Chris Pirillo » domain-name

How Do You Manage Your Domains?

Chris Pirillo — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 08:00:35 +0000

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hover. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hover isn’t just another way to purchase a domain name. They make domain name management simple with tools, tutorials and excellent customer service. Instead of trying to upsell a ton of unnecessary services to you (like other companies do), they keep it simple. Hover only sells a few types of services, and they make it insanely easy for you to get what you need. They want you to understand what you’re doing – and they help you get your tasks done.

When the team at Hover contacted me, I admit to being skeptical. I’ve seen more domain name management sites than I care to remember over the past few years. What could a new one possibly add to the mix that isn’t already being done? The beauty of this particular site, though, is that they don’t try to add something new – unless you count the fact that they truly do care about their customers as being new. The company has kept their offered services to a bare minimum – they only sell the things that YOU want.

How many of you have been told that you “should” be forwarding your domain? Do you even know the first thing about how to do this, or where to start? Hover has tutorials that even yours truly can follow to help guide you through this process. I checked a few of them out, and was happy to see that they are written in a way that anyone can understand. You don’t have to be a web genius in order to use the services they offer… you just need to have a desire to let the world find you online.

Buying a domain with Hover is actually an enjoyable process. That’s right – it’s enjoyable. You don’t have to navigate your way through a confusing maze of questions and attempts to sell you junk you don’t need. At the top of every page, you’ll see a box asking you for the domain name or keywords you are interested in. Click the Search button and BAM! There are your results, along with the exact pricing.

The pricing itself is straightforward. As you can see in the screenshot above, it would have cost me only $15.00, whether I chose a .com or a .info domain. Click the down arrow in the “Add Mailbox” column and choose how many email boxes you want. If you don’t want any – that’s fine. Just choose “none” and add your domain name to your cart. Voila! You’re finished. There aren’t any other hoops to jump through. Pay for your new domain and that’s that. You can now continue on with your day.

Hover does offer services beyond the purchase of domain names and domain name forwarding. You can also create a custom email address using your domain name or one of their collection of shared surnames. Forward the new email to your favorite Inbox and set up your mail program to send emails out using your new email alias.

One of the coolest parts of being a Hover customer is being able to use the branded shortcuts feature. Use your domain name to create and share custom URLs. Take a long link such as http://chris.pirillo.com/starting-a-small-business/ and turn it into one that looks like this: pirillo.com/smallbusiness by just clicking one button. Every domain name purchased comes with an unlimited number of custom URLs. You’ll also get the “Hover This!” toolbar button. This lets you create custom URLs from any web page you happen to be looking at.

These days, it seems as though most companies try to do too much – offer too much – BE too much. Hover doesn’t go overboard… they just do things right. That, my friends, is refreshing to see. If you’d like to try out the service for yourself, you can save 10% on a domain name purchase by using coupon code Lockergnome during checkout.

How Do You Manage Your Domains?

How to Choose a Domain Name

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:08:19 +0000

How to Choose a Domain Name

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

The problem with registering domain names isn’t the registration process. They’re fairly inexpensive, and easy to register. The problem is that all the good names and addresses are already taken. Finding a decent one is sometimes a bit of a challenge. This is the reason I have created this new site – to help you find possible names for the perfect site for you!

This site is exceedingly easy to use. Give it a web address (news article, blog post, etc). The site will scan that web page, pull out two random words, and slap a .com on the end of the words. It will tell you whether or not the address is available. It will even ask you how many results you want!

If a site is already registered, there will be a large red X next to the result. If it’s not, there will be a link you can click to take you to a page that helps you buy it for yourself! All you have to do is plug in any address that exists on the web that deals with the topic matter you’re looking at creating a site for. How much easier can it get?

This is great to help you save time while trying to come up with the best possible name for your new venture. It will also save you the headache you’ll get from brainstorming for hours on end trying to think up something unique. Take a moment and check out our domain thinktank for yourself.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

How to Choose a Domain Name

Do You Need to Buy or Sell a Domain Name?

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:49:50 +0000

Do You Need to Buy or Sell a Domain Name?

Consider buying – or selling – domain names using the hottets domain auction house on the Web – Go Daddy Auctions! Go Daddy Auctions has up to 50% lower commission fees than other leading auction houses, so you keep more of your money!

Right now, you can enjoy Go Daddy Auctions for half off of a one-year membership! Head over to Go Daddy now, and click on Auctions at the top of the home page. Please enter source code: auction3 during checkout to receive your savings!

You’re likely going to buy and/or sell a few domains over the next year. Why not make use of the auction that Go Daddy offers, and save yourself a ton of hassle – and money!

Do You Need to Buy or Sell a Domain Name?

How to Choose a Good Domain Name

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:02:00 +0000

How to Choose a Good Domain Name

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

All the good domain names are taken already. Have you ever had a great domain name idea, and go to buy it – but it’s already taken? Someone is squatting on it, and wants a ton of money to get off! How creative are you? Do you know how to come up with a domain name that is NOT taken?

Create a new and unique domain name (and word!) by using Wordoid. Wordoids have to be random, and should look as natural as possible. You may want them to begin or end with a short fragment. The fragment should have the letters a-z, and can be only up to 10 letters long.

By choosing only one language, you will get a wordoid that is made according to the grammar rules of that language. But if you choose two or more languages (such as English and Spanish), your wordoids will be more sophisticated sounding, since they’ll be a blend of the two languages. Also, you need to choose how natural your wordoids should look, sound or feel. The higher level you choose, the more the wordoids will resemble the usual words of the language(s) you selected.

Use your wordoids to create a website or product name, or even just new words that you can amaze your friends with. The wordoid site will tell you whether or not your new name and .com is available to buy! You can click right on the domain reseller on the site, and be taken to places like GoDaddy in order to buy.

Remember, if you register with GoDaddy, you can save 10% at checkout by using the coupon code: Chris!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

How to Choose a Good Domain Name