Tuesday, August 8, 2017

The price of a custom domain

Hello my beauties! How are you doing today? I’m doing good. I’ve finally started with the second draft of book 2 in my Thelum series, which will be called The Executioner. I’m taking it slow, but I must admit I’m rather enjoying the whole process. A lot more than I think I did with book 1.

So, on to today’s post. I few years ago I had gotten a custom domain name. I went from The Daily Drama of an Aspiring Writer to mureesdupe.com. To this day I think it was one of those wow moments for me. It was one of those things with which I proved to myself that I was serious about my writing. Back then I had bought my domain name on a whim for 3 year period. That means after 3 years I must renew my custom domain, and pay for a new term. I only chose to renew for one year this time. Do you know why?

The renewal of my custom domain cost as much as when I had initially bought it, if not more. And I could only afford to extend it for another year. If I extended it anymore it would've cost more than when I had bought the domain in the first place. When I had decided to get a custom domain, I didn’t think about the renewal rate. I didn’t think about additional features. I just assumed the renewal would always be less than the initial price, and I thought somehow that it will last forever. Man, was I wrong. Only when the custom domain expiry date came closer I finally decided to check how much the renewal cost actually was, and I couldn’t help but feel a little flustered and angry. Let’s not forget, with every custom domain you need the protected registration stuff too, so that no one can see your private info and that costs quite a bit too. Before you know it, you’re spending a fortune. Or at least that’s what I found happened to me. It's my own fault of course. I don’t have a problem with my current service provider. They’re always friendly and ready to help me, but the costs are high.

After all this I realized that I could actually just have gone with a website from the start. Sure it costs more upfront, but in the long term it would be cheaper, and to renew the website domain would be cheaper than updating my custom domain name. That is what I hope to do in the next year. Actually host my own website, and move my blog there. That is my new goal. Why? Because I just assumed Blogger will always exist. Well, that isn’t the case. They could close down and then all my content would be gone.

So what is the point? Do your research first before you do a custom domain. Look at that renewal costs. Looks at the various options and what you get for your money. Don’t rush things, like I did. Look for a service provider that works for you, or your budget. Don't just go with whomever Blogger recommends. Don’t get me wrong, I love my custom domain name. I just wish I hadn’t skimped on the details and had considered all the costs. 

In fact, I never even considered a website in the first place. I just wanted a blog. But now I realize I could still blog from a website. I could even sell my books from a website. It would give me more freedom. That I would actually own it. But that is at least another year away. 

Have you made a similar mistake? Do you know of another way to not pay a fortune for a custom domain? Or just share your thoughts.

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