Domain Purchasing

To buy a domain for a website, you first need think what is suitable domain for your needs. After that, domain registration is completed with companies called ICANN, an accredited organisation with rights to manage and reserve domains.

At first, it can feel like an easy thing, as everyone knows what a domain is, right? But in reality, it has some complicated terms, settings, and a couple of things you need to know before and after you purchase domain with or without hosting. Keep reading to find out what they are!

What is domain?

A domain name is a visible part of a website address, which is associated with a server IP (internet protocol) address. For example, our domain is: https://wordpresskotisivutyritykselle.fi/.

Essentially, domain allows a website to be accessed using user-friendly and rememberable name, not by inserting a complex and long sequence of numbers into a browser.

You may also want to read why domain registration should be completed as early as possible.

Types of domain names

TLD: Top level domain name

Top level domain name is most last part of the domain, after the dot. These are mainly used for international or English language purposes. For example:

• .com 
• .co 
• .org
• .net

ccTLD: Country code top level domain name

These are country specific domain name endings. For examples:

• .fi (Findland)
• .se (Ruotsi)
• .co.uk (United Kingdom)

STLD: Sponsored top level domain name

Sponsored top level domain name are in general private groups, organisations or agencies such as .edu, .gov, .aero, and others. There groups are regulated by sponsors, compared to TLDs which are regulated by ICANN. 

How domain works?

There are three things to how domain work:

1. Domain – User friendly name of your website address
2. Web server – Hosts your website or application files and contents
3. DNS – Connects domain with web server IP to make website live and accessible on user friendly domain name.

How much does the domain cost?

In general, domain cost is €9-25 a year but can be as cheap as €3 per year for .eu and similar domains. The cheapest Fi domain price is €9.90 + ALV per year. Each domain broker has different domain prices, which is why we recommended to do a price comparison.

Where to buy a domain name?

Domain names can really be bought from any domain broker. Sometimes hosting providers offer this service as well, but not always. For companies that provide both, its not mandotory to buy them from the same. That means you can decide to purchase a domain from one place and host from another – this helps you to find the best prices for hosting and domain.

Sometimes, you can even use multiple domains on one hosting. This means you can purchase domains from different brokers and connect them to your main hosting server. This saves you a fortune. All you need to make sure is that the server has enough resources. For example, we host 2-3 of our own websites on one hosting.

However, Finnish .fI domains can only be purchased from Finnish domain brokers. And you need a Finnish social security number to process the order. In the meantime .com,. .net .eu and any other you can buy from Finnish or foreign domain providers.

The best place to purchase a Finnish domain is from Domainhotelli due to their affordable prices:

• .fi €9.90/yr
• .com €10.90/yr
• .net €12.90/yr
• .eu €6.90/yr

Compare .fi domain prices from different Finnish domain brokers.

• Domainhotelli: €9.90 + VAT
• Zone.fi: €11.60 + VAT
• Zoner: €12 + VAT

It is always good practice to compare prices before you purchase your domain. You will be surprised by what you find. For example, the .eu domain is cheapest in zone.fi: €3 per year + VAT.

Protecting domain Whois information

Whois information is your personal details and your domain and hosting provider details that are included in domain registration. This data is available to anyone in case people want to complain about your site to your hosting or domain provider. But the issue is that anyone could go to the Whois database and find your details like name and phone.

So, you may have heard about whois information protection to hide your details and wonder if you can have it on your domain?

Sadly, in Finland, you can not protect .fi domain information as it has to be open to anyone. Not sure why, but it is. You can find all the details fo the domain owner by going to the traficom communications agency and through domain brokers.

For the .com domain and alikes, you can protect your whois information. Some providers have this as a default, free service, while others charge extra. But, information like domain or hosting providers stays, allowing individuals contact your domain hosting company if they need or have a complaint. And the provider will decide what to do with the complaint

Domain name system (DNS)

Domain name system basically turns your domain name into an IP so that servers can understand. When someone types the domain name into the browser, the DNS will connect it with corresponding server IP where your website or application is installed. This process makes website content available who ever is requesting it.

If you purchase domain and hosting from the same provider these settings usually work automatically. But when you purchase them separately you need to adjust them to point the domain to your hosting. More about it in domain control transfer to a new web host section.

