are not a good fit if you want to build a brand name for yourself. It looks unprofessional. (For me this is the biggest disadvantage.)
• You also cannot setup domain specific emails like rika@yourwebsitename.com. You have to use Gmail or any other free email services.

Domains Are NOT Free, but...

Normally you have to pay for domains you want to own. Here at Wealthy Affiliate is no exception, but there is a way to get your domain at WA without paying for it with money. I will come back to this a bit later.

I have noticed a couple of people (newbies) getting confused with the 50 websites as a premium member and want to clarify this a bit more.

You get 25 free subdomains (hosting included) and can only HOST 25 domains you own as a premium member. You are not going to get 25 domains, you still need to buy your domains.

You have two options buying your domains:

1. You can buy your domains at Wealthy Affiliate. They only have .com; .org; and .net domains. I pay $13.99 for my .com domains (all inclusive, no upsells for extras).
2. You can buy your domain outside Wealthy Affiliate and direct it to the Wealthy Affiliate servers. I have 2 domains outside WA. This is very easy to do.

How to Get a Domain You Own for Free

I know of a couple of other hosting companies where they include a domain name in their hosting packages, but you are not really getting it for free. They work it into the hosting package and you will still need to pay for it when it's renewal time.

Some hosting companies will give you a domain as payment for referring people to them through their affiliate program.

How to Get a Domain You Own for Free at Wealthy Affiliate

You can buy your domain name with credits you receive at Wealthy Affiliate. You can earn credits in various different ways:

• Create training
• Leaving comments
• Referrals

Please make sure you understand the terms and conditions for earning credits on the different platforms here at WA. Certain criteria must be met before you can earn credits.

I have bought 1 domain with the credits I received from leaving comments.

IMPORTANT: You can get your domain with credits, but when it's time for renewal you still have to pay for it with money. There is not option to renew with credits.

Conclusion

Luckily domains are cheap and in my opinion a good investment. I definitely prefer domains over subdomains.

Coming back the question "Are domain names free?".

Subdomains are free but not ideal for brand building.

If you want your own domain, you have to pay for it. There are options to get your first year's domain registration for free, but keep in mind you will still need to pay for renewals.

Please leave a comment below and tell me where you get your domains from. Do you think subdomains are worth it?

Thanks

Rika