How many domains do you need?
At a minimum, you need one domain. This domain will be the main address to your site. You cannot expect users to remember your site’s IP address so you need a domain to serve as your shortcut. Besides, your email accounts will be using your domain name and everything else connected to your site relies on this short cut.
But we recommend that you have multiple domains pointing to the same site. Why is that? So that you get more and more users to your main site. Here’s an example.
If your main domain is about your dog breeding business, you probably have a domain that sounds like www.alaskanmalamutes.com. But if you want to further increase the traffic to your site, get related domains like:
Alaskanmalamutes.biz
USAlaskanmalamutes.com
Bestbreedalaskanmalamutes.com
topUSalaskanmalamutes.com
Alaskan-malamutes.com
These various domains can be all pointed to your main site. Think of it as different ads placed in various locations on the highway. Even if they all point to the same store, you get more and more exposure to different kinds of people on the highway.
Domains are relatively inexpensive so you can continue to add more as you can afford it.
How much does a domain cost?
Here’s a quick list of domain rates according to iPage:
.com costs $14.99 per year
.net costs cheaper at $9.99 per year
.co.uk costs $25.98 for 2 years
.us costs the same as a .com
.tv is expensive at $34.95 per year
.org and .biz are also the same as .com
Just be reminded that you get a free domain for a year for every new iPage account.
This is a big deal of savings for someone who is managing multiple sites with multiple domains. Usually, you can buy domains for 1 or two years. In some cases, you can secure them for a longer period of time but for starting services, we recommend that you book it for 2 years maximum.
Is this on top of my iPage account?
No, your first domain is free with your iPage account. Succeeding domains, on the other hand, will be charged to your account. A central charging makes it easier for you to keep track of your funds and monthly expenses. To start, you can have 4 to 5 domains all pointing to the same page, if you can afford it.
Then you can eventually branch of to various spelling versions of your site, regional domains like a .co.uk or .eu.
What if I want to renew my domains?
If you want to renew your domains, just contact the iPage team. Typically, domains are auto-charged upon renewal time to your iPage account details so that the transition is seamless. If you want a different billing setup, get in touch with any of the iPage support personnel.
In terms of renewing your iPage hosting account, keep in mind the following rates:
You get charged $6.99 per month (36-month contract) or an outright bill for $251 for three years. In some cases, promotional discounts make the first three months valued at $1.99 each.
You get charged $7.99 per month (24 month contract) or an outright bill of $191.76 for two years.
You get charged $8.99 per month (12-month contract) or an outright bill of $107.88 for 12 months