Domain control

Domain control means managing domain setting in your domain registrant control panel. To name a few settings: email forwarding, setting up subdomain, and configuring your DNS settings.

Domain control transfer to a new web host

Changing your domain control to a new provider means transferring rights to manage your domain setting in your new provider but keeping the domain in the same old registrant.

It works by changing the domain DNS nameservers with a new hosting IP. This means you point your domain to your new provider and transfer domain control to your hosting without changing the domain registrant. After that, you can manage your domain DNS from your hosting.

There is also another way when you want to keep DNS control in your domain brokerage but only send traffic through the hosting provider. In this case, you can use a specific DNS A record. To do so, find DNS settings and add A record with your web hosting IP.

Each hosting provider can have different ways of doing it, but there should be guides that you can read. If you can’t find any, contact the customer support.

Transferring the domain to the new service provider

Domain transfer from your current broker to another is easy. All you need is to request a transfer key, also called broker replacement key, which allows the domain to be transfered to a new broker.

After you have the key, contact the new broker and say you want to transfer the domain to them. But bear in mind that with domain transfer, you also transfer the invoicing over to the new company based on their rates. This is beneficial if you find a cheaper option, which is usually the reason why people transfer their domain.

Domain redirection to different website

It is possible to change your domain to a new domain. You may need it when you change your business name, buy a new business and merge two into one, rebranding, SEO strategy, or trademark issues.

And you do that to avoid loss of SEO benefits, redirect users to the new address who type in your old domain name – doing so will keep the traffic and clients. Or if you purchase a domain with great backlinks, you can redirect them to your domain, but it is quite an advanced strategy.

There are two main redirects:

• 301 is permanent redirection and passes all the SEO to the new URL
• 302 is a temporary redirection, keeping the SEO to the old URL.

Here how its done:

Find the domain redirect section from your domain setting dashboard. Type in your source URL (current domain name) and destination URL (new domain name) – each provider may have a different settings, but the logic is the same for all.

After that, check the DNS setting to see if they point to a new domain using DNS checker. You may also want to contact your provider first to ask how it is done with them to avoid any errors.

NB! When you perform redirection, its important to enable wildcard redirection. So that all content and files redirect to the new URLs. For example, olddomain.com/blog1 will redirect to newdomain.com/blog1 and so on. If you do not check wildcard, all the old URLs will redirect to new domain home page, such as newdomain.com.

3 tips when purchasing a domain

Tip 1: Buying a reserved domain name from someone else for yourself

What if you find a perfect domain name that is reserved but not used? Well, you can make an offer for the owner to purchase it for yourself.

Sometimes, you can purchase these for a couple of hundred. Other times cost can be in thousands. And rarely domain prices is a million, like Elon Musk reportedly paid for X domain. So you must decide if its worth the cost or not.

If you find the desired domain, find owner information form the whois and make an offer. For a protected domain, contact the broker and say you want to purchase that domain. They will contact the owner to see if they accept your offer.

You may also look up domain auctions to find reserved or expired domains for sale.

Tip 2: Avoid purchasing fi domain or any other under registered trademark or protected names.

Brands often have their intellectual property protected even on the domain names, which means you cannot use them for your business. There are certain ways you can get away. For example, if you are in a completely different industry but you do not want to walk the middle line of someone suing you. So it is better to avoid these.

How do you know if a domain is protected? Check databases for registered trademarks such as:

• Tavaramerkkitietopalvelu (Finland)
• EUIPO (European Union)
• The USPTO (United States)
• WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)

Tip 3: Don’t buy a domain that has been used unless you know what to do

You can read from the internet that there is a benefit to purchasing a domain that has backlinks and SEO strength. But we do not recommend it unless you know what you are doing.

The reason is that some domains may have been penalized due to wrongdoings. If you purchase that domain, it could be still penalized – which means SEO efforts you do yourself or hire someone else to do it for you do not yield any results.

So, check WHOIS Lookup, Internet Archive like Wayback Machine, or Google search. Enter the domain you wish to purchase and see if something pops up. If there is no content, links, or any other information, then you know it’s clean and you can buy domain without worry